Do you trust Jesus? Or a church?

Jesus is the way, not churches or temples

Jesus said, “Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father… But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.” (John 4:21-23)

With these words, Jesus is taking spirituality “out of the box” so to speak. Before Jesus, the way to get to God was through a system of laws and rituals called ordinances, and it was rooted in a particular place and a particular institution. But when Jesus came into the picture, he said that HE is the way to God (John 14:6; John 10:1, 7). 

So be careful when someone says that there is a different way to God. Maybe they will say that it is through a list of rules and good deeds, a set of rituals, or through membership in a church. Not so! Of course, people who trust in a church or rituals say that they are only doing so because Jesus told them to. Please consult your Bible!

Don’t I have to DO something? Good works?

No. Jesus did all the works required for your salvation!  

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Eph. 2:8-9)

After you are born again, you will be led to do good works and bring forth good fruit for God. You will also leave behind sinful habits from your old life. But these things do not earn you eternal life! You will never be worthy of God through your actions – only through the mercy of Jesus. For further discussion on this topic, see this previous blog post.

Ordinances?

No. Jesus did the only ordinance necessary for your salvation!

“And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man [Jesus], after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God.” (Hebrews 10:11-12)

“Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.” (Colossians 2:14)

What about baptism or the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper? These are not ordinances in the sense that they get you closer to salvation. They are out outward actions which are merely symbolic of the real works accomplished by Jesus! Baptism represents Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, and likewise the death of your old life and resurrection to a new life in Jesus – it is a public profession of faith in Jesus. The Lord’s Supper is a reminder of his sacrifice for us.

What about all the ordinances in the Old Testament? The Jewish temple ritual was only meant to happen for a short time, to point to Jesus, to teach us about Jesus: “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.” (Galatians 3:24-25; see also Hebrews 10:1)

Membership in a church? Jesus did found a church, didn’t he?

Jesus does have a church, of which every true believer becomes part by virtue of their adoption into the family of God. But please understand what that means! It doesn’t mean you have to be a card-carrying member of a modern 501c-3 organization, or have been baptized in just the right building by just the right person. The church is the body of true believers, and they could be in any number of places or denominations around the world. In fact, Jesus said that the saved (read: his true church) and unsaved would be all mixed together until he returns. See Matthew 13:24-30.

The church is meant to celebrate, defend, and proclaim the gospel – but it is not the gospel itself! 

Do not box God into a denomination or a building. “God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands.” (Acts 17:24)

Which will you trust: Jesus or a church?

A word of warning to you. If you stand before God on judgement day and try to tell him that you should go to heaven because you were a member of a certain church or performed certain ordinances, he will refuse you: “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (Matthew 7:22-23)

Paul issued an equally chilling warning: “Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.” (Galatians 5:4)

Be careful who you trust for your salvation. Are you trusting yourself? Your ability to keep the law? The ordinances you’ve done? The church you’re part of?

Or will you trust Jesus alone?

You can’t have it both ways. If salvation is by grace then it is no more of works (Romans 11:6). If you are justified by the law, then Jesus is OF NO EFFECT UNTO YOU. You either have to trust yourself or trust Jesus – it’s very simple. Jesus illustrates this concept in parable form here.

Don’t miss what God is telling you in his Word. You must be born again.

Please pray about this. Go to the Bible and ask God to open your eyes to his true gospel. The stakes are too high to be comfortable where you are currently sitting. Forget what’s on TV. Forget the nice tie you’re wearing or the façade you put on for the world. Forget your day-to-day cares for a minute and just think about what Jesus is saying here.

Feel free to ask me any questions and I would love to explore God’s Word together with you. God bless you!

Born Again

Back at the keyboard! A month has gone by since my last blog post – I’ve been busy with a move, travelling, and a subsequent lack of internet connection. If all goes well, I hope to resume the habit of posting once a week. So stay tuned.

What does it mean to be “born again”?

2,000 years ago, a man named Nicodemus came to Jesus in the middle of the night. He was a part of the Jewish religious group called the Pharisees, who had a public dislike for Jesus; but Nicodemus had become convinced that there was more to Jesus than he had previously thought. So in the middle of the night he approached Jesus in secret. It was then that Jesus told him what he had to do: “Ye must be born again.” When asked to clarify, Jesus goes on to say, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (John 3:6-7)

How is someone “born of the Spirit”? Nicodemus had the same question, to which Jesus responded by pointing to himself! Read on in John 3 and you will find the now best-known Bible verse: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) We are born again when we look to Jesus solely and wholly for our salvation, and are regenerated by his Spirit.

Do I have to be perfect to come to Jesus?

No. That’s the point – Jesus saves you because you can’t save yourself. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.” (Titus 3:5). It’s purely an act of his grace that we can be saved, not by anything that we can do.

“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Too many people have the false impression that Christianity means joining a holy club and doing everything just right in order to please God. The fact is that each person has fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), but the good news (the “gospel”) is that Jesus did all the work that ever needed to be done, and he offers the results to us as a gift (Romans 6:23).

What happens after someone is born again?

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Being saved by God’s grace doesn’t mean you say a prayer one day and just go about business as usual. It means a life-changing decision to follow Jesus, listening to his voice, and allowing him to shape you from the inside out.

Jesus said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” (Luke 9:23)

Everything changes. Where the world says love your friends and hate your enemies, Jesus says, “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you” (Matthew 5:44). Where the world values material possessions and wealth, Jesus says, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven… For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21).

Jesus calls us to a radical transformation where sin dies, love reigns, and priorities are realigned to God’s purposes.

Closing thoughts

You must be born again. If the concept is foreign to you, I hope this serves as a basic introduction. Check back to this blog later for further discussion on the Christian life! In the meantime, pick up a Bible (if you don’t have one, you can read for free online at websites such as biblegateway.org) and see what Jesus is all about! If you have very little experience with the Bible, I recommend you start with the Gospel of John.

The Bible and Christians

Throughout the month of June I have been writing a series on the importance of the Bible. Today I conclude that series with a blog post on what the Bible means to me now as a Christian.

1. Guidance

As I have stated before, the title of the blog is based on a line from Psalm 119 which says, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” (Psalm 119:105)

  

God’s Word reveals his will for humanity, as we see in it examples and lessons applicable to our lives. In that sense we can receive guidance for our day-to-day concerns by prayerfully understanding what the Bible conveys.

Most importantly it guides us to our source of salvation – Jesus! If we are saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus, how can we be saved unless we hear about Jesus? As the apostle Paul said, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17). The apostle Peter similarly said, “the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.” (1 Peter 1:25). Certainly you can see the importance of this book to the Christian. By it we come to the knowledge of a saving relationship with God through Jesus! Praise God! Remember that next time you pick up the book!

2. Spiritual Discernment/Warfare

“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:17)

Ephesians 6 describes the “armour of God” which the Christian must use in order to withstand and combat the forces of evil. Each item in the list is defensive except for the sword, which represents both the Spirit and the Word of God.

Jesus gave us the perfect example of how the Word can be used to combat evil. When he was fasting in the wilderness, Satan appeared and tempted him three times. Each time, Jesus responded by quoting scripture! He said authoritatively, “It is written…” (See Matthew 4)

How does this apply to someone’s day-to-day life? First, if you find yourself confronted by temptation, discouragement, or confusion, you can go to the Bible to cut through these things. Have scriptures in your heart that can come to mind in time of need. Second, if confronted by some new doctrine, test it by the Bible. As I mentioned last post, if any spirits (and those who claim to have spoken to spirits) “speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isaiah 8:20). It is important to be familiar with the Bible so we can have a ready response when someone presents us with doctrine which is contrary to what God gave us in his Word. Like Jesus, we can be ready to say, “It is written…”

3. Nourishment

The Bible says that we receive spiritual nourishment in our reading of it. As Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4)

This “nourishment” facilitates our growth as Christians. As the apostle Peter said, “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.” (1 Peter 2:2)

If you feel as though you are stagnant in your Christian life, it may be because you’re spiritually malnourished! Put aside the sinful media of the world as spend some quality time with the sincere milk of the word. (Clever, eh? I thought so)

Some final thoughts:

I feel the need to apologize to anyone who has been hurt by the venomous words I used about the Bible in the past; as an atheist I understood the Judeo-Christian scriptures to be the vain imaginings of primitive men, and I often expressed that idea without tact. I have repented and I believe God has forgiven me for the terrible things I said about his Word; I hope you can too, and I am sincerely sorry.

Thank you for reading this series on the Bible. Next I hope to begin a series on some basics of Christian life, beginning with this concept of being “born again.” ‘Til next time!

The Bible and Mormons

Dearest LDS friends/family,

As you may know, I grew up in the LDS church and I believed and loved its teachings. Today I have a profoundly different idea of Jesus’ gospel, and I have become a born again Christian! You can read about my conversion here: http://eph1-17.blogspot.ca/2013/05/a-journey-to-jesus-part-one.html. God has given me a heart for sharing his gospel with others, especially with the Latter-day Saints. The message I want to share with my LDS friends and family today is this: YOU can trust the Bible!

The Bible is one of the standard works of the LDS church, along with the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price. But the Bible has a different status from the other books. As LDS Article of Faith #8 says, “We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.” (Emphasis added). The Book of Mormon says that the Bible does not contain the fullness of the gospel, but that it is missing many “plain and precious truths” (1 Nephi 13). The LDS bible dictionary says, “The Church reveres and respects the Bible but recognizes that it is not a complete nor entirely accurate record.” (See link for full reference: http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/bible?lang=eng&letter=b.) Whereas the Book of Mormon is proclaimed to be “the most correct of any book on earth,” the clause regarding the Bible as true “as far as it is translated correctly” has allowed the church to depart from what the Bible teaches and revise or downplay its teachings.

Joseph Smith recorded his own “Joseph Smith Translation” (JST) of the Bible, which altered and added to the text. You can see a selection of these changes provided by the LDS church here: http://www.lds.org/scriptures/jst?lang=eng. Many of these changes are minor, but some change the message that the Word of God conveys. For example, the John 1:1 that most Christians are familiar with declares Jesus’ status as the one true God, saying, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). (We know “The Word” means Jesus, because verse 14 says the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and goes on to describe his earthly ministry). Joseph Smith changed these words to say, “In the beginning was the gospel preached through the Son. And the gospel was the word, and the word was with the Son, and the Son was with God, and the Son was of God.”…Quite a difference! This is just one example of many changes which the LDS church justifies by saying the Bible is inaccurate.  

What did Jesus say about his word?

Jesus said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” (Matthew 24:35; Mark 13:31; Luke 21:33)

Woah! Let that sink in for a moment… If we trust what Jesus says here, that means his words are even more permanent than heaven and earth! Everything you see around you, the trees and mountains, the skyscrapers and highways, will all pass away… But his words shall not pass away. Would you read the Bible differently if you truly believed that?

Here is another example where the scriptures promise the permanence of God’s Word:

“For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.” (1 Peter 1:24-25)

The Bible is the word of God. LDS friends and family, I urge you to take this point seriously, because it may have eternal consequences. The Bible warns that spirits appearing as angels and apostles would preach “another gospel” to lead people away from what Jesus taught. “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8). How do you know if you’re following the true gospel or “another gospel” unless you know “that which we [the apostles] have preached unto you”? The only way to know that is to have a standard against which to judge new information. That standard is God’s word (the Bible). In fact, Isaiah stated that if spirits (and people visited by spirits) “speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isaiah 8:20). The Bible is the standard that keeps us from deception, so be careful how you regard it!

I urge you to read the Bible, not as a mish-mash of partially inspired and partially corrupted words, but as Jesus says we should read it: as His Word, which shall never pass away. Pray that God will open your eyes and ears to understand what HE wants you to know from the Bible, even if it differs from what men in your church want you to think. In the next blog post, I will explain what the Bible means to me now as a born again Christian. God bless you as you read his word!

The Bible and Atheists

Dearest Atheist friends,

I was proud to count myself among you for four years. Last year I became a Christian (you can read about what led to that conversion here: http://eph1-17.blogspot.ca/2013/05/a-journey-to-jesus-part-two.html). But I find that I can still relate to the way you think, and I can still appreciate the reasoning for your position on the religion question.

That said, if you’re anything like me when I was an atheist, you may be less informed about the Bible than you think. I remember railing against what I perceived to be inconsistencies and absurdities in the Bible; it was much later that I realized I only had an “on-the-surface” understanding of the text. I’m sure you’ve looked up passages in the Bible here and there, perhaps to cite as a friendly challenge to a Christian friend; unfortunately, selective reading like that can miss the meaning the text is trying to convey. I don’t expect everyone to be Bible scholars, but I do want to encourage you to read the Bible differently.

If you’re one of those skeptics who (like me) has cried “foul” at a biblical passage before fully understanding its intended meaning, you’re in good company. Several brilliant minds have made the same mistake. Here are two that come to mind:

The Cursing of the Fig Tree

In the 1920s, philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell wrote “Why I Am Not a Christian.” He expounded a number of arguments against Christianity. It is apparent that he only skim-read certain passages of the Bible, however, and as such he misunderstood them.

For example, in his section on “The Moral Problem” of Christianity, Russell criticizes Jesus for cursing the fig tree that did not bear fruit. “This is a very curious story,” says Russell, “because it was not the right time of year for figs, and you really could not blame the tree. I cannot myself feel that either in the matter of wisdom or in the matter of virtue Christ stands quite as high as some other people known to history. I think I should put Buddha and Socrates above Him in those respects.”

The story Russell refers to is found in Matthew 21 and Mark 11/12. Jesus enters Jerusalem, goes to a fig tree and sees that it is barren; he curses it, and it withers up. Its significance is not apparent at first because Jesus first uses his actions to illustrate the importance of faith for producing miracles (after all, the people were baffled at how he just did that). He doesn’t reveal the symbolism of his actions until after he delivers a related parable (starting at Matthew 21:33). Jesus concludes, “Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof” (Matthew 21:43).

The point of the story was that it was a warning to the nation of Israel! They had been entrusted with God’s word and they did not do with it as God had desired. The context of the story makes it clear that cursing the fig tree had symbolic significance, but you simply don’t get that from a surface-level reading of the text. Ignoring the symbolism, it just seems like a petty move. Read the parable in Matthew 21:33-43 to understand the concept Jesus was illustrating with the fig tree.

“My God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

It’s one thing for a mathematician to misunderstand the Bible, but you would expect more from someone who specializes in studying early Christianity. Even New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman has misunderstood passages of the Bible by overlooking some of its nuances.

For example, Ehrman said in a public presentation (and likely in his book “Misquoting Jesus” as well; regrettably, I have not yet read it) that there were discrepancies in the gospel accounts of Jesus’ crucifixion. See a clip from that presentation here: http://youtu.be/ipiZnRHnY0s?t=2m52s.

He concludes by summarizing, “In Luke’s gospel, Jesus is completely in control of the situation. He knows what’s going on, he knows why it’s going on, unlike [the gospel of] Mark where he seems to be in doubt.” His reason for believing this is that Luke’s gospel records more of Jesus’ words during the crucifixion, whereas the only quote that Mark records is “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

If that’s all you knew of that quote, it would be easy to get the impression that Jesus felt abandoned by God during his crucifixion. However, Jesus was not lamenting his abandonment – he was quoting scripture which actually declared his status as the victorious Messiah! If you look at Psalm 22 you can read what Jesus had in mind when he said that. It is a psalm that describes one who is unjustly persecuted before being vindicated by the ultimate triumph of God over his enemies! Hardly the statement of one feeling abandoned.

The Jews of Jesus’ day understood what those words meant. It even says in the Book of Mark that the onlookers understood his words to be messianic: “And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elias” (Mark 15:34-35). It is easy to miss this if you’re not willing to look into the intended purpose and context of the text.

Conclusion

Remember, these mistakes were made by well-respected and widely-published scholars! If they can get it wrong, it is certainly possible for a guy with a search engine to get a few things wrong too. Myself included.

I hope this does not come across as a “straw man” argument (ie, these criticisms of the Bible are wrong, therefore all of them are); that’s not what I am trying to communicate. Indeed, there are other criticisms which are far more sophisticated. But I do hope these examples give us pause to think! When you come across a questionable passage in the Bible, do not cry “foul” until you fully understand the context and nuances of the passage. If your criticism is justified, it will have to convey more than a surface-level understanding if you intend to be taken seriously by Christians who know their Bibles.

When you read the Bible, I recommend starting with the New Testament (Why? Because it deals with the life of Jesus and what followed, and Jesus is the way that God reveals himself to humanity – see Matthew 11:27). The Gospel of John is a good place to start because more than any other gospel it was written in very straight-forward language. Try reading it with the intent to understand rather than to find another arrow in your arsenal against Christians. In the end, you will either be better equipped to defend your position, or you will come around to the position that the Bible advocates – that maybe there’s something to this Jesus fellow. Either way, what do you have to lose?

In the next blog post I will continue my series about the Bible. Happy reading!