Category: Salvation

How can I overcome spiritual blindness? Part 3

“His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, ‘He is of age; ask him.’ ” John 9:22-23

As we continue to look at the man born blind whom Jesus healed (John 9:1-12), we will discover a third symptom of spiritual blindness. After the parents of this healed man testified that this was their son who was born blind (John 9:20), they would not tell the Pharisees how their blind son gained his sight. They said, “But by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know. He is of age; ask him. He will speak for himself.” (John 9:21). They said nothing about how or by whom he received his sight because they were afraid of being excommunicated from the synagogue. They evade this issue by saying their son was an adult capable of answering for himself.

“22 His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue. 23 Therefore his parents said, ‘He is of age; ask him.’ ” (John 9:22-23). The parents say nothing of Jesus. If these parents allowed their son to beg, then it was unthinkable for them to confess Christ before the Pharisees. Because no one could conduct business with a person who was excommunicated from the synagogue.

The Jews had three types of excommunication:

1. The Nezifah (“reproof”), the mildest formwas applied “when someone had insulted a prominent or learned person. It lasted seven days and the offender could not appear before the one he displeased. He had to retire to his house, speak little, refrain from business and pleasure, and manifest his remorse.” 1

2. The Niddui (“separation), was imposed when “the offender was first publicly warned three times at the regular service in the synagogue. During the period of discipline … (30 days according to the Jerusalem Talmud) no one except the members of his immediate household were permitted to associate with the offender, or sit within four cubits of him, or eat in his company. He had to observe all the laws that pertained to a mourner and could not be counted among the number necessary for the performance of a public religious function.” 2

3. The Barem (“ban”), “was the most rigorous form of excommunication. This extended for an indefinite period during which no one was permitted to teach the offender, work for him, or benefit him in any way. It meant exclusion from the religious community and intercourse with Jewish society.” 3

Whatever form of excommunication was enforced then, the threat was serious enough to keep the parents quiet about the identity of their son’s Healer. This is the third symptom of spiritual blindness – DESIRE THE APPROVAL OF OTHERS AT THE EXPENSE OF THE TRUTH (John 9:21-23). The parents of the former blind man withheld the truth about Jesus as the Christ (Messiah) because they did not want to be excommunicated from the synagogue and lose the opportunity to do business with others. In other words, they wanted the approval of the religious leaders but not the approval of God.

How many people have avoided the truth to please others? Maybe you come from a strong religious background and if you embraced the truth about Jesus Christ, you would suffer persecution from your family and religious community. Believing in a generic God is safe, but confessing Jesus Christ as the Messiah-God will bring opposition ranging from ridicule and mockery, to possible torture and death.

The sad part of this is people can end up in hell because they sought to preserve their own lives and livelihood like the parents of the man born blind instead of seeking the truth about Jesus Christ. Let’s put this in perspective. Would you rather avoid temporary sufferings on earth by rejecting Jesus Christ and then experience eternal punishment and torment in the lake of fire after you die or would you rather endure temporary sufferings on earth now by believing in Jesus Christ for eternal life to possess eternal bliss and joy in heaven with Jesus after you die? Is your comfort now more important than your comfort in eternity? Many people will be separated from God forever in the lake of fire because they sought the approval of people instead of seeking the truth about Jesus Christ. What will you choose?

The Bible says, “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” (John 3:36). Heaven and hell are in the balance my friends. If you do not believe or trust in Christ alone as your only hope of heaven simply to avoid suffering on earth now, you will regret this forever as you suffer torment in the lake of fire. On the other hand, if you will transfer all your trust onto Jesus Christ, Who died for your sins and rose from the dead, for His gift of everlasting life now, you will enjoy Jesus’ presence forever in a perfect and problem-free place called heaven.

If you are a believer in Jesus, it is possible to have a reluctance to express that faith publicly for fear of persecution. For example, many of the ruling Pharisees had saving faith but were afraid to express that faith to others because they loved the approval of people more than God’s approval: “42 Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.” (John 12:42-43).

Does this sound familiar to you? We do not want to speak up for Christ because we are afraid of what people will think or do to us. When we refuse to openly tell others about Jesus’ saving grace, we are no longer walking in the light. We are hiding in the darkness because we are ashamed of the precious cleansing blood of Jesus Christ (I John 1:7; 2:22-23; 4:15). When we turn away from God to please people, we are telling God, “I don’t want Your praise, Father. I don’t need it!” In other words, we are out of fellowship with God (I John 4:15).

It is important to understand that confessing Christ before others is not a condition for receiving eternal life. Only believing in Jesus is necessary for salvation from hell (John 3:14-16, 36; 5:24; Acts 16:31; Ephesians 2:8-9). God can see our faith in Christ alone apart from any good works or outward manifestation (Romans 3:21-4:5; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:4-7). But confessing Christ before others is necessary to grow in our Christian lives.

Romans 10:9-10 is referring to believing in your heart “unto righteousness” which is justification before God (Romans 3:21-5:9a) and confessing with your mouth for salvation from the present-day wrath of God (Rom. 1:16-32; 5:9-10) which is sanctification or growing in the Christian life (Rom. 5:9b-8:39). Failure to confess Christ before others now, will result in the loss of eternal rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ, particularly, the loss of ruling with Christ in the world to come (Matthew 10:32-42; 2 Corinthians 5:8-11; 2 Timothy 2:12). 

Let’s make every day count for eternity. As a Christian, live for the audience of One, Jesus Christ, and He will make your life eternally worthwhile (Colossians 3:23-24; Revelation 22:12).

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for reminding me that my choices now will determine what my eternity will be like. The most important decision anyone can make is what they will do with You, Lord Jesus. Will they believe in You for Your gift of everlasting life and enjoy eternity with You in heaven or will they choose not to believe in You and suffer torment forever separated from You in the lake of fire!?! I beg of You, my Lord and my God, to remove the blinders from those who are more concerned about their comfort on earth than about their comfort for eternity. Help them to believe that You, Jesus, are the Christ, the Son of God, that believing they may have eternal life in Your name alone. For those of us who believe in You, Jesus, please enable us to live for Your approval and not the approval of people. In Your everlasting name I pray. Amen.

ENDNOTES:

1. J. Carl Laney, Moody Gospel John Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1992), pp. 177-178.

2. Ibid, p. 178.

3. Ibid.

How can I overcome opposition to the truth about Jesus? Part 5

“Jesus said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.’ ” John 8:58

So far we have learned that to overcome opposition to the truth about Jesus we must…

– Analyze Christ’s opponent’s accusations with God’s Word (John 8:48-49)

– Aim for God the Father’s approval (John 8:50)

– Ask those who oppose Christ to believe in His promise of eternal life (John 8:51-53)

– Appeal to our relationship with God A (John 8:54-55)

The fifth and final way we can overcome opposition to the truth about Jesus is to… AMPLIFY JESUS’ CLAIMS (John 56-59). Earlier Jesus’ unbelieving audience said to Him, “Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. Who do You make Yourself out to be?’” (John 8:53). Jesus will now reveal to them how much greater He is than Abraham and all the prophets. “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” (John 8:56).

Their father Abraham had a preview of Jesus’ “day.” On more than one occasion, Abraham encountered the preincarnate Jesus Christ (Genesis 15:1-21; 17:1-22; 18:1-33). When Abraham offered up his beloved son, Isaac (Genesis 22:1-18), he received an object lesson of Christ’s coming death and resurrection. Hebrews 11:17-19 informs us, “17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18 of whom it was said, ‘In Isaac your seed shall be called,’ 19 concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.” Abraham was willing to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, because he believed God could raise him from the dead. Hence, the physical ancestor of Jesus’ critics, Abraham, looked forward by faith to Jesus’ death and resurrection when he offered up Isaac. He rejoiced in anticipation of Jesus fulfilling the promise to him in Genesis 12:3, “And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Jesus is claiming to have fulfilled what Abraham looked forward to.

Christ’s critics’ overlook the fact that Jesus is God and say, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” (John 8:57). “A man not yet fifty years old could not have been seen by Abraham.” This does not mean Jesus was close to fifty years of age. Luke tells us that Jesus was thirty years old when He began His ministry (Luke 3:23) and it only lasted about three and one-half years. The main point of Christ’s critics’ is that it was unthinkable to suggest that Abraham could have seen Christ’s “day”since over two thousand years separated these two men.

Christ responds to their skepticism with one of His most profound claims to be God. “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” (John 8:58). The verb, “was” (genesthai), is in the aorist tense and means “entrance into existence.” The verb translated, “I AM” (eimi), is in  the present tense and means, “continuous existence.” Jesus is saying, “Before Abraham came in to being, I eternally was, am, and will ever be.” Jesus could have said, “Before Abraham was, I was.” That would simply have been a claim of preexistence. But Jesus did not say that. What He said was very clear. Jesus was not only claiming to have existed before Abraham two thousand years ago, but He was also claiming to be the eternal “I AM.”

When Moses asked God his name so that he could tell the Israelites who had sent him to them, “God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ And He said, ‘Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” (Exodus 3:14). Thus, Jesus identified himself as the God who had spoken to Moses. Jesus is the One who redeemed Moses and Israel out of Egypt! “I AM” is an emphatic form of speech and could not be normally employed in ordinary conversation. Jesus was claiming to be the Self-existent God. That is an amazing assertion. But it simply confirms what John has already said, “The Word [Jesus Christ – 1:14, 17] was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1).

Many attempts have been made to describe eternity. One such attempt states “imagine a steel ball the size of the earth. The amount of time it would take an ant to walk around the earth so many times to wear a groove through to the point of cutting the ball in half” is only a fraction of eternity. Jesus said, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.” (Revelation 1:8). Jesus is without beginning and without end because He is the eternal “I AM.” To be in a personal relationship with an eternal God, we must receive His eternal life. We do this by believing in Him. Jesus said, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:14-15). If we want to live forever with God the Son, Jesus Christ, we must receive His forever life by believing in Him alone (not our prayers, religion, or good life), for His free gift of everlasting life and a future home in heaven.

The Jews’ response to Christ’s claim is telling: “Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.” (John 8:59). To the Jews this was blasphemy, meaning they understood Jesus to claim to be God. Thus, they prepared to stone Christ in accordance with Leviticus 24:16. Ironically the Jews were not willing to stone an adulteress (John 8:9), but now they were willing to stone their Messiah-God (John 8:59)!

In May of 2015, when I was in northern Mindanao of the Philippines, we did some house-to-house evangelism in a neighborhood close to my host family’s church. Two of the women we shared with were Jehovah Witnesses. When they tried to persuade us that Jesus never claimed to be God, I pointed them to John 8:59, and asked them, “Why did the Jews want to stone Jesus?” They paused and just stared at me. When they would not answer my question, I answered it for them. “They took up stones to throw at Jesus because they understood His claim to be God. That is what blasphemy means. If the Jews could understand that Jesus claimed to be God, why can’t you?” Again, they were silent. I then said to them, “You are not able to understand and accept Jesus’ claim because you do not have God the Holy Spirit to give you that understanding. Jesus loves you and wants to give you everlasting life. He simply asks you to believe in Him for His free gift and He will save you forever from your sins and come to live inside you through His Spirit.”

When the Jews took up stones to throw at Jesus we are told, “but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.” (John 8:59b). The word “hid” is in the passive voice and means “was hidden.” Christ was protected by His Father. It was not the Father’s time yet for His Son to die. The Light of the world now “went out of the temple” leaving His countrymen behind to go to people in general, represented by the man born blind (John 9).

I am reminded of the Civil War General “Stonewall” Jackson who received his nickname at the First Battle of Manassas on July 21, 1861, by Confederate General Bernard Bee. Inspired by Jackson’s courage in the face of the enemy, Bee called out to his men to inspire them: “Look, men! There is Jackson standing like a stone wall!” Regarding his faith in God, Jackson said it mattered not if he were exposing himself to danger in battle or cowering in bed, when God’s chosen time came for him to die, he would die and not until then. His courage was based upon this belief in God’s timing for him to die. Until that time came, no one could kill him. It was this bravery that compelled his men to follow their leader into battle.

Likewise, until God says it is time for a Christian to go home to be with the Lord Jesus in heaven, no one can take his or her life. Knowing this, can give believers great courage when faced with opposition to the truth about Jesus – the Eternal I AM.

Lord William Russell knew this truth about the Lord Jesus Christ very well. When on the scaffold about to be beheaded, he took his watch from his pocket and gave it to Dr. Burnett, who was attending him, and said, “My timepiece may be of service to you. I have no further occasion for it. My thoughts are fixed on eternity.” Knowing the Eternal, I AM – Jesus Christ –  prepares us for eternity.

Are you ready to face death? Do you have peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1)? If not, you can receive the forever life of Jesus Christ, the Eternal I AM, right now by believing His promise, “that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16). If you now understand and believe His promise, you can tell Him this through prayer.

Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, I now understand that You are the Eternal I AM Who was, is, and will ever be. You are so much greater than Abraham and all the prophets from Adam to John the Baptist. I now realize that I have sinned against You with my thoughts, words, and actions. I cannot save myself to enter Your heaven. I believe You died for all my sins on a cross and rose from the dead. You are alive today! Lord Jesus, I am now believing or trusting in You alone (not my religion, my good life, or my prayers) to forgive all my sins and give me Your eternal life that never ends and can never be lost. Thank You, Jesus, for the complete forgiveness and never ending life I now have. Thank You for the future home I will have in Your heaven. Please give me the courage to share this wonderful news with all who will listen. In Your name. Amen.

How can I overcome my sinful addictions? – Part 1

“As He spoke these words, many believed in Him. Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him…” John 8:30-31a

Jill was sixteen and was experiencing some troubles at home. She got involved on the internet and met this seemingly neat guy in a chat room. She left home, moved in with this guy in Toronto and was provided with drugs that made her feel so good. He turned out to be a pimp and soon she was selling her body on the busy street corners of Canada’s largest city. Parents and friends pleaded for her to come back home so they could all make a new start. But, she shot back, “look, this is a free country — I can do what I want.” Was she really free or had she become a slave to a pimp and to drugs?

Barry was a forty-year old guy — married for seventeen years with three kids. He found a secretary in the office who really understood him. She was young, vivacious and seemed to be so interested in his jokes, ideas, and activities. You probably know the rest of the story — he left his wife to move in with the new love of his life. Among many others, the pastor and the district elder tried to talk some sense into him. His response was, “Look, I am free to do what I want.” Was he really free or had he become a slave to lust, to being pampered? Was he exercising his freedom or his bondage?

This is relevant to all of us because all of us are enslaved to sin to some degree. We all have sinful addictions… patterns in our lives. Jesus does not use the word “addiction,” but He describes it when He says, “Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.” (John 8:34b). A sinful addiction is a repeated yielding to sinful behaviors over a period of time. Slavery is being so controlled by something that you view it as your master. This applies to all of us, doesn’t it? All of us can have patterns of thought, speech, feelings, and behaviors that are so dominant that we see them as our master.

For example, we may have patterns of thinking that are not pleasing to the Lord and we know it – but we continually go there with our minds. God has a certain way He wants us to think about trials, our enemies, our possessions, future, and our lives, but we keep drifting away from the way God wants us to think to a more self-destructive way of thinking.

As you read this article, your mind may be swirling down into distress. You are so used to doing it that you find yourself doing it even though you don’t want to do it. You may be enslaved to anger, bitterness, worry, despair, or even self-abuse where you continually beat yourself up for being human. Your life may be swallowed up in self-pity or lust, pornography, worry, and you may not be able to sleep at night because you are so consumed with fear and worry. You are enslaved to these things.

The true definition of freedom is, “being able to be all that God meant for you to be.” Don’t you long for that? To feel fulfilled, to be able to do all that is possible for you to do and be in Christ – that is freedom. That is what we will explore in this part of the gospel of John. We are going to discover how to overcome our sinful addictions; how to experience true freedom in Christ.

The first way I can overcome my sinful addictions is when I am CONVINCED THAT JESUS ALONE CAN SAVE ME (John 8:30-31a). At the end of the Feast of Tabernacles many Jews believed in Jesus. “30 As He spoke these words, many believed in Him. 31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him…” (John 8:30-31a). The first step to overcoming our addictions is coming to know Jesus Christ as our Savior.

You will never find lasting freedom from your addictions until you examine the evidence that Jesus is who He claims to be. You must believe Him first, and that means examining the evidence. Hundreds of thousands of people reject Jesus without ever examining the evidence for who He is. That is why the gospel of John was written. “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” (John 20:31). The only condition for eternal life is simply believing in Christ alone for it. Obviously, then if you want to be free from addictions, to be all God wants you to be, you must trust in Christ alone as your only way to heaven. Not trust in Christ plus your good works to get you to heaven. But trust in Christ alone.

And the moment you do, the eternal Son of God comes to live inside of you through His Holy Spirit (John 7:38-39; Galatians 2:20). If you don’t have Jesus Christ in your life, the only changes in your life will be superficial. You may read your Bible, pray, and go to church or counseling, but you are not going to experience lasting freedom from your addictions without Christ in your life! Only Christ has the power to defeat sin in your life. Next time, we will learn more about the road to freedom from our addictions.

Prayer: Father God, my life was once dominated by sin. Over and over again, I promised myself I would never go to those dark places again, but I did. I thought I could overcome sinful patterns in my life by trying harder. But I could not. I felt so guilty and ashamed. I tried to keep it a secret. But that only made things worse. Thank You for revealing Yourself to me through Your Son, Jesus Christ. When Jesus came into my life the moment I believed in Him for His gift of everlasting life, I had hope for the first time that I could find freedom from the very things that enslaved me. Thank You, my Lord and my God, for that hope which provided the foundation for my road to freedom. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Christ’s clarity in a confused world – Part 1

“If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” John 7:37b-38

Christian author and evangelist, Larry Moyer, writes, “Some years ago, a commuter train stalled on the tracks moments before a freight train was due to arrive. A conductor ran to flag down the approaching train, and the passengers were assured that there was no need for worry. As they began to relax, the freight train suddenly came bearing down upon them.

“The engineer of the freight train narrowly escaped death by jumping just before the impact. He later testified in court why he had not stopped: ‘I saw a man waving a warning flag, but it was yellow. I thought he just wanted me to slow down.’ Examining the flag in question explained the confusion. The flag had once been red, but long exposure to the sun and weather had turned it a dirty yellow color. The cause of the crash can be stated in one sentence: The message was not clear.” Larry Moyer, Free And Clear: Understanding & Communicating God’s Offer of Eternal Life [Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1997], p. 13.) Confusion can destroy lives both now and in eternity.

In a remarkable book published some years ago, Canon Roger Lloyd, an archdemon instructs on an ancient and effective piece of Satanic strategy, “Insert yourself into the simple situations which call for plain and obvious duties and complicate them and complicate them again until at last no one involved in them can make sense of the confusion.” (http://www.biblia.work/sermons/ confusion-2). 

Satan’s strategy is to confuse the world about the identity of Jesus Christ to prevent Him from becoming more well known. We are going to study Christ’s clarity in a confused world in John 7:37-52. First, we will look at CHRIST’S CLARITY ABOUT ETERNAL SATISFACTION (John 7:37-39). The first thingJesus taught about eternal satisfaction is that it is free.

On each of the first seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles the priest led a joyous parade from the Temple area down to the pool of Siloam where a golden pitcher would be filled with water. The priest, leading the procession, would then return to the Temple where he poured the water into a silver basin by the altar of burnt offering. This was accompanied by the recitation of Isaiah 12:3: “Therefore you will joyously draw water from the springs of salvation.” This ceremony symbolized God’s grace in providing water for the Israelites when they were wandering in the wilderness and His provision of refreshment and cleansing in the messianic age to come. It also served as a confession of thirst and an expression of prayer for autumn rains after the long, dry season.

“On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out saying…” (John 7:37a). The “last day” was the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles. On the eighth day, this water ceremony did not take place which makes Christ’s offer for living water even more amazing. Jesus “stood.” Rabbis usually sat when teaching their disciples, but Jesus stood because of the importance of what He was about to say and so He could be seen and heard better when He gave this marvelous invitation. When Christ cried out this invitation, He was claiming to be the fulfillment of all that the Feast of Tabernacles anticipated. He announces that He was the One, the Messiah, Who could provide Messianic blessings. Jesus’ words compared His own Person to the rock in the wilderness that supplied the needs of the Israelites (cf. Exodus 17:1-7;  I Corinthians 10:4).

There is only one prerequisite to Jesus’ invitation. “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.” (John 7:37b). “If anyone thirsts…” Only thirsty people drink. God has created us with a built-in need for Him. We are all born with a thirst for God — a longing to know God. For some, there is a deep thirst for significance. They want to feel like they are important and belong. That they are somebody. People whom society overlooks, those who are not wealthy, or handsome, or have strong personalities, thirst to be regarded as important. Some are looking for power – the ability to accomplish things. Jesus says to such. “If that is what you want, come to Me. Enter a personal relationship with Me,” Jesus says, “And your thirst for power and significance will be satisfied forever.”

Physical thirst is the most powerful drive known to man. The sex drive can be contained, you can even deny satisfying hunger for weeks at a time, but one thing you cannot leave unsatisfied is thirst. It becomes a driving force that takes over all your life and makes you think of nothing else but satisfying it.

Like the man crawling through the Sahara Desert when he is approached by another man riding on a camel. As the rider approaches, the crawling man whispers through his parched lips, ”Water … please. Can you give … water?” “I’m sorry,” replies the man on the camel, “I don’t have any water with me. But I’d be delighted to sell you a necktie.” “Necktie?” whispers the man. “I need water!” “They’re only four dollars apiece.” “I need water.” “Okay, okay, two for seven dollars.” “Please! I need water!” the man exclaims. “I don’t have any water, all I have are ties,” replies the salesman, as he heads off into the distance.

By now the man has lost all track of time, crawling through the desert seemingly for days. Finally, nearly dead, with clothes tattered and skin peeling under the relentless sun, he comes to an oasis with a restaurant. Summoning his last bit of strength, he staggers to the door and confronts the headwaiter. “Water … can I get … water,” the dying man pleads. “I’m sorry, sir. Neckties required.” I know – bad joke.

But have you ever really been thirsty? When you are thirsty, there is not much else you can think about, like appropriate clothing attire for fine dining. When you are thirsty, you cannot get it out of your mind. It is all you think about. That is what Jesus means. If you feel yourself driven, wanting something, restless and thirsty and longing for satisfaction, then His invitation is, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.” (John 7:37b). Jesus says, “If anyone…”Regardless of your background, education, ethnicity, intelligence, or social status, Jesus says to come to Him for eternal satisfaction and it is free. You don’t have to pay a cent. You don’t have to work for it. You simply come to Christ as you are.

The second thing Jesus tells us about eternal satisfaction is that it is by faith. “He who believes in Me…” (John 7:38a). The way to come to Christ is by faith alone apart from any good works. The word “believe” (pisteuō) means to  be convinced that something is true and then trust or depend on that something.

For example, years ago, three men were fishing on the Broadback River in northern Quebec. A violent storm arose and gale force winds overturned their canoe. The men knew they couldn’t save themselves. They noticed the large ice chest that had been in the canoe now floating on the water. They were convinced the ice chest could hold them up, so they pulled the ice chest underneath them, rested their weight upon it and trusted it to save them. And it did.

What Jesus is saying is we are to come to Him just as we are – as sinners, understanding that He died in our place to take our punishment and rose again, so that all we must do is believe or trust in Him alone for the free gift of salvation. The moment we trust in Christ alone for salvation, “As the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (John 7:38b).

What “Scripture” is Jesus thinking of? I agree with Zane Hodges who argues that it refers to Ezekiel’s vision of the future Millennial Temple in Ezekiel 47 (Zane C. Hodges, “Rivers of Living Water – John 7:37-39,” Bibliotheca Sacra 136:543 (July-September 1979):239-48). “Then he brought me back to the door of the temple; and there was water, flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east…south of the altar… it was a river that I could not cross; for the water was too deep… And it shall be that every living thing that moves, wherever the rivers go, will live.” (Ezekiel 47:1, 5, 9).  Ezekiel is talking about the Temple of God in the future 1,000-year reign of Christ on the earth.

There is a link between the altar and the water ceremony which reminds us of Ezekiel 47. The waters issue forth at the right side of the altar of the Millennial Temple and the priest would pour water on the right of the altar during the Feast of Tabernacles.

Also, the waters of Ezekiel’s prophecy have similar properties as the rivers Jesus speaks of, “And it shall be that every living thing that moves, wherever the rivers go, will live.” (Ezekiel 47:9).  Those waters are properly described as living waters. This will be a life-giving river that flows from the Temple in the future kingdom that will bring blessings to all it reaches.

If the Millennial Temple was to become the source of living, healing waters, could the destiny of those who believe in Christ be any different? Jesus tells us that when we come to Him as we are and believe in Him as our only hope of heaven, out of our innermost being will flow rivers (not just a river, but “rivers”) of living water. The great thing about what Jesus offers is that it will never run dry. We will always have more than we need. When we are filled with the water Jesus offers, it does not stop with us. It gushes out of us! It keeps coming and touches those that we touch. We become, pipes, so to speak – pipes for Jesus – that in effect, allow Christ’s living water to flow through us to others.  We are former thirsty people who now show thirsty people how to get a drink. God wants these rivers of living water to flow out of our lives to bless others.

So the third thing that we see about the eternal satisfaction that Jesus freely offers, is that it focuses on others. When we come to Jesus and He more than satisfies our spiritual thirst, we start to show concern for others. The satisfaction that we found in Christ leads us to reach out to needy people around us and to minister to them. Why not be a pipe for Jesus and let His blessing flow through you as you step out in faith to share the gospel with those who don’t have Christ in their lives? Be the channel through which the unsaved can discover how much God loves them and wants to bless them with eternal life. God saved you so that you can become a blessing to others as His rivers of living water flow through you to satisfy the need of other people.

John identifies what the living water is. “But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” (John 7:39). The living water is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit would not be given until after Jesus was glorified, that is, after His death, resurrection and return to the Father in heaven. This giving of the Holy Spirit took place on the day of Pentecost (cf. John 15:26; 16:7; Acts 1:4-5, 8; 2:1-13; I Corinthians 12:13). Jesus is announcing that the Holy Spirit would come on believers in a new way, namely, to regenerate (John 3:3-8; cf. Titus 3:4-7), baptize (John 1:33; Acts 1:4-5; I Corinthians 12:13), indwell (John 14:16-17; I Corinthians 6:19), seal (Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30), and empower them (cf. Acts 1:8).

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I thank You for Your clarity in the midst of a very confused world. You alone are the Messiah-God!!! You created me with a spiritual thirst that only You can quench. I once tried to quench my thirst through the things of this world, including religion. But they only left me more dissatisfied. Thank You for freely giving me eternal satisfaction the moment I believed in You. I now have rivers of living water flowing through my inner being which can never run dry. As I continue to abide in You and Your Word, Your rivers of living water can flow through me to others who are searching for Your eternal satisfaction. Please grant me the boldness and clarity to proclaim Your eternal satisfaction to those who would otherwise die forever in confusion. Thank You for hearing my prayer my Lord and my God. In Your holy and powerful name. Amen.

How do I stay focused on what is important to God? Part 3

“He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.” John 7:18

So far in our discussion about how to stay focused on what is important to God, we have learned to avoid hiding behind foolish stereotypes (John 7:14-16) and to ascertain God’s will by doing it (John 7:17). Today we learn to ASSESS THOSE WHO TEACH US (John 7:18-23). We all have teachers. We should have those who disciple us. However, we must be careful to whom we entrust ourselves. In Matthew 7:15, Jesus warns us to watch out for false prophets or teachers who are wolves in sheep’s clothing. Outwardly, they may appear to be Christians. They may be very gentle, kind, loving and quite popular, but if they are teaching a message that is contrary to Jesus’ message, they are false teachers and they are to be avoided.

Jesus gives us a clear warning – “He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory.” (John 7:18a). Jesus gives us several things to look for in a teacher:

1.  Who is the teacher seeking to glorify? Himself or God the Father? Jesus sought to glorify the One who sent Him by teaching the doctrine His Father gave Him (John 7:16; cf. 5:19-20; 12:49-50). Jesus did not seek His own glory. What Jesus taught was always true. What Jesus taught was always consistent with what His Father taught. When a person advances the ideas of another person, it glorifies his teacher rather than himself. However, when he advances his own ideas instead of his teacher’s, it dishonors his teacher and glorifies himself. When we distort or mishandle God’s Word, we are seeking our own glory instead of God’s.

For the sake of illustration, let’s say my earthly father told me to invite people to meet him for a free meal at Mullets Restaurant in Des Moines at 8 am this Saturday by using the Dart Bus local route 6, but I told everyone I knew to meet him there at 8 am this Saturday by taking the Dart Bus route 52 because it is a more popular route (which does not go to that destination). Imagine the consequences!

First, no one would make it to the right destination because I had not communicated my father’s directions correctly. Second, all of them would miss out on a free meal. Third, they would think less of my father for sending them on a bus that took them to a destination where he was not present, thus wasting their time. By failing to communicate my father’s message accurately, I would damage his reputation and cause many people to miss out on his blessings. In addition, it would draw much attention (albeit negative) to myself from both my father and those I invited. On the other hand, if I had communicated his message accurately, many would enjoy a free meal and look up to my father for being so generous and gracious.

This is much more than semantics or splitting hairs. God has chosen specific words to communicate how to spend eternity with Him in Heaven (cf. John 3:16; Acts 16:31; Ephesians 2:8-9; et al.). His word is truth (John 17:17), not our opinions. When we distort or mishandle His saving message by inserting unclear clichés such as “give your life to Christ,” “invite Jesus into your heart,” “surrender to Christ” instead of the words Jesus taught about how to obtain eternal life (believe or faith), we do not please the Lord even if that is our sincere desire. In addition, we are also making it easier for people to arrive at the wrong eternal destination. However, when we tell people the same condition for obtaining eternal life that Jesus taught (believe in Him – John 3:15-18; 5:24; 6:40, 47; 7:38-39; 11:25-26; et al.), we are glorifying Jesus Christ and the Father who taught Him, and we are giving lost people the Good News they desperately need to hear.

2. Are they telling the truth about Christ and our need for Him? Jesus claimed something about Himself that could not be said about any other person – “But He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.” (John 7:18b). Jesus is the sinless Son of God. He is fully God and fully human. He never said, did, or thought anything wrong. Even His motives were sinless. He always sought to glorify His Father. Jesus’ listeners were the opposite of Him. They were sinners. “Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill Me?” (John 7:19). This is true of all of us. None of us can keep all of God’s laws. “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.” (James 2:10). No matter how well you keep the rest of God’s laws, if you fail at one point, you are considered a lawbreaker and deserving of eternal punishment. And the Bible tells us that all of us fall short of His glory or perfection (Rom. 3:23).  

So maybe you have never murdered anyone or committed adultery, but have you ever misused God’s name or have you ever failed to love Him more than anyone or anything else? Our innocence in one area does not excuse us in other areas. All of us are sinners and sinners need a Savior. Instead of looking to Jesus to save them, Jesus’ listeners were seeking to kill Him. If a teacher depreciates the Person and work of Christ (denies He is fully God who took the punishment for all our sin and rose from the dead) and denies their own sinfulness, and therefore denies the need to trust in Christ alone for salvation, they are not from God and should be avoided.

First Timothy 6:3-5 tells us: “3 If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, 4 he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, 5 useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself.” In other words, there is a fungus among us and they need to be avoided. If a church or denomination ever goes down this slippery slope of depreciating the Person and work of Christ by denying His deity or distorting His gospel, it will be decision time. Will we follow Jesus and His teachings or will we follow people’s opinions and traditions?

We are living in an age similar to what Paul describes: “For there is going to come a time when people won’t listen to the truth but will go around looking for teachers who will tell them just what they want to hear.” (2 Timothy 4:3 Living Bible). We need to ask ourselves when we listen to teachers at church, on TV, the radio, the internet or even in a book, “Are these teachers telling us the truth, (which is sometimes painful) or are they telling us what they think we want to hear? Are they teaching salvation by grace through faith alone in Christ alone or are they teaching a faith plus gospel?” If a teacher is focused on glorifying God, if they seek to get across what God has said so that people might be delivered from sin’s penalty and obtain the free gift of eternal life simply by believing in Jesus alone who is the true God and eternal life, then you can trust that kind of teacher.

3. Are they living by a double standard? Instead of admitting their desire to murder Jesus, the crowd lies: “The people answered and said, ‘You have a demon. Who is seeking to kill You?’ ” (John 7:20). Because Christ’s grace conflicts with their legalistic understanding, they accuse Jesus of having a demon. “21 Jesus answered and said to them, ‘I did one work, and you all marvel. 22 Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 23 If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?’ ” (John 7:21-23). The religious leaders accused Jesus of violating the Sabbath by healing a man who had been lame for 38 years (see John 5). However, these same people did not feel it was a violation of the Sabbath to circumcise a child on the Sabbath. According to their logic, it was right to make one part of the body right before God, but not the entire body. Their logic was falling apart. Jesus did more for that lame man than the religious leaders did for the boy who was circumcised. They thought their act was consistent with what God desired but they couldn’t see that with Jesus. That’s a double standard.

When I was having a discussion with another pastor a few years ago, he said to me that if I was humble, I would agree with his understanding of a particular passage of Scripture. And I did agree with him about that passage. And then I asked him if he was open to understanding another passage in a way that may be new to him, and he said, “No.” This same person, who was ready to accuse me of being proud for not agreeing with his understanding of Scripture, turned around and was very close-minded to a different interpretation of Scripture. That kind of double standard inhibits growth. If we are not teachable and open to learning new insights from God’s Word, we are going to remain spiritually stunted like the legalistic Jews that Jesus was encountering.

If we are going to stay focused on what is important to God, we must avoid hiding behind foolish stereotypes (John 7:14-16), ascertain God’s will by doing it (John 7:17), and assess those who teach us (John 7:18-23). If the person who instructs us does not magnify the Person and work of Jesus Christ for the glory of God, then we are to avoid his or her teaching so we may remain focused on what is important to God.

Prayer: Lord God, help me to be wise in terms of whom I place myself under to receive instruction. Also, please enable me to resemble You in my teaching of others. May all of us who teach be consistent in teaching what You taught so You are most glorified and people will be most satisfied in You. Help us to magnify the Person and work of Jesus Christ. He is fully God and fully Man Who paid our sin debt in full so all anyone must do to have everlasting life is believe in Him alone. If other Christians depart from sound doctrine to follow those who teach what they want to hear, help us to remain faithful to Your words which give eternal life. Forgive us for closing our hearts off to Your instruction. Please give us an open heart that longs to gain new insights from Your Word so we may continue to focus on what matters most to You – Your glory and Your gospel. In Jesus’ name. Amen.  

How can I experience eternal satisfaction? Part 3

“Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 6:54

Not only can I experience eternal satisfaction by comprehending that Jesus is the Son of God (John 6:41-42) and by coming to Jesus through the Word (John 6:43-45), but also when I am …

CONVINCED THAT JESUS GIVES ETERNAL LIFE FREELY (John 6:46-54). Jesus said, “46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father. 47 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.” (John 6:46-47). The person who responds favorably to the Father’s drawing will believe in Jesus (cf. John 6:44-45). If we want to receive the ultimate satisfaction, we must believe or trust in Christ alone for His gift of everlasting life. After all, Jesus has seen the Father and has come from Him, so He can be trusted to get us to where the Father lives in Heaven. After all, who knows best how to get to your home? You do because you live there. So who knows better how to get to heaven than Jesus Christ who lives there?

Jesus tells us that the one who believes in Him has everlasting life (John 6:47). The essential element is always belief. We have a tendency, in our human thinking, to make it something more. But belief is not being baptized nor joining a church. Nor is belief praying a prayer nor confessing Christ publicly nor persevering in good works. Belief is simply being convinced that Jesus was speaking the truth and then trusting Him when He said, “he who believes in Me has everlasting life” (John 6:47). The gospel is so clear and simple!

Then Christ says, “48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead.” (John 6:48-49). Because Jesus came from the Father, He is the bread of life. Earlier in John 6, we saw that Jesus’s critics wanted Him to reproduce more food like Moses had. But Jesus points out that manna had limitations. For example, you eat a piece of bread, and you are still going to die regardless of how much nutrition it has. Which goes to show that you really cannot prevent death, even in today’s technological age. You can take a lot of vitamins, or herbs, and be on the best diet or fitness plan, but it makes no ultimate difference. People still die 100% of the time. What Jesus is offering is eternal. Christ alone can offer satisfaction that never ends. 

Jesus continues, “50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” (John 6:50-51). The one who eats what Jesus offers “…shall live forever.” Jesus identifies this bread as His own flesh which He shall give for the world. Christ’s death on the cross explains how He can make the free offer of eternal life to those who believe in Him. This gift is absolutely free because Jesus has already paid for it with His blood.

“The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, ‘How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?’ ” (John 6:52). Instead of trying to understand what Jesus meant, the people mock Christ with this sarcastic question. Jesus has already answered the question they asked, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat,” by saying that He will give His flesh for the life of the world (John 6:51). That can only mean death, and they are troubled by that. Behind their protest is the feeling that their sins are not that bad, that it should not require death to clear up their difficulties.

Many people are right at that point today. They do not want to believe that their problems come from something so bad within themselves that it requires death to cure it. Most people think they are pretty good. They may need a few changes, a few New Year’s resolutions, a little adjustment in behavior, they feel, but they are not that bad. Yet throughout the Bible, in both Old and New Testaments alike, there is this emphasis upon the necessity for blood, for a death in order to cure and deliver us from the evil grip of sin in our lives. This is why the Jews protest Jesus’s words.

“53 Then Jesus said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:53-54). Some churches have misunderstood these verses to apply to the Lord’s Supper (communion) so that when you take the bread and the cup, you are actually eating the flesh and the blood of Jesus. The phrase “eating My flesh and drinking My blood” cannot refer to the Lord’s Supper because: 

1. The Old Testament forbids the consumption of blood (Leviticus  3:17). Jesus would not encourage disobedience.

2.  It would contradict the Bible’s clear teaching that belief in Christ is the only condition for eternal life (John 3:15-18, 36; 4:10-14; 6:27, 29, 35-40, 47; 7:38-39; 11:25-26; 20:31; Acts 16:31; Romans 4:5; Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 2:8-9; I Timothy 1:16;  I John 5:13; etc.). Repeatedly Jesus has taught that eternal life is obtained solely by believing. Why would He wait until now to say, “Oh by the way, you must believe in Me plus partake of communion.” God’s Word does not contradict itself.

3. Nothing in the context suggests that Jesus is addressing the Lord’s Supper. Christ did not institute the Lord’s Supper until a year later (John 13:1-30; cf. Luke 22:1-23).

4. John uses the word “flesh” (sarx) and not “body”(sōma) in John 6:53-54. In all the references to the Lord’s Supper in the New Testament, the word “body” is used, not flesh (Matthew 26:26; Mark 14:22; Luke 22:19; I Corinthians 11:24).

Since the phrase “eating My flesh and drinking My blood” does not refer to the Lord’s Supper, to what does it refer? The phrase “eating My flesh and drinking My blood” refers to personal faith in the Person of Jesus Christ because:

1. The verbs “eat”  (phagēte) and “drink” (piēte) are terms John uses for “believe” (John 4:14; 6:35b, 47, 50, 51, 54, 58). In the context, we are told that eternal life is given to those who “eat” (6:50-51, 54, 58). In John 6:47 Jesus tells us “he who believes in Me has everlasting life.” Since both “eating” and “believing” are the means for obtaining eternal life, they must be synonymous. John 4:14 says that“whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst” and in John 6:35b Jesus tells us that “he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” Since “drinking” and “believing” both quench one’s spiritual thirst, they must be synonymous.

2. The phrase “flesh and blood”is a Hebrew idiom which normally means physical humanity (John 1:14; 6:33, 38, 41-42, 46, 51, 58). It emphasizes that we are to put our faith in Jesus who became flesh and blood without ceasing to be God (John 1:1, 18; 5:17-47; 8:56-59; 10:30-33; 12:44-45; 14:6-11; 20:28, 31).

3. Throughout the gospel of John, the object of one’s faith is the Person of Jesus Christ, Who later died and rose from the dead (John 1:12; 3:15-18, 36; 6:29, 35, 40, 47; 7:38; 8:30; 9:35; 11:25-26; 12:11; 19:1-20:31). A fundamental rule of interpretation is to interpret unclear verses in light of clear verses. So if you are struggling to understand a verse, look at clear verses about the same subject which can help you understand its meaning. For example, when John 6:40 [which is very clear what one must do to have eternal life] is compared to John 6:54 we can see that eating My flesh and drinking My blood refers to believing in the Person of Christ (see diagram 1):

Diagram 1

If the results are the same, then the actions leading to the results must also be the same. Jesus is comparing faith to eating and drinking to demonstrate that it is voluntary. Just as you must choose to eat a piece of bread or drink a cup of water, so you must choose to believe in Christ. And as food goes into your body and is digested and is then assimilated so that it becomes a part of the body, so we must appropriate Christ; that is, we must personally trust in Him alone for the free gift of eternal life in order to receive His life.

A remedy must be accepted by the one who needs it. A doctor capable of performing lifesaving surgery cannot do so until the patient trusts the doctor’s careful hand and climbs up on the operating table. A wealthy person who desires to help out a friend financially cannot do so unless the friend is willing to receive assistance. Likewise, someone who understands that he or she is a sinner and also understands that Christ took his or her punishment on the cross and rose from the grave does not automatically have a right standing with God.

The Bible shows us that a person must believe this truth and receive Christ’s free offer of eternal life, otherwise, Jesus says, “you have no life in you.” (John 6:53b). There are many people in the world searching for “life” in a religious ceremony which cannot give life to them. I was once one of those people. I went to church weekly and participated in communion occasionally only to find myself empty and dissatisfied. It was only when I understood that Jesus was the Son of God through the Bible and was convinced that He alone could freely give me everlasting life, that I had “life in” me, that is, I had a personal relationship with Jesus that gave me satisfaction forever! Hallelujah!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I spent a lot of time searching for satisfaction that lasts forever in the things of this world and in religion, only to find myself more empty and dissatisfied. Thank You for pursuing me in love to begin a personal relationship with You that lasts forever. I praise You for convincing me of my sinfulness so I could see my need to believe in You as a Person and Your finished work on the cross (not some religious ceremony or ritual), so I may have everlasting life. You alone, Jesus, can satisfy my hunger and thirst for immortality. Please use me to share this message of hope with a broken world that is desperately searching for this lasting satisfaction. In Jesus’s name. Amen.

How do we reach the materialistic for Christ? Part 2

“Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.’ ” John 6:29

The second way to minister to the materialistic person is to CORRECT THEIR MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT SALVATION (John 6:28-34). When the people realized that Jesus was talking about something other than physical bread, and He was talking about laboring for that, they said to Him, “Then they said to Him, ‘What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?’ ” (John 6:28). This question is often asked today, almost always by someone who has begun to realize that life has a spiritual dimension to it. It is a religious question: “What can I DO to make God happy? What good works must I do to get to heaven?” This marks a common misconception among materialists today. They think God owes them.

One of the questions God will not ask us in determining if He should let us into heaven is, “How many good works have you done?” Why? “But to him who does not work, but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.” (Romans 4:5). Why doesn’t God accept human works as even a partial payment for our salvation? “Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.” (Romans 4:4). If God accepted us based upon any good work we have done, He would be paying a debt – but God is not in debt to anyone. He doesn’t owe us anything. After all God is perfect and we are not. He is holy and we are sinners. We owe Him.

“Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.’ ” (John 6:29). The Lord Jesus makes an important distinction between “the works” (plural) about which they ask (6:28) and “the work” (singular) God actually requires (6:29). Anyone who believes in Jesus has done “the work” (singular) God requires. Believing in Jesus is a work in the sense that it is an act. But it is a passive work as John 4:10 shows: “Jesus answered and said to her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, “Give Me a drink,” you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.’ ”

Believing in Jesus is not a work in the sense that Paul talks about: “8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Paul is thinking of active works (plural) of obedience to God’s commands, not a passive work whereby we receive a free gift by faith in Christ alone.

The word “faith” means to trust or depend upon. The materialist has always relied on his own abilities and resources to provide for his needs. But now Christ tells him to rely on someone outside of himself to give him the gift of God which (unlike their material possessions), lasts forever.

But the materialist is still thinking about satisfying his own selfish desires: “30 Therefore they said to Him, ‘What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ” (John 6:30-31). The crowd is asking,“Why should we believe in You? Sure, You made more bread and fish, but they come from earth. Manna, though, comes from heaven! Can you top that?” They want just one more proof. They want the evidence that Jesus is better than Moses. When the evidence is in, then they will believe. That is their attitude.

“32 Then Jesus said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” (John 6:32-33). Jesus immediately corrects them. It was God that gave the manna, not Moses. I’m amazed at their interest in manna. Manna tasted very much like corn flakes. Imagine eating corn flakes morning, noon and night for forty years like the Israelites did in the wilderness, and thinking that was wonderful! The word “manna” itself means, “What is it?” Can you imagine eating “What is it?” for forty years, every day, without fail, and then looking back on that as a great experience?

“No,” Jesus said, “You are quite wrong! Moses did not give you that bread. Furthermore, what came in the wilderness was not the true bread from heaven — it was only a picture of the real thing to come. The real bread from heaven is Me! (Jesus says) I came down from heaven to satisfy the spiritual hunger of people forever. The true bread is He who came down from heaven who will give His life (not merely for Israel, as Moses did with the manna), but who will give His life for the whole world. Anybody of any ethnicity at anytime, can find the true bread from heaven.” And by the way, this bread is much better for you and much tastier than corn flakes.

“Then they said to Him, ‘Lord, give us this bread always.’ ” (John 6:34). When the crowd began to understand that Jesus was talking about something better than physical bread they immediately wanted it. Isn’t this true of people all over the world? You cannot go anywhere on earth today without finding people hungry for something more than a full belly and a comfortable home. There is a restlessness in us that cries for more. Jesus recognized this. Everyone in this crowd wanted whatever it was He was offering. They did not understand what it was, but they wanted it.

People are no different today. They sense there is more to life than bread… than working 40-60 hours a week to make payments on a new home or new vehicle. Christ’s example reminds us to confront the materialist’s selfish desires and to correct their misconceptions about salvation so they can believe or trust in Jesus alone for their salvation.

Prayer: Father God, please give me a love for the self-sufficient people of this world. Increase my burden for the materialistic people of my community. I need courage from You to confront their selfish desires and correct their misconceptions about salvation so they can believe or trust in Jesus alone for His gift of everlasting life. So many people in the world today think they can work for their salvation as I once thought. Please use Your Word to convict people of their need for Jesus’s work on the cross, not their own, for salvation. In Jesus’s name. Amen.

Is Jesus Christ equal with God? Part 3

“28 Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29 and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.” John 5:28-29

Jesus not only claims to be equal with God the Father because He is the Son and the Savior, but also because HE IS THE SEPARATOR (John 5:27-30). Jesus will separate believers from unbelievers, and execute judgment on those without eternal life and bless those with eternal life. “…And has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.” (John 5:27). Christ is qualified to judge humanity because as a human being, “the Son of Man,” He can understand the needs and viewpoints of people. Christ knows the pressures and the problems we face, therefore He knows clearly when we have reached the place where we are ready to give up depending on ourselves and are ready to depend on Him alone for eternal life.

“28 Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29 and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.” (John 5:28-29). What a marvelous claim! Jesus says there is an hour coming in history when all the dead – the good and the bad – loving and unloving, murderers, rapists – all, shall come forth from the grave. He is going to empty the cemeteries of the world. Christ will ultimately determine the eternal destiny of all people.

What does “those who have done good” mean? Many people take this verse out of context and make up their own ideas about what it means to “have done good.” Some say if the good you have done in your life outweighs the bad, then God will let you into heaven. But that is not what this verse is saying. This is just a few verses removed from what Jesus said about the gift of eternal life in John 5:24. To“have done good,” of course, means to have heard Jesus’s Word and believed in Him who sent Christ. After a person trusts Christ for eternal life, God looks at their life and sees only the good things they have done, not the evil. How can this be? Because God has no charge against the believer (Romans 8:33). The believer is justified (“declared totally righteous”) of all things based on his or her faith in Christ (Romans 4:5). All our sin has been covered by the goodness of Jesus Christ. We are seen by God as completely holy and perfect because of His grace.

“Those who have done evil” – refers to the person who rejects Christ and remains in the sphere of “death.” This dark circle (see diagram 1) represents the non-Christian’s life filled with the darkness of sin. When God looks at the life of an unbeliever, all He sees are the evil things the unbeliever has done. There is no hint of righteousness in the non-Christian. All their good works, thoughts, and words are stained with sin (Isaiah 64:6). Their condemnation by God is total, just as the believer’s acceptance by God is total. So, when God looks at our lives before we believe in Jesus, all He sees are the bad things we have done.

But the Bible tells us that when a person hears God’s promise of eternal life and believes in Jesus, he is transferred into the sphere of “life” (see diagram 2).  When God looks at our life after we believe in Christ, what does He see? He sees only the blood of His Son and His goodness in our lives. That’s why God can let us into heaven when we die if we have believed in Christ as our Savior.

Some people may object to Jesus’s judgment of the unbeliever. After all, how can a loving God send people to an eternity separated from God? “I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.” (John 5:30). There will be no argument against Jesus’s judgment. No one will be able to complain that it is unfair, because it is the work of both the Father and the Son. Jesus does not judge others independently of the Father. He says, “As I hear, I judge.” Christ’s judgment is based upon what He hears His Father say so that His “judgment is righteous.”  Jesus would never make a judgment that is different from His righteous Father’s.

God the Son who came among us and knows how we feel, is both our Savior and Judge. We decide which He is going to be by the response we make to the truth.  It is Christ’s responsibility to determine a person’s eternal destiny. It is our responsibility to direct people to Christ. Hence, Jesus defends His equality with God the Father by making three claims:

He is the Son

He is the Savior

He is the Separator

Do you see Jesus as He is this moment? John is concerned that we have a correct understanding of who Jesus Christ is. From the very beginning of his gospel, he has told us that the Word (meaning Jesus) was God and that the Word became human flesh without ceasing to be God (John 1:1, 14). Jesus can never be put on a par with Mohammed, Buddha, Mahatma Gandhi, the virgin Mary, Moses or any other religious leader. But the truth is, much of the world has an image of Jesus as a good man with good teachings on how we are to get along with each other. If that were true though, He would never have gotten Himself in trouble, and He definitely would not have been crucified. You see, the facts don’t match up with that line of thinking.

What will you do with Jesus now? Perhaps your life is a mess. You have been trying to run your own life and it keeps getting messier. Are you prepared to meet Christ as a Judge or as your Savior? The only way you can face Him as your Savior is by coming to Him as a sinner, realizing He paid for all your sins on the cross and rose from the dead, and then trusting Him alone to save you. Have you done that? If not, is there anything keeping you from trusting Christ as your Savior right now? If not, simply take Him at His Word when He says, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” (John 5:24).

The moment you hear Jesus’s promise of eternal life and believe in Him for it, you have eternal life. Would you do me a favor? The moment you are convinced you have eternal life after trusting in Jesus, would you let me know because I want to rejoice with you!!! Just send me a message under our “Contact Us” menu.

Prayer: Father, please make an eternal difference today by convincing those without Christ to trust in Him alone for the gift of eternal life. Thank You, Father… Please help those of us who know Christ to make Him known to others with our lips and our lives. In Jesus’s name. Amen.

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Does Matthew 25:31-46 teach you must do good works to get to heaven?

“Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into everlasting punishment.’” Matthew 25:45-46a

Some religious people teach that the Judgment of the Sheep and Goats (Matthew 25:31-46) says you must give to the needy to be saved from everlasting punishment. But this understanding ignores the context of the passage (Matthew 24:1-25:46) and contradicts the clear teaching of the New Testament about salvation by grace through faith alone in Christ alone apart from any good works (John 1:12; 3:15-16, 36; 4:10-14; 5:24; 6:40, 47; 11:25-27; 20:31; Acts 16:31; Romans 6:23b; 4:5; Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 1:13-14; 2:8-9; I Timothy 1:16; I John 5:13; Revelation 22:17; et al.). Matthew 25:31-46 is about the judgment of people who lived during the Tribulation period after the Rapture of the Church (Matthew 25:31-32; cf. Revelation 6-19).

The “sheep and the goats” in this passage represent Gentiles (“all the nations” – 25:32) who survive the Tribulation period and will be judged by King Jesus according to their response to Jesus’ Jewish “brethren” who are the 144,000 evangelists during the last half of the Tribulation period (Matthew 25:35-40, 42-45; Revelation 7:1-8; 14:1-5). Since no one who takes the mark of the beast gets saved during the Tribulation period (cf. Revelation 14:9-11), no unbeliever will help the Jewish evangelistic “brethren” of Christ. The Gentile believers who survive the Tribulation physically have endured faithfully for Christ (Matthew 24:13-14, 22) and helped His Jewish brethren, so they will “inherit” the kingdom or reign with Christ in His Kingdom on earth (Matthew 25:34; cf. 19:27-29; 2 Timothy 2:12; Revelation 2:25-27).

The New Testament distinguishes “entering” the kingdom from “inheriting” the kingdom. We enter the kingdom of God by faith alone in Christ alone (Matthew 18:3; 19:14; Mark 10:15; John 3:5, 15-16), but we “inherit” the kingdom of God through faithful, sacrificial service and suffering for Christ (Matthew 19:27-29; Romans 8:17b; I Corinthians 6:9-10; Galatians 5:19-21b; Ephesians 5:3-5; Colossians 3:23-24; Hebrews 1:2, 5, 9, 13-14; 6:12, 17; 9:15; Revelation 2:25-27).

For example, entering my house is different than inheriting my house. Entrance into my house is free. But if you want to inherit or possess my house, you must pay for it. When you pay for it, then you are entitled to certain privileges or authority. When you inherit my house, you can decide how to arrange the furniture and what colors to paint on the walls. But if you just enter my house, you don’t have those privileges. The same is true in the spiritual realm. You enter the kingdom of God through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. But you will not have all the privileges or authority that come with inheriting the kingdom. You must earn those privileges through faithful service to Jesus.

The “goats” in Matthew 25:31-46 represent unbelieving Gentiles who are judged and cast into the everlasting fire of hell. The “sheep” represent faithful believing Gentiles who will enter “into eternal life” and be transformed because you cannot “inherit” or rule in the Kingdom without being a transformed believer (Matthew 25:46; cf. I Corinthians 15:50). So this passage is not teaching that salvation is given to those who help the needy. Rather it is teaching that rewards will be given to believers who faithfully endure for Christ in the Tribulation period.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, although Matthew 25:31-46 refers to people in the Tribulation period, it does apply to me now. Lord God, Your salvation from hell has always been absolutely free through faith in You alone and always will be. But in this passage, You are talking about how to earn Your inheritance rewards that grant more authority and privileges in Your coming Kingdom. Oh my precious Lord, please grant me the grace to faithfully serve You until the end of my life on earth so I may receive Your inheritance rewards in the future. With those rewards, I will be able to bring You more glory and honor in Your coming Kingdom. Thank You my Lord and my God for hearing my prayer. In Jesus’s name. Amen.

How can we experience God’s life-giving Word? Part 4

“So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, ‘Your son lives.’ And he himself believed, and his whole household.’” John 4:53

The final way to experience the life-giving word of Christ is THROUGH TRUSTING IN CHRIST’S PERSON (John 4:51-54). Jesus and His disciples remained in Cana that night, but the nobleman did not. He started back to Capernaum alone that evening over the Galilean hills. After dark, he probably stopped to sleep, then arose early the next morning and started on his way. He then noticed some travelers coming his way. “And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, ‘Your son lives!’”(John 4:51). Momentarily shaken, the nobleman realizes that these words were similar to Jesus’s words the night before.

Recovering his composure, he thought of a question. Perhaps his son’s healing was a coincidence. Perhaps when he left home his son had begun to get better by himself. If that were the case, his trip to see Jesus would have been needless. There’s one way to find out. “Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better. And they said to him, ‘Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.’” (John 4:52). The seventh hour would have been 1 p.m. when the fever left his son. Fever left him? So, it wasn’t a matter of beginning to get better, but of getting well all at once. Jesus’s words were not the start of a process of healing, but the point at which his son’s health was completely restored.

The Person who spoke these words with such a miraculous result, unhindered by the hills and valleys that separated Him from the nobleman’s sick son, was no ordinary man. After all, had it not been the word of the Creator God that caused all things to leap from nothingness into existence?! “6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth… 9 For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” (Psalm 33:6, 9).

This was the Messiah-God, the Christ. The nobleman believed in Jesus at this moment for eternal life. “So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, ‘Your son lives.’ And he himself believed, and his whole household. This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.” (John 4:53-54). What did the nobleman do after he believed in Christ alone for eternal life? He “ate his food” as we learned in the last chapter – he led his whole “household” (family and servants) to believe in Christ. It probably didn’t take long for the family to be convinced of their need to believe in Christ. The power of Jesus’s Word was the same from Samaria to Galilee, from Sychar to Capernaum. The power of Jesus’s word creates life in every believing heart.

And His Word does the same thing today. Wouldn’t it be great to see people like the royal official come to Christ today? To see people in high places put their faith in Jesus for their salvation? To see our governor, state representatives and senators, mayor, and city council members all come to faith in Christ (if they have not already), and then lead their family and friends to do the same?! That’s what it is all about, isn’t it?!

This second miracle that John records pictures salvation in the following ways:

1. Like the miracle, salvation takes place at a POINT in time, and is not a PROCESS. Just as the nobleman’s son was healed at the moment Jesus spoke, so Christ gives eternal life the moment a person believes in Him for it (John 3:15-16).

2. Like the miracle, salvation is a TOTAL transformation. The healing of the nobleman’s son was complete, not partial. Likewise, when a person trusts Christ for eternal life, they undergo a complete transformation. They have passed from spiritual sickness to spiritual health, from death into life (John 5:24). They are completely forgiven, never to come under judgment again to determine their eternal destiny.

3. Like the miracle, salvation is a total work OF GRACE. Just as the nobleman did not contribute to the healing of his son, so we cannot contribute to our own salvation. “For by grace you have been saved, and that not of yourselves; it is a gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Salvation is a gift that we receive by grace through faith in Christ. We can do nothing to make ourselves deserving of heaven. Only Christ can save us. 

A few years ago, our minivan broke down 1.5 miles from my parent’s home the day before Christmas. I was helpless to move the van. Fortunately, my nephew-in-law had a flatbed tow truck. So I trusted him – a person – to take me and my van to our destination using his tow truck. God is asking us to trust a Person, His Son, Jesus Christ, to save us from our sins and take us to heaven. The moment we do, He instantly gives us the gift of eternal life and guarantees to take us to heaven in the future.

God wants us to experience His life-giving word. We can do that through the TESTIMONY of His People… TRUSTING CHRIST’S POWER… PROMISE… and His PERSON. Maybe you feel like the nobleman. You feel hopeless and afraid. The wrong things you have done have separated you from God and you have nowhere else to turn but to Jesus now. He loves you, and died in your place on a cross and rose from the dead. And He wants to give you His life-giving Word if you will trust Him to do so. Jesus said: “And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:40). Only Jesus’s word can give us life that never ends and guarantee a future resurrection to all who believe in Him!

Prayer:  Only Your Word, Lord Jesus, can give me life that never ends. Your Word is not limited by distance nor the condition of its recipient. In this world filled with chaos and hatred, I pray my Lord and my God, that You will bring people in higher places (like the nobleman in this second miracle recorded in John’s gospel) to trust in You alone for everlasting life. I also pray they will share this good news of everlasting life with their family, friends, and countrymen. Please turn this world upside down with Your message of grace so that more people can experience Your life-giving Word. In Jesus’s name. Amen.