What Are You Going to Do with Jesus?

Recently, I have spoken with several people who have told me they do not attend church because they see so many hypocrites go to church and yet continue to lead lives that are morally corrupt. In other words, they live life like the devil and then pretend they are angels by going to church and participating in religious activities.

I suppose on the surface this seems like a logical decision. Why go to church if you believe everyone there is a hypocrite? Of course, you have to come to terms with the fact that you are letting people you perceive to be hypocrites rule your spiritual life. But even more important is the fact that this type of mindset precludes you from figuring out what you are going to do wtih Jesus Christ. And at some point, all of us have to to come terms with Jesus Christ on a personal level, separate from others.

Jesus took off his God-hood and became man for one simple purpose – to save sinners (Philippians 2:5-11). He makes no pretension about who He is or what He is offering. He is the Son of God and He alone has the power to forgive sins.

In his book Mere Christianity , C.S. Lewis, the great Christian apologist, acutely summarizes the work and mission of Jesus, “I am trying to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him [Jesus]: ‘I am ready to accept Jesus as a great teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man, who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic – on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg – or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool; you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

The truth of the matter is we are all hypocrites. Romans 3:23 tells us that all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The law of God constantly reminds us that we can never keep it. Any of it. That is why Jesus came – to offer us life that we may have it more abundantly in Him. (John 10:10)

It is always easy I suppose to look at others and their failures and shortcomings and feel pretty good about ourselves. Much like the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican that Jesus told in Luke chapter 18, we beat our chests and say to God, “Thank you, that I am not like the rest of men, extortioners, unrighteous, adulterers…” The only issue is God does not see us like that. And that really is the beauty of Christianity. It is a personal relationship. Jesus never compares us with others and tells us repeatedly not to do the same.

All of us one day will be judged by God and His measuring stick will not be how we stacked up against others as so many presuppose, it will be His Word, “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.” (John 12:48)

I urge you not to put off getting to know Jesus because of others. His offer of salvation is too great to pass over and all that will matter in the end as you stand before Him will be if He knows you.
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"The seeming peace a sinner has is not from the knowledge of his happiness but from the ignorance of his danger."

-Thomas Watson, Puritan

Defining the Abundant Life

In John 10:10, Jesus said, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” Throughout Scripture we find Jesus often speaking about the abundant life that He offers to all who follow Him. But this begs the question, what exactly is the abundant life? Is it more money? More possessions? More vacations? More status?

Just last night I was speaking to my brother about the Lord and he was saying that the world tells you to go to school, get a good paying job, save your money for retirement and then retire. But what about after retirement? What do you do then? The world never discusses life after death and what we should do to prepare. Of course, this is based largely on the fact that the world does not know God and is not concerned with the things of God (Romans 1). But this still does not change the fact that the one thing all of us are going to experience regardless of age, stature, or success is death. Yet, we spend so little time preparing. So much of Jesus’ teachings were based on the kingdom of God and designed to get men and women thinking about things of eternal value versus temporal value. God tells us in Ecclesiastes 3:11 that He has set eternity in the hearts of men. But, so often we push the things of eternal value to the back burner even as Christians, don’t we?

When Jesus gave His most profound sermon in Matthew chapter 5, He spoke of a way of life that was counter intuitive to the world’s system. The selfless principles He outlined that pictured the kingdom of God were too difficult for many to comprehend as He begins each point by naming a group of people normally thought to be unblessable and pronounces them blessed because of the presence and availability of the abundant life in God's kingdom to everyone, everywhere, regardless of status, circumstances, or condition. And this is the key. It is not based on what you have or don’t have or who your parents are but on a person – Jesus Christ. To further underscore this critical spiritual reality, Jesus told us in John 14:6 that He is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life and that no one comes to the Father but by Him.”

The abundant life Jesus is offering is attained on the inside not the outside. He is extending to us an internal peace that it is not found anywhere else. This is why the Christian is able to live above his/her circumstances because the focus is on the One who has overcome the world and ensures us we will too (John 16:33). Man is preoccupied with circumstances, God is preoccupied with character. And it is within the person of Jesus Christ that we are able to cast off the old man and put on the new man in Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Eternal life as opposed to this life is not determined by duration but by a relationship with God. This is why the Scripture tell us that once a person accepts Jesus as their Lord and personal Savior that he/she possesses eternal life already (1 John 5:11-13), though not, of course, in its fullness. For you see a Christian's life revolves around “growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). This teaches us that the abundant life is a continual process of learning, practicing, and maturing, as well as failing, recovering, adjusting, enduring, and overcoming, because, in our present state, “we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror” (1 Corinthians 13:12). One day we will see God face to face, and we will know Him completely as we will be known completely (1 Corinthians 13:12). We will no longer struggle with sin and doubt. This will be the ultimately fulfilled abundant life.

The true abundant life will display the fruits produced by the Holy Spirit - love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23), not an abundance of “stuff.” It consists of life that is eternal, and, therefore, our interest is in the eternal, not the temporal.

If you do not know the Lord, it is my hope and prayer that you will spend some time exploring the abundant life that Jesus is offering right now. His Word tells us that “today is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2) And Romans 10:9-10 tells us how to be saved, “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

The Heart of the Issue

The NFL has been in the midst of a labor dispute for months now. Just a couple of weeks ago, the owners locked out the players and the players union decertified in an effort to get a judge to overrule the lockout next month. The media has been covering both sides of this debate ad nauseam since the football season ended in early February. What I wanted to focus on though is the larger implications of this dispute from a Biblical perspective.

As I read the quotes from the owners and the players, I keep seeing the same phrase repeatedly over and over again, “This is a business.” This phrase usually comes on the heels of an owner or player asserting their case and then trying to apologize for sounding like a kid in a candy store by quicklly declaring, “this is just part of the business” as if that magic phrase makes their "me first" diatribe acceptable. What they are really saying is, “I want what is mine.” And this really is the heart of the issue as the heart of the matter is always the heart.

Jesus said all the issues of life spring up from the heart. Jeremiah 17:9 tell us, “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?” The NFL labor situation is really just a microcosm of society. That is why people are always so quick to want to take sides. You have some people who look at the owners as filthy billionaires who are trying to cheat the players out of their money and then you have the other group of people who say the players should just keep quiet and be thankful that they make millions of dollars to play football.

God has something much different to say on the subject. He tells us to not put our trust in riches of this world for “riches certainly make themselves wings; They fly away like an eagle toward heaven” (Proverbs 23:5).

For many years I worked in corporate America and was shocked and often saddened to see the type of deceit and cruel behavior that took place as companies scrambled to get their piece of the pie. What they failed to understand then and now is that the pie is not reality. The pie will be gone one day as we all stand before God and give an account for our lives. Only one thing will matter on that day, did we put our faith and trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins. For those of us that have already trusted the Lord, the Bible tells us that our works will be tried by fire and we will be rewarded or lose reward accordingly (1 Corinthians 3:11-15).

I have also found in my own life that the riches of this world really do not bring the happiness and contentment that people expect. Just listen to some of the wealthiest people of their day:

- "The care of $200 million is enough to kill everyone. There is no pleasure in it." - W.H. Vanderbilt

- "I am the most miserable man on earth." - John Jacob Astor

- "I have made many millions, but they have brought me no happiness." - John D. Rockefeller

- "Millionaries seldom smile." - Andrew Carnegie

- "I was happier doing a mechanic's job." - Henry Ford

When our Savior preached the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 5 many thought He was insane. The selfless principles he outlined that pictured the kingdom of God were too difficult for many to comprehend. It is easy to see why upon hearing this sermon, His listeners were shocked. Jesus begins each point by naming a group of people normally thought to be unblessed or unblessable and pronounces them blessed because of the presence and availability of the abundant life in God's kingdom to everyone, everywhere, regardless of status, circumstances, or condition.

In other words, Jesus’ sermon was the antithesis of the culture 2,000 years ago. Not much has changed today. I recently read how the market has been flooded with New England Patriot championship rings from the early part of this decade when the team won three championships in four years. Apparently, the hard economic times has forced many players to sell their rings to pawn shops for ten percent of what the ring is actually worth.

Jesus is offering something much more valuable today than a championship ring or an executive promotion or a new house. He is offering Himself and within that offer comes the abundant life. For you see the abundant life that everyone is pursuing on Wall Street and within corporate America and on the sports field is a mirage. It offers nothing lasting, nothing of eternal value in this life or the next. The true abundant life exists within the life, ministry, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is here at the cross of Calvary that you find what you have been looking for – unconditional love, forgiveness, and self-worth. It is Jesus Christ who is the key to all that fulfills and truly satisfies. If you do not know Him, I pray you come to know the Savior today, Romans 10:9-10.

A Beloved Portrait

The women’s Bible study group that I attend is embarking on a study in the gospel of John. We are using John MacArthur's study guide to aid us in our exploration of this glorious gospel account.

As you may already be aware, the gospel of John is the fourth gospel contained in the New Testament. Many people have asked over the years why there are four different gospels and not one composite. The answer is simple – each gospel presents a different depiction of Christ. In Matthew, for example, Jesus Christ is presented as the promised king and Messiah of Israel. Mark, on the other hand, portrays Christ as a servant/prophet and focuses a large portion of his account on Christ’s miracles. And when you come to Luke's gospel, Christ is described as the perfect man walking among the people of the world. Luke has a special focus on Christ’s humanity.

As we begin to investigage John’s account, we learn that his intent is to present Jesus Christ as the Son of God. This is the burden of John’s message as he states in 20:31, “These things are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that believing you might have life through His name.”

According to John MacArthur, when we come to the gospel of John, “we enter into the most sacred holy place of all, the holy of holies and we see God in person, God in flesh. And so the fourth gospel is the gospel of all gospels. It is the holy of holies of the New Testament. It is almost as if we ought to take off our shoes for we stand on holy ground as we approach this gospel because it presents in the most magnificent glory the deity of Jesus Christ. It talks about His humanity, it talks about His servant hood, it talks about His kingship, but it presents primarily His deity. It is behold your God that John is trying to get across.”

I must confess that even though I have been a Christian for more than 20 years, I realize that my own understanding of Christ is limited because I have not spent nearly enough time getting to know Him. As one woman said during our first meeting last night, “I want to know and understand Jesus beyond just my salvation.” And that really is the crux of our study. As Christians we are in a personal relationship with Jesus. We are not His followers because of what He can give or do for us but because of who He is.

Many people come to Jesus for what He can give and the scripture warns us that there would be a day coming when people would mistake gain for godliness (1 Timothy 6:5). I believe we are living in those days, especially in America. So much of what the church focuses on is what we can get from Christ instead of what is already ours in Him. So often the temporal cares of this world distract us from the one message God is always trying to get across – I am enough. Truly, He is enough.

I hope you will join me over the next few months as I study the gospel of John. Please feel free to comment and let me know what you are learning about Jesus.

“I know men and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between Him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creation of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded His empire upon love; and at this hour millions of men would die for Him.” – Napoleon