Modern Jesus vs Biblical Jesus 3

            Teachings regarding the Modern Jesus tell us that Jesus serves our will, not God’s will; plus, He hates to offend anyone. Frankly, that sounds preposterous. Jesus Himself sought His father’s will in the Garden of Gethsemane, after first asking the cup that He was about to drink be taken away. He knew what must be one; however, He was able to know what was about to take place and in His humanity, wished to avoid it. What a horrible vision to have; to see in your mind’s eye that which was going to be happening to you in graphic detail. To me, it is perfectly understandable to be hesitant, though only for a moment.

            There’s nowhere in the New Testament that even insinuates that Jesus was concerned about offending anyone. While He never went out of His way to be critical, if the situation warranted it, as with the religious leaders, He was bound to tell the truth in spite of anyone’s feelings. Anyone who was offended was more than likely guilty of doing the very thing Jesus was speaking about.

            In reality, the Biblical Jesus regularly exalted His Father’s will. He does not live to serve us. To believe that Jesus serves us is to believe a false teaching. He also doesn’t go out with the purpose of being offensive, but by its very nature, the truth ends up being highly offensive to those who are resistant to it.

            This whole Modern Jesus kick is, as I see it, an effort to marginalize and humanize Jesus at the expense of His deity and God’s perfect and perpetual will. To not accept the Bible for what it proclaims itself to be, along with not portraying Jesus as He is in scripture, smacks of deconstruction, which is a “thing” that is happening among Christians. That “movement”, though not officially declared as such, leads me to believe that while any Christian is susceptible to it, those who have more questions than answers, and more doubts than acceptance, have gotten sucked into this delusion. Rather than taking the time to seek out proper answers, they use their doubts to catapult themselves into a realm of confusion and continued misunderstanding. I know and understand all too well that some things in God’s economy simply aren’t understandable and answers, at times, simply aren’t there. To take that as a sign that either God isn’t real, or His Word is compromised is weak. Some folks are not willing to put their belief in something they cannot prove out. Was their conversion real? That is not for me to say. God is the judge; we are His conduits ... ambassadors of the gospel message. Modern Jesus isn’t real. It is a perversion of the truth.

            There is no such thing as “old-fashioned” within the realm of Christianity. And there’s nothing wrong with being traditional, as long as the traditions are biblical in nature. There is no need to modernize the beliefs of Christianity because some folks say they seem antiquated. The truth is the truth and there is only one truth. The truth of God. You can choose not to believe that, not realizing that God Himself gives you the free will right now to not believe. Whenever you choose to either believe or not believe, know why you’re making that decision. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Modern Jesus vs. Biblical Jesus 2

            Two other teachings regarding the Modern Jesus are, 1) that Jesus never said anything negative, and 2) He was loved and accepted by the world, both back then and now. 

            While it’s true that Jesus wasn’t a negative person, He did speak of negative consequences for rejecting Him and God the Father. Saying Jesus was never what would be classified as negative is actually not true. He referred to the religious leaders of His day as “hypocrites” and “blind guides”. Not very positive. “Jesus expressed anger and frustration in specific instances, such as cursing a fig tree for not bearing fruit, even though it was not the season for figs, which led to the tree withering immediately.” Jesus told a man to “let the dead bury the dead” * when the man said he had to bury his father before he could follow Him. Jesus spent much time warning His listeners regarding sin, judgment and hell. While Jesus wasn’t a “negative” person, per se, He did make negative statements to make His point as evidenced in the examples above. 

            To say Jesus was “loved and accepted by the world” is a misnomer. While Jesus' love for the world was and is profound and sacrificial, the world's love for Him was not universal, and His earthly ministry was met with significant opposition. It is no different today. If it were not so then why are Christians slaughtered for their beliefs around the world?  He loves His children, but has distain for the world and all its ungodly practices. So NO, Jesus was loved by His followers both then and now, but to the world He is a person who is either hated, misrepresented, or treated with ambivalence.

            Modern Jesus is an inaccurate portrayal of who He really is. To pick out scripture to support your particular ideology is the wrong approach to researching the Bible. Taking scripture as it is written IN ITS FULL CONTEXT should give you a true picture of our Lord and Savior. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

*A dead person cannot bury another person who has died, so what is Jesus talking about? It’s quite simple really. He is speaking of those who are spiritually dead. Those people are alive, but only in a physical sense. Spiritually they are dead. So that is what that statement means. Let the spiritually dead bury the physically dead.

Modern Jesus vs. Biblical Jesus

            I found this information online and thought it was definitely worth sharing. The Jesus that many churches are embracing is very much different than the Jesus scripture reveals to us. With Modern Jesus only love is preaches from the pulpit, while the Biblical Jesus preaches God’s righteousness. 

            Love is the backbone of Christianity. God loves all of His creation. Out of that type of love Jesus willingly went to the cross to die in our place, but our beliefs are more than just love. Once saved we are declared righteous in God’s sight because of the blood Christ shed on the cross. This means that we are seen by God as morally upright & without any guilt or sin. Being righteous means we stand before God as people without guilt, because we have no sin recorded against us any longer.

            Modern Jesus tells that you will be given both health and wealth*, while the Biblical Jesus gives salvation, hope, peace, and joy. The problem with the Modern version of Jesus is that what we’re given (health & wealth) are temporal in nature. Why do I say that? Regarding health, all of us will die someday, so though we may be healthy now, we will eventually die. Temporal.  Wealth is a transient thing; here today, gone tomorrow. Not to mention the fact that you cannot take it with you when you die. 

            Biblical Jesus presents us with salvation, hope, peace, and joy, if we ask for them. These are not tangible things, but rather emotions that we can receive from God, and they are eternal in nature. Salvation is forgiveness from all sins for all who seek it. Hope, peace and joy can be realized from reading God’s Word, hearing it preached, and so on. We can ask for these things and receive them in various ways and they do not disappear; as in that they are not temporary.

            Next time, we will continue our comparison of Modern Jesus v Biblical Jesus. Until then, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

*This is a main teaching in the Prosperity Gospel, which is unbiblical at its core.

Christian Atheism

An ‘atheist’ is someone who does not believe in the existence of a god or any gods. This definition is consistent across various sources, which describes atheism as the lack of belief in deities. Some atheists may also assert that gods do not exist, while others simply lack belief without making a definitive claim about the non-existence of gods. It is important to note that atheism is not defined by what an atheist believes, but rather by what they do not believe.

A ‘theist’ is someone who believes in a conscious (usually unseen) force or something that guides the universe. They call this “force” Almighty God. (This is not to be confused with a ‘deist’, which is similar but believes God does not interfere with the world.)

A ‘Christian atheist’ is an individual who embraces the teachings, narratives, symbols, practices, or communities associated with Christianity without accepting the literal existence of God. Christian atheists may reject the traditional concept of God as a supernatural being, while still valuing the moral and ethical teachings of Jesus Christ. Who do they say Jesus is? Not the Son of God as scripture states, but rather an influential rabbi; not a deity.

In reality, there is really no such thing as a Christian Atheist. The mere title is a massive contradiction. You are either a Christian or an Atheist. You cannot pick and choose what to believe. On second thought, you CAN do that, but according to the Bible itself, you would be wrong.

The reality of it is that there is no tangible proof that God exists; however, there is no tangible evidence that He does NOT exist. Faith requires no proof, and no proof is forthcoming. We don’t need to understand God or His scriptures, per se, though we do tend to understand a good deal of things regarding the Lord. It’s when we are confronted with a situation that you feel requires an explanation and one doesn’t come. That is when we need a strong dose of trust.  Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Source: www.britannica.com

JUSTIFICATION 2

            There is another type of justification that exists. It’s when someone tries to justify his or her actions with a statement or statements as if they are seeking another’s approval of what they are either saying or doing.  Here’s an example: Joe says to Bill, “I’m thinking of cheating on my wife.” Bill replies, “Why would you want to do that?” To which Joe answers, “Bill, EVERYONE is doing it.” 

            Commentary: This situation can arise at any time for any person, male or female, Christian or non-Christian. In this case Joe is probably already planning to cheat, and may even have someone in mind and is just sending out a feeler to his friend Bill to see his reaction. When Bill’s reaction is less than supportive Joe resorts to justifying his actions with a general societal thought which is an exaggeration. There is no way Joe can know if EVERY single person cheats. To say people are prone to cheating to various degrees is more than likely a more correct statement.

            If you’re bound and determined to sin, please don’t bother to make lame excuses that you see as justification to people. It makes you look bad and insults the recipients who hear it.

            Now that’s a pretty severe example, so how about this: Person A is highly judgmental towards Person B. Person B says, “Why are you so judgmental towards me?” Person A justifies their actions by saying, “If you wouldn’t do those type of things I wouldn’t need to be so judgmental.” 

            Commentary: Person A is blaming Person B’s behavior for their being judgmental as if they have no control over their own actions.  As believers in Christ we truly have NO good reason to judge others. God judges, we represent God with Christ-like behavior. Frankly, we shouldn’t have to justify anything we say or do. We either are thoughtless with our comments or actions, or we aren’t. There is no valid justification for ugly talk and if you think there is then you may want to rethink that. 

We are ambassadors for Christ, in that we represent the Lord wherever we go. Don’t think people aren’t watching, because they most certainly are. And when they find out you’re a Christian, they are ready to point out anything you say or do that they feel is out of order (as if they would know). Focus on Christ and His words and actions and do your best to replicate it with your own behavior. Let others see Jesus in you. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing. 

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Justification

 

Theologically speaking, justification means “to judge, regard, or treat as righteous and worthy of salvation”.

 

“God justifies with his forgiveness and grace the man who comes to him.” - Will Herberg *

 

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we^[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” – Romans 5:1 ^ESV

 

“...so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” – Titus 3:7 ^ESV

 

“Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.” – Romans 5:9 ^ESV

 

            A phrase that has been used to simplify what justification, is “Just as if I’d never sinned.” Thru Christ’s blood, combined with God’s grace (undeserved favor), we have been absolved of all sins. Just as a stain on a garment is removed when cleaned, our soul is cleansed as if it had never been stained.

            Do you honestly understand what took place when you gave your heart to Christ? It’s like having a new engine installed into a car.  You are brand new on the inside. You have been cleansed completely, just like a car that’s been detailed. We must never take God’s grace for granted. A supreme price was paid to expunge our sin. A man, albeit a Godman, willingly gave His life’s blood for millions of people throughout time to permanently remove ALL sin. 

Keep your main focus on Christ and the Father and be ever mindful of the Holy Spirit, who resides within you. It is of paramount importance for you to grasp the significance of who you are in Christ and the fact that you are a child of God. 

You are never considered worthless to your Heavenly Father, but rather of incredible value. You are uniquely made in His image and are loved by God very deeply. And NOTHING will ever change that. No matter what you ever do.

Remain focused on the life giver, and share His love and kindness to all you encounter each day. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Definition came from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

*William Herberg (June 30, 1901 – March 26, 1977) was an American writer, intellectual, and scholar. He was also a social philosopher and sociologist of religion, as well as a Jewish theologian. He was a conservative thinker during the 1950s.

Matthew 7:21-23

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’”

 

            With these couple verses Jesus exposes those folks try to be good and say all the right things, thinking that is good enough and will actually matter in the end. On ‘Judgment Day’ it will only be our relationship with Christ; as in, our acceptance of Him as our Savior and Lord, and living in obedience to His standards that will matter. 

            Jesus didn’t suffer a gruesome death on a criminals cross so we could play some sort of game with salvation. This is very serious business. Our eternal destination hangs in the balance and is based on decisions we’ve made in this life.

            It’s interesting that the “believer” told Jesus that they prophesied in His name, drove out demons, and performed many miracles, yet Jesus stated in reply that He did not know them. Perhaps He knew something about them that made them unworthy. Something Matthew didn’t reveal. Perhaps the things they did in Jesus name was for personal notoriety. The crux of Christianity though is not JUST believing in Jesus, because scripture tells us in Matthew 2:19 NLT, “You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.” 

            What is true faith? “True faith, which leads to salvation, is not merely an intellectual assent but a transformative trust that results in a changed life and actions that reflect God's character.” ^[1] A person’s salvation should exhibit evidence of a life that has been changed in a significant way. 

            By the way, when someone ‘tries to be good’, what criteria do they follow? Jesus said NO ONE IS GOOD, except the Father ^{(Mark 10:18)}. Are they following biblical principles or personally interpreted thoughts. Trying to get to heaven on your own is a fools errand. There is no profit in that at all. It’s like travelling a bridge to nowhere. If we could achieve eternal life on our own, then why on earth would Jesus have had to die? We need Christ. Without Him, we are very lost with no way to find redemption. 

            Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

^[1] www.gotquestions.org