Skip to main content

New Article: There is No Debate

 


If you want to start a commotion these days, all you need to do is state an opinion.  Someone is sure to believe differently, and they are usually not shy about telling you why.  Especially online, it is common for people to have arguments with strangers over things that really do not matter.  If you have the time and inclination, I guess there is nothing wrong with kicking around theories and ideas.  However, when it comes to Jesus, certain teachings are not up for debate.

For example, Colossians 1 states that Jesus is “the image of the invisible God” (verse 15).  Some teachers attempt to separate God and Jesus.  This passage makes clear that you cannot have one without the other.  If you want to know God at all, you must get to know Jesus.  As he said, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).

Secondly, Jesus is “the head of the body, the church” (verse 18).  It is tempting to believe that the way I see things is the way God sees them.  In other words, we like to make our standards God’s standards.  This verse reminds us of who is in charge and who needs to change when there is a conflict between what Jesus taught and what we believe.  Jesus has all authority (Matthew 28:18).  In another place, he said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15).  He did not say that we should vote on, think about, or modify his commandments, but obey them. 

Lastly, Jesus is the bridge and the peacemaker.  “God was pleased… to reconcile to himself all things through his [Jesus’] blood shed on the cross” (verses 19-20).  To be reconciled means to be put right, or to restore harmony.  Sin separated God and humans, and Jesus’ death brought us back together again.  He took our sin, and we received his righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21).  There is no other way to make things right.  You cannot be good enough, nor do enough righteous deeds on your own.  Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

You can debate many things, but there is no debating the importance of Jesus.

 Jesus is what God had to say!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Consider This: Who Needs Worship?

  Why does God need our worship? The events of Matthew 14 provide at least one answer.   This chapter starts with the beheading of John the Baptist (verses 1-12). This is the first in a series of events that indicate things are about to become much more difficult for the believers. Next, the scene shifts to a crowd gathered on a hillside in Galilee. After listening to Jesus teach all day, the apostles realized that these people had nothing to eat. They brought the problem to Jesus. He took a child’s lunch and fed the entire group of five thousand men plus women and children. Afterwards, they picked up twelve baskets of leftovers (verses 13-21).   Then Jesus told them to get in a boat and cross the Sea of Galilee. As they went, a storm arose, and the apostles were scared. They struggled along until Jesus came to them walking on the water. Peter tried walking on the water too and sank. After Jesus rescued Peter, they got into the boat, and the storm immediately s...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Spiritual Makeover (1 Peter 1:13-16)

 Three responses to the new life God has given us.  https://youtu.be/FmqX5-3jOKc  
Post a Comment
Read more

Consider This: The Danger of Drifting

   Consider This: The Danger of Drifting Most people will not blow up their life in one big, messy moment. It can happen, and when it does, the damage is obvious and instantaneous. Like a car wreck at an intersection, people make a bad decision, and chaos ensues. Parts and pieces scatter all over. People get hurt. Situations like this are unexpected, loud, shocking and scary. Most of us will not wreck our lives in one big, terrible moment. The real danger is that we will lose what is valuable in small, almost imperceptible steps. It happens all the time. You can leave your marriage without ever leaving your house. You can leave your faith while still attending church. You can leave your life while you are still living it. Many people lose what they love, not by making one big, out-of-character decision, but by coasting, disengaging, neglecting and missing what matters. Almost every Biblical list of Christian characteristics mentions “Self-control”, yet I have not g...
Post a Comment
Read more