“The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather it is the Father, living in me, that is doing His work.” (John 14:10b)
Jesus created all things, Jesus is the Savior of the world, Jesus reconciles man to God (the forgiveness of sins), and Jesus is Lord! Indeed, you can easily say that Jesus is everything. The Person, Jesus Christ, made that which was impossible, possible. Before Jesus came in the flesh, justification and righteousness were not possible through the Law (Gal. 2:15-16, Rom. 3:20, Rom. 3:28-31), and Gentiles were separated from God and without hope in the world. (Eph. 2:11-18) But through His body, Jesus united all men and brought salvation to the world. (2 Cor. 5:18-21) There can be no doubt that Jesus provides hope, comfort, peace, joy, and freedom to those of all nations! (Matt. 12:21, Rom. 15:12-13) But with all that Christ is, offers, and promises, there is one thing that Jesus didn’t change; He didn’t change that which God desires!
Now if I simply say, “Jesus didn’t change who God is or what God desires”, most Christians will certainly agree, yes? But if that is so, then why do Christians not seem to care what God says, nor does our church message focus on what He desires? Scripture reveals that God desires man to: believe Him to be truthful, fear Him, earnestly seek Him in His Word, grow in His knowledge, obey His commands, and turn from sin. To the one who wholeheartedly seeks the Lord, comes to know Him, sincerely gives their life to Christ, and truly receives His Spirit… this process is what the biblical expression of “salvation” is about. Salvation is not about following some man-made traditions and repeating some shallow lip-service (do this and say that and you are saved!). The preoccupation with “salvation” within the church today has absolutely nothing to do with what God desires. If salvation is attained according to the traditions and myths of man, then the church claims that one can receive salvation without ever doing any of the things that His Word requires we do to receive His gift of eternal life.
Jesus made the forgiveness of our past sins possible through His blood and living free from the bondage of sin possible by His Spirit, but Jesus did not change that which pleases God. It isn’t as though simply because Jesus did what He did, that you are no longer required to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, as well as to love your neighbor as yourself! Jesus did not change that which God desires, Jesus simply made that which God desires possible! Loving the Lord your God with all your heart and loving your neighbor as yourself would effectively characterize one who lives by His Spirit, one who “pleases God.” Again, that which pleases God did not change following Christ’s physical life on earth; it is simply that now “IN CHRIST”, we have the power to live to the glory of God through His Spirit. Without His Spirit, it is impossible to please God. (Rom. 8:5-8) Today, however, pastors are promising salvation to scores of unrepentant hearts that are not fully surrendered to the Lord; the condition required to receive His Spirit! Therefore, many Christians are receiving a false spirit, void of any power whatsoever… resulting in absolutely no transformation — no new creation.
Falling for Satan’s deception, the church today is getting lost in its “praise” and “worship” of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and is failing to address the more important concerns of God instead (justice, mercy, faithfulness, and love of God). We “should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone!” (Luke 11:42b) The reality is, the praise and glory that Jesus seeks, is to show the genuineness of your love through obedience to His commands. (John 14:15-17) The question I pose to you is this, do you think that it would please God if the whole world professes to “believe in Jesus”, “worships Jesus”, attends church service regularly “praising Jesus”, if at the same time they all fail to do what Jesus says? (Luke 6:46) Those who do what Jesus says, are those who will be called God’s children. (John 14:23-24, 1 John 3:9-10) Theirs are hearts that are fully surrendered to the Lord! Those who do not do what Jesus says, but claim that they too will be called children of God, are those who have bought the lie. Theirs are unrepentant hearts that are not fully surrendered to God. Jesus does not promise forgiveness without repentance, and repentance does not mean asking for forgiveness… repentance means to be done with sin! Please read that again. Jesus cleanses the past sins of a repentant heart, not the ongoing, deliberate, willful sins of an unrepentant heart. (Luke 24:47, Luke 13:3, Acts 2:38) “Believing in Him” is to believe that He is the Light of the world, and to wholeheartedly commit to walking in His Light is to hate sin and go and walk in it no more (genuinely repent).
The Person, Jesus Christ, is God’s Word in the flesh. Therefore, He did not remove God’s commands or change His conditions, rather He came to uphold them. Taking a few scriptures out of context can leave you viewing God through a very faulty lens. This false grace being preached is removing the fear of God from before believers’ eyes! As I often say, Jesus did not come to “do away with that old-testament God”, He is that “old-testament” God! (1 Cor. 10:1-5) Jesus only said what His Father told Him to say, and He said that His followers must obey His commands and turn from sin; one thing, Jesus didn’t change! The church is terrific at producing subjects that praise Jesus, worship Jesus, and even teaching believers to be grateful for all that Jesus has “blessed” them with. But how well is the church today teaching the scriptural relevance of a genuine repentance… the Truth that is required to properly motivate Christians to produce the fruit of God’s kingdom! (Matt. 21:43-44) How well is the church spelling out the conditions found in scripture that are required to receive God’s Spirit? Although God commands obedience and living free from sin, today if one preaches these things they are said to “not understand God’s grace”. So, according to that logic, we should sin so that God’s grace might increase? (Rom. 6:1-2) Christians, you are being deceived!
God desires that we live righteous, holy lives, and understand that the act of “sin” is evidence of our rejecting His Word, rejecting His Light! (John 3:19-21) If you consider what God desires, you will see obedience and sin rightly dividing between that which pleases Him and that which results in receiving His wrath! As I said, Jesus does not change these truths, rather He upholds these truths! If you see Jesus as a free pass for your sins, then you do not know the Lord! If you see Jesus serving as forgiveness for the sins of an unrepentant heart, then you do not know God’s Word! You must remember, with all that Jesus did do, there is one thing that His Word reveals that He will not do… He will not reconcile you to God without meeting His conditions! Again, when you look at all that Jesus did do, can do, and will do, it is easy to miss the one thing that Jesus will not do… He will not go back on His Word no matter how much He loves you! You must give Him your life to receive His Spirit! The battle within your heart between good and evil is where the battle for true freedom is fought. Jesus does not change that reality; He simply brings that truth to light! His Truth is not there to make you feel good, His Truth is there to set you free. Jesus does not prevent the struggle against sin from taking place, rather He reveals that that is the struggle that must take place! God’s grace is not a license for immorality, His grace is in revealing the sin that you must turn from to be called His child! (Jude 1:4)
In summary, God desires that you do not sin; Satan desires that you do. God’s Word says that those who call on the name of the Lord must repent, turn from sin (2 Tim. 2:19); the church says Jesus is the forgiveness to your life of sin (Mal. 2:17)! Can you see Satan’s deception here? Jesus didn’t willingly surrender and sacrifice Himself for our sins so that we may continue to live in sin; He did what He did so that we would understand what it is that we must also do to be freed from the bondage of sin and raised to Live ourselves! We too must die with Christ to sin to be raised with Him in Spirit! (Rom. 6:3-13) Jesus didn’t change how His Father feels about sin, what He changed was that there is now forgiveness for the past sins of those who believe His Word, surrender their will, and choose to walk in His Light!
Just because we have all sinned, does not mean that following your profession Jesus simply serves as a free pass for all your willful, deliberate sins! God’s Word never removes responsibility from us, rather His Word demands it! In fact, Jesus makes that clear in His own words! “Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” (John 5:14b) Jesus did not say, “now simply believe that I exist and allow me to forgive you, and then feel free to go about your sinning!” What a mess a false teaching has made! But “thanks” be to Satan, the church offers a much easier “way”! The church is getting it wrong, and that deceptive message has finally caught up with us. This false “Jesus” being preached now serves as the Christians golden calf! The church has lost sight of the concerns of God and is preaching that which comforts the concerns of man. Pastors are promising the gift of God to all those who have not yet met His conditions to receive His Spirit. The result, a hypocritical “body of believers” still holding onto all the many sins of self, loving the things of this world, and profaning the Lord’s Holy Name. Lord have mercy, we have lost our way. Where is the pastor brave enough to deliver His Truth today? And who is the one who will be humble enough to accept it? (Luke 18:14b) Fear the Lord!
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Another very interesting blog giving us much food for thought. For example, the idea that Jesus changed everything with His life by providing hope, comfort, peace, joy, and freedom to those of all nations is uplifting. Before Jesus, those blessings were non-existent is a plausible belief. However, there is more–much more. Jesus DIDN’T change what God desires. JESUS LEADS US TO WHAT GOD DESIRES: Believe Him to be truthful; fear Him; earnestly seek Him in His word; grow in His knowledge; obey His commands, and turn from sin….. A challenge for us all.
Amen!