Eternal Life

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“After saying all these things, Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you. For you have given him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him. And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.”
John 17:1-3 NLT

The John 17 prayer of Jesus is rich in content relevant to disciples and pilgrims today, but verse 3 needs to be unpacked to find out why there is an apparent contradiction. The verse starts with the assertion that Jesus chooses people to whom He will grant eternal life, people who have been given to Him by His Father in Heaven. Did this just apply to His disciples or does this have a more far-reaching meaning? Jesus’ work of course continued through the work of the Advocate, the Holy Spirit. But specifically chosen? We of course can refer to Deuteronomy 7:6, “For you are a holy people, who belong to the Lord your God. Of all the people on earth, the Lord your God has chosen you to be his own special treasure“. In the New Testament, Paul wrote, “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure” (Ephesians 1:4-5). So this brings a picture of God cherry-picking those He thinks would perhaps fit well into Heaven and ignoring everyone else. 

In the next part of verse 3, Jesus prayed, “And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth”. This seems to introduce an element of personal choice, giving human beings the opportunity to believe in Jesus and, through repentance at the cross, to find the treasure of eternal life. Paul wrote to Timothy, “This is good and pleases God our Saviour, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. For, There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time” (1 Timothy 2:3-6). So has God chosen everyone, leaving to each person the decision to accept salvation and eternal life? 

So we have an apparent conflict between the sovereignty of God and human will, that has introduced two schools of theological thought over the centuries. Perhaps the solution to the potential conflict lies in the character of God. He is sovereign over all, and as He said to Moses, as quoted by Paul in Romans 9:15, “For God said to Moses, “I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose””. God knows the end from the beginning, being outside of time, so He knows in advance who will respond to His offer of grace through Jesus, becoming “chosen” in the process.

Dear God. That You for choosing us, the followers of Your Son Jesus. Amen.

The Greeks

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“Some Greeks who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration paid a visit to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee. They said, “Sir, we want to meet Jesus.” Philip told Andrew about it, and they went together to ask Jesus.”
John 12:20-22 NLT

‭‭In those days the term “Greeks” had a generic meaning for all non-Israelites. They had come to enjoy the Passover festival because, although not Jewish, they revered Israel’s God. John records in these verses that they tried to get access to Jesus through Philip who, perhaps, and along with Andrew, was acting as a security vetting service for Jesus, because, as we know, the religious leaders wanted to arrest Him. We can only guess about the significance of Philip being from Bethsaida – perhaps one of the “Greeks” knew him from there.

So, why did the “Greeks” want to see Jesus? They would have heard about the amazing miracles that He had performed, so, perhaps they wanted Jesus to do a few for them. A natural curiosity might have been the reason. Or perhaps they too wanted to hear at first hand some of the sayings of Jesus that they had heard about. 

We pilgrims today are in a truly favoured position. Through the Holy Spirit we have access to Jesus always. We read what Jesus said to His disciples in John 16:7, “But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you”. And then in John 16:13-14, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me”. Jesus was limited to being in one place at a time, even though He is divine. But the Holy Spirit is universal and omnipresent and can be with all believers all of the time. We don’t have to request an audience with Jesus and then wait our turn in a long queue, or try and book an appointment as we do at our doctor’s surgery, and then wait days or weeks before we get a ten minute slot.

Jesus came to His own people the Jews, but right at the start of His ministry He made that universal statement, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). And then a bit later he said, “And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd” (John 10:16). Jesus came “to seek and save the lost” in all the nations, including the “Greeks”.

Father God. We are so grateful that Your plan for salvation was for all human beings, not just the Jews, and it was implemented through Your Son, Jesus. We are deeply grateful. Amen.


True Sheep

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“The people surrounded him and asked, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” Jesus replied, “I have already told you, and you don’t believe me. The proof is the work I do in my Father’s name. But you don’t believe me because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”
John 10:24-27 NLT

Jesus seemed to be surrounded by an increasingly antagonistic crowd of people, who were unsure about His claim that He was the Messiah and in any case unable to accept His teaching that anyone who believes in Him will inherit eternal life. As has been said before, the people before Him, probably heavily influenced by the Pharisees and their followers, were looking for a Messiah who would bring about a radical reform of the political situation and bring about the re-establishment of Israeli as its own nation once again. But for some reason they were unable to relate the prophecies about the Messiah to the Man, Jesus, who was standing before them, because they favoured one and ignored the other. On the one hand there was the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53, and on the other the King and Ruler in Micah 5 and Zechariah 9. It was the latter portrayal of the Messiah that the people in the crowd in front of Jesus were expecting. But with the benefit of hindsight we have been able to separate the two prophetic groups into the First and Second comings of Jesus, something that eluded the Jews of His day.

Jesus said to the crowd in response to their question about who He was, by saying effectively that He had already told them and the miraculous works that He had done had proved it. And He went on to say that, as the Good Shepherd, He was going to look after those who were His followers. As for the crowd before Him, they were not his “sheep” because they didn’t believe in Him. We pilgrims are hopefully the true sheep who know Jesus, who know His voice, and who follow Him. And in return he knows us. What a wonderful place we are in! But there are other “sheep”, people who claim to follow Jesus, but in reality don’t. They may be religious people, who faithfully say and apparently do all the right things, but who don’t really know His voice, and He doesn’t know them either. Jesus told us about such people in Matthew 7:21-23, “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’” Hard words indeed!  But who are these people? They claim to be Christians, and many labour away doing wonderful things in Jesus’ name. I know such a person who calls themselves a Christian but who has replaced faith with things they do instead. A nicer and friendlier person is hard to find, and they never refuse a request for help. But they are convinced that their good works are sufficient for their salvation, and refuse to accept that salvation comes by faith in Jesus alone.

The go-to verse for me about an assurance of salvation is Romans 10:9-10, “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved“. And we remember what Paul wrote in Romans 3:22-24, “We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.” But in the end, the assurance of our salvation, and acceptance by God of being “true sheep”, boils down to faith. Romans 3:30, “There is only one God, and he makes people right with himself only by faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles.”

If we are unsure of our status as sheep, we pray and if necessary have a discussion with our pastors or a trusted Christian friend who will soon put our minds at rest.

Dear God. It is only through believing in Jesus Your Son that we will become Your children. We are thankful for Your grace and mercy. Amen.

Opinions

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“When he said these things, the people were again divided in their opinions about him. Some said, “He’s demon possessed and out of his mind. Why listen to a man like that?” Others said, “This doesn’t sound like a man possessed by a demon! Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?””
John 10:19-21 NLT

One thing we human beings are good at is forming an opinion of someone. It could be about a famous person, or a neighbour or friend. Even about a relative. Opinions are derived from our observations or interactions with the other person, and it is remarkable that different people will have different opinions of the same person, which is just as well, really, because otherwise there would be a bland sameness about our society. Jesus burst into the religious scene in Israel performing amazing miracles and making statements about God and Himself that was counter-cultural, to say the least. The people who heard what He had to say were, we are told, “divided in their opinions about Him”, and they concluded that He was either mad or deluded, or even possessed by a demon, a phenomenon that was perhaps used as a catch-all for anyone who behaved in an odd way, or said things that were outrageous.

Jesus said things like, “ … Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart’” (John 7:37-38). He also said, “ … I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life” (John 8:12). He made the claims that He was the door that leads to salvation (John 10:7) or the Good Shepherd who cares for people and who is prepared to lay down His life to save them (John 10:11). With the benefit of hindsight we pilgrims understand what Jesus was getting at and we have formed an opinion of Jesus that is difficult to describe with words other than loving, gracious, awesome, amazing, caring and …. There are many many more descriptions and opinions of Jesus that would form an enormous list. In the end, the only response to Jesus, is worship, prostrate before Him.

To someone who is not a believer, what is their opinion of Him? The people of His day, with the benefit of a personal contact, couldn’t make a collective opinion of Him. Instead they were divided. Why? After all, He had performed some miraculous healings, including that of a man born blind receiving his sight. Surely that by itself would have had people running to Him with the assurance of knowing that only God Himself could do such things. But, sadly, some thought that this was the work of a demon. 

Today, research has shown that there is little doubt amongst people generally in the West, that Jesus was a real person. Older people will mostly agree that He was divine, younger people just that He was a great religious leader. But digging deeper, a world of confusion exists about Jesus and He is just as divisive today as He was two thousand years ago when He walked this planet. But what matters is what we pilgrims think. What are our opinions? We have the benefit of the Canon of Scripture and the expositions of faithful and Godly men and women to help us. But as believers in, and followers of, Jesus, we have the privilege of attaining the status of being children of God. We are assured of Heavenly eternal life with Him one day, after we have departed this life. And while alive in our societies, we have the opportunities to introduce others to Him, and help them form an opinion of Jesus that will lead to their salvation and the same relationship with God that we enjoy. 

So we pray for clarity over who Jesus was, both in our own minds, and those of our friends and families. In our daily work-a-day lives we view our surroundings through the lens of a favoured child of God, seeing what God sees and hearing what God hears, knowing that having God’s perspective, and speaking it out, will fulfill Jesus’ command to be salt and light in our communities. Jesus is no longer here in person but through His Spirit working in us and fuelling our divine opinions, we propagate the same issues that the people of Jerusalem faced when they heard Jesus speak out in His teachings and parables. We may end up with the same labels that Jesus had but that’s ok. We instead have the prospect before us of hearing our Master and Saviour say, “Well done”. There will be no better place to be.

Dear Lord Jesus, You elicited opinions from the people of Your day that didn’t give You justice. But You continued resolute to the Cross, to fulfil Your mission. We are so grateful that You did. Amen.

Opinions

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“Then the Pharisees again questioned the man who had been blind and demanded, “What’s your opinion about this man who healed you?” The man replied, “I think he must be a prophet.””
John 9:17 NLT

If we stood in Mr “Blind-no-more’s” shoes today, who would we have thought Jesus was? After all, we would have just been healed of an incurable condition – blindness – by someone smearing mud over our eyes. No hospital, no medics, no puffs of smoke and flashes of light, no lengthy prayers. No fuss, just a simple instruction to go and wash our faces. We would be confused because something like this just doesn’t happen that way. And to our Western sensitivities, the use of saliva being applied to our eyes is even a bit offensive.

So, if we now move our feet into the Pharisees’ shoes, what would we have thought “about this man who healed” the blind man. Here we are, important men who form the religious court of our day, and who are the ones who interpret the Law of Moses and guide the people. We ensure that the people don’t do anything that offends God and that could be construed as sin, bringing even more divine retribution to the nation. So along comes a Man who preaches a message that the only way to God and gaining eternal life was by believing in Him. And to back His message, He accomplishes amazing miraculous works of healing. But here lies our quandary – if we do say that he is from God, then we have to tear up our rule books and become His disciples. If we say He is not from God, then we have to explain how He does these miraculous signs. And we can’t. And to add to the problem, some of our colleagues are starting to believe in Him.

 Mr “Blind-no-more” was asked for his opinion about the man who healed him. If he had come right out and said the Man was Jesus, God’s Son, and the Messiah the Jews were waiting for, then he would experience the wrath of the Pharisees, and might even be stoned. But he couldn’t just let the matter go, because the Pharisees were demanding an answer. So he picked the middle ground and said Jesus was a prophet. A description that wouldn’t cause him any difficulties, or so he hoped. 

Today, if we did a survey and asked people who Jesus was, we would at best receive a response acknowledging that He was a historical figure who founded Christianity. We might occasionally find someone who confessed that Jesus was their Lord and Saviour. And, increasingly, we might find people who just don’t know, or say He was perhaps a Brazilian footballer or some other sportsman with that name. But if we asked ourselves who Jesus was, then, because we believe in Him, a whole new world opens up. In John 10:9, we read on one occasion what Jesus said about Himself, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” We may not have experienced a miraculous healing like Mr “Blind-no-more”, but we do know that it is only by believing in Jesus that we will find the door that leads into the Kingdom of God. We thank God for the miracles that He does, even today. And because we love Jesus, we go out and invite others to enter the door that leads to eternal life. There is only one door. The other world religions haven’t found it, even though they claim otherwise. 

So back to the question – who is this Man? He is Jesus, the Son of God, and it is only by believing in Him that we will find peace for our souls in this life and forever after. 

Dear Father God. Our opinion of You increases more and more as we journey through our life. We never ceased to wonder about Your amazing works. We worship You today. Amen.

Slaves of Sin

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.”
John 8:34-36 NLT

The old Bob Dylan song lyrically exposed the dilemma for mankind:
“You’re gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the Devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody”.

The same dilemma accompanies sinful man – we are either slaves of sin or we are slaves of righteousness, there is no grey area or other option.  Of course, this applies spiritually, and our default state is as a sinner. No-one is ever born a righteous person. Romans 5:12, “When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned”. So Jesus makes a truthful statement in that sinners are slaves to the sins they commit. Mankind has to face the reality that, without some action, they will remain slaves to sin for all their lives, until there comes that point when it is too late to implement a remedy. To the Pharisees in the crowd, there wasn’t a problem, because they were ancestors of Abraham, and had never been slaves of anyone. But as we know, Jesus was talking about a spiritual principle. Paul, an ex-Pharisee, got it, and put it very well in Romans 5:18-19, “Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous”.

So how does the Son set us free from our slavery? The answer came in John 3:3. In His conversation with Nicodemus, “Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God””. If a natural birth results in a sinful existence, then we have to experience a second spiritual birth, into the righteousness of the Kingdom of God. John 3:5, “Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit””. There are two births for every child of God, and Jesus told the crowd around him that they were all enslaved in their lives of sin. However, there was a remedy – by believing in Him they would be released from their slavery.

These were timeless words from Jesus. They applied when He first made them as He was surrounded by a hostile crowd, resistant to any form of change or correction or alternative to what they believed. But His words have hung in the air ever since, fruit to be plucked by a sinful soul desperate for freedom. That was us pilgrims one day, but we must never forget those truthful words of Jesus, in case we look back and see the sinful world beckoning. The devil won’t give up, ever. 

Father God. Thank You for Your escape plan for sinful man. It’s all about You, Jesus. Amen.

Descendants of Abraham

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” “But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?”“
John 8:31-33 NLT

Up until now, Jesus had been speaking to a mixed group of people. Some of them believed in Him, some were wondering about what they should do, and the remainder thought He was deluded or some kind of imposter, and didn’t believe in Him at all. In fact this last group wanted Him arrested. But Jesus carried on regardless, in the knowledge that He was getting a mixed, even hostile, reception. He started by telling them who He was, who His Father was and why He was preaching a message given to Him by His Father in Heaven. John 8:26, “I have much to say about you and much to condemn, but I won’t. For I say only what I have heard from the one who sent me, and he is completely truthful”. This was enough to convince many in the crowd, “Then many who heard him say these things believed in him” (John 8:30). It was to this last group, those who believed in Him, that Jesus had some words to say.

Jesus started off with a rule applicable to disciples everywhere. The Master teaches and true disciples will follow Him, and will try and implement what He says. But the unruly group before Jesus in the Temple were not in the right state of mind. They were still unable to understand the spiritual meaning of what Jesus was teaching. Instead they confused their pedigree with their salvation. John the Baptist had some harsh words for the Pharisees, and we can read the account in Matthew 3. At one point he said, “Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones” (Matthew 3:9). There was this misconception amongst Jewish society that, because they were “descendants of Abraham”, then they were assured of their salvation and a future with God in Heaven. However, the robust way in which the crowd stated who their ancestor was perhaps indicates a strong Pharisaical presence or influence in the crowd. 

Neither we, or the Pharisees in Jesus’ day, can depend on our ancestors or parents for our salvation. In Ephesians 2:8, Paul explained how we are saved, ”God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God“. Three words stand out for me – “grace”, “believed”, and “gift”. As Jesus repeatedly said in His John 8 discourse, the first step is to believe in Him, with God then gifting us, through His grace, our salvation. The Pharisees and the rest of the crowd around Jesus that day long ago in the temple were deluded, in thinking that God would one day say that He would accept them just because of their pedigree, and regardless of their sins. Similarly, there are those today who claim that God would never reject anyone because He is a God of love. But to both the Pharisees and to the modern adherents of salvation for everyone, there is a higher requirement at work. God merges His love for mankind with His Holy nature. Nothing can penetrate Heaven if it involves or includes any kind of impurity. God will sadly say to both the Pharisees and the Universalists today – “Sorry but I never knew you”.

Father God, there is only one way into Your presence and that is through Your Son, Jesus. Thank You for Your gift of salvation. We don’t deserve it but through Jesus we can stand righteous in Your sight. Thank You. Amen.

The Grumbling Crowds

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“But after his brothers left for the festival, Jesus also went, though secretly, staying out of public view. The Jewish leaders tried to find him at the festival and kept asking if anyone had seen him. There was a lot of grumbling about him among the crowds. Some argued, “He’s a good man,” but others said, “He’s nothing but a fraud who deceives the people.” But no one had the courage to speak favourably about him in public, for they were afraid of getting in trouble with the Jewish leaders.”
John 7:10-13 NLT

If nothing else, Jesus had managed to get the crowds at the Feast of Tabernacles talking about Him. Some said he was a good Man. Others said He was a fraud. But there was a lot of grumbling going on. And to cap it all, the Jewish leaders saw Jesus as a threat to their authority and the comfortable life they had as the de facto government of Israel. Were they heading up a totalitarian state, much as we find in places like Iran, with religious leaders dictating rights and wrongs, supported by a force of “heavies” to make sure the people stayed in line? Possibly, but with Jesus on the scene, unpredictable, claiming to be the Son of God, teaching a different message to the people and supported by miraculous signs, they felt they had no option other than to close Him down, by whatever method was possible and expedient. So there were those in the crowds who supported Jesus, happy to accept Him for who he was, but they probably kept their heads down for fear of “getting into trouble with the Jewish leaders”. 

So the opposing factions present in the crowds created a febrile atmosphere of argument and grumbling. Such a situation happens today, not in physical crowds but in cyberspace, with social media becoming the battleground for opposing points of view. In our democratic systems of government, there is little the leaders can do to shut down the grumblers, although they try, with legislation in place to suppress the worst excesses, but with “free speech” being maintained, for now. In Jesus’ day the crowds were located in and around Jerusalem, but today, the “crowd” is global in its extent. 

But the Bible is clear – grumbling is a sin and can show unbelief towards God. The Apostle James wrote, “What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure” (James 4:1-3). These verses from James aptly describe the “culture wars” so prevalent in today’s societies. One group of adherents to a particular ideology take an aggressive stand against another equally aggressive group, each trying to close down the other. So they quarrel and fight, incessantly grumbling, confused and ignorant – Godless people with wrong motives. It never happens amongst Christians, does it? Hmmm…

Paul wrote in Philippians 2:14-15, “Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticise you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people”. Jesus came with a mission and ministry to seek and save the lost. In the process of this, He counter-culturally challenged the status quo and wherever he went he left a trail of grumblers, particularly amongst the Jewish hierarchy. But the world has never been the same since His first coming. God’s plan for mankind’s salvation was successful and ever since Jesus walked the paths in the Middle East countless people have repented of their sins and believed in Him. And we pilgrims are demonstrations of the fruits of Jesus’ ministry. What a Saviour!

Dear Father God. Thank You for Your plan of salvation and showing us the way to eternal life with You. Our gratitude will last forever. Amen.

Working the Works

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“Do not labour for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.” Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.””
John 6:27-29 NKJV

The people having a conversation with Jesus, the Jews who had followed Him around the Sea of Galilee, had a noble but potential mission statement – working the works of God. These people had a good understanding of the God of the Old Testament, and wanted to do what He wanted them to do, at least they said they did. But over time their view of God had become mired in rules and regulations, and perhaps they had replaced Him with a “God” more of their own construction. They wanted a God who once again would interact positively in their affairs, feeding them with “manna” and helping them win battles over their belligerent neighbours, or, in their own topical situation, extracting their nation from the clutches of the Roman Empire. So to the Jews, the concept of doing God’s work focussed on the doing. But Jesus once again pointed out the most important “work” – believing in the One standing before them, that He was God’s Son, sent to redeem the people from their sins. 

There was another occasion when someone asked Jesus about what they should do and we can find the story in Matthew 19. A rich and religious man came to Jesus to ask what he should do to inherit eternal life. By the Galilean shores, Jesus told the Jews in the crowd to shift their labour, their doing, from working for natural foods to instead working towards eternal life. The rich man was aware of the importance of eternal life but felt a bit unsure about how to get there. To him, Jesus suggested he keep the commandments, going further to spell out which ones. But the rich man still wasn’t satisfied, and asked what else he should do because he had always been diligent in keeping the commandments. There was something inside the man’s heart that lacked the peace and joy that can only come from a relationship with God. Jesus told him to get rid of all the things that were holding him back, selling his “stuff” if necessary, but then we read the poignant conclusion, “But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions” (Matthew 19:22).

To the Jews by the Sea of Galilee, they had very little “stuff” in the first place so all Jesus asked them to do was to believe in Him. Once they had overcome that hurdle they were on the right path. The same question is hanging in the air today. Many people accept that Jesus came to this planet, but very few in our Western cultures actually believe in Him. And what about us pilgrims? Are we cultural Christians, warming the pews, arranging the Sunday flowers, and enjoying the social interactions, or are we a people who believe in the One sent from God? There is a world of a difference, and to get to a point of really believing in Jesus is a choice often riven by doubts.

The declaration of faith we call the Apostles’ Creed starts off, “I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord …” And it continues with statements of truth that add up to Jesus’ invitation to “believe in Him whom He sent”. But even then it is possible for people to just go through the motions, paying what is called a “lip service”, saying the words but not really believing them in their hearts. Believing in Jesus is a decision that leads to a lifetime of relationship with the One sent by God. 

To say we believe in Jesus is a counter-cultural statement and leads us to a position in society that sets us apart from those around us. Believers have a choice to make – to follow God’s ways or those of the secular society around us. But that is not to say we cut ourselves off from all contact with the lost and helpless. The ethos of showing God’s love to others, regardless of faith, is at the very heart of what God would have us do – showing His love and grace to a lost and dying world. There is no-one else to do it, and, for a believer, there is no-one better equipped.

Dear Lord Jesus. You came to seek and save the lost. There are many such people around us, so please help us to hear You clearly so that we can bring Your message of hope to them. In Your precious name. Amen.

Search the Scriptures

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life.”
John 5:39-40 NLT

In a message I heard one day, the speaker said that the Bible was a story of God’s love for mankind. And it is true, because as we read the Old Testament scriptures we find time and time again that God loved His people and went to extraordinary lengths to look after them, provide for them and even promise them that one day they will spend eternity with Him. And then we have over three hundred prophecies about Jesus, the Messiah, God’s very own Son, sprinkled through the Old Testament pages, and all pointing to a time when He would come to earth to save His people. Here’s one of them. Isaiah wrote, “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). So far, Jesus, in His conversation with the Jewish leaders, had already told them that there was proof available about who He was. There was John the Baptist’s testimony. There was the witness of Father God, working miracles through Jesus. And now Jesus pointed out the witness from Scripture. 

Jesus said to His listeners that they read their Bibles, and feel good about it, because by doing so they think that is enough for assuring their life will be eternal. These men would have read the Scriptures about the Messiah. They probably could recite huge chunks of the Torah from memory. But the sad thing is that in all of this, and as Jesus pointed out, they missed the opportunity to have a relationship with God and embrace His Son. As we pilgrims know, there is a big gulf between head knowledge and heart knowledge.

There is the story of a young Christian, recently saved, who heard a sermon about the Christian life, probably from the Sermon on the Mount. But it was some weeks before the young Christian returned to church. When asked where they had been, the answer was that there was no point in hearing more until they had put into practice what they had heard previously. It takes time and effort to turn our lives round away from the sin, which so easily entraps us, to living life God’s way, a life of purity and holiness.

The Jewish leaders wanted proof that Jesus was indeed the expected Messiah. But Jesus was effectively asking them, what more proof do you need? Man’s witness, God’s witness with signs and wonders, the Bible’s witness with its prophecies about Him. More than sufficient I’m sure. But isn’t it strange – you can present people with loads of proof about something, but if the outcome doesn’t fit in with their world view or ideology, then they will not accept the evidence. So, we end up with evolution being taught as fact in our schools even though so much evidence for God and His creation exists. To take another example, we know that a person is born either male or female, but the gender ideologists, who say there are other options, get offended if their warped point of view is challenged. They are now going to extraordinary lengths to try and transition a man to being a woman and vice versa, with operations and drugs to try and make it happen. Before God’s throne I wonder what the evolutionists and multi-gender ideologists will have to say about their beliefs and rejection of God’s creative order?

We pilgrims have read the Bible and have concluded that Jesus is who He said He was – the Son of God. We have repented of our sins and now believe in Him. To the best of our abilities, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, we follow Him and try to live our lives God’s way. The Jews had the opportunity to observe at first hand who Jesus was, and yet they still asked for some sort of sign. This was in spite of the proof, the miracles, and all the evidence. We read in Matthew 12:38, “One day some teachers of religious law and Pharisees came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we want you to show us a miraculous sign to prove your authority“”. We can read Jesus’ reply in the remaining verses in Matthew 12. 

In John 20:25, we read what “doubting” Thomas had to say when told about Jesus’ resurrection. “They told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”” But Jesus’ response when Thomas did achieve what he desired was interesting – “Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me”” (John 20:29).

Regardless of the evidence to the contrary, some people will never accept the proof before them. But, concerning the things of God, one day all will be revealed. No proof will be required!

Dear Father God. We proclaim our belief in You. We cry out the name of Jesus over this dark and sinful world, knowing that only You can make a difference in the lives of men and women on this planet. We know that Your Spirit has brought Your Word to life, presenting through us a beacon of hope to a lost generation. Please help us, we pray, to life the life You have provided so that others will come to know You as well. In Jesus’ name. Amen.