“When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, ‘Who then can be saved?’ Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible'” (Matthew 19:25-26).

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Continued from Jesus Who?—Forward.

I’ve written previously that if God finds fault with nothing, and accepts everything, then there is no need for a savior where there is no trespass. On the other hand, if God condemns as the result of any single trespass, then there is no need for a savior where grace does not abound. Finally, a god that finds fault with nothing, except for acts defined as wrong by a society, is nothing more than an idol created out of collective norms. Just as He was misrepresented, slandered even, during the time of His earthly ministry, Jesus is being misrepresented today. The fact that the world would misrepresent Jesus comes as no surprise to me; they don’t know Him (John 14:17), but that Jesus is being misrepresented by so many of those professing to belong to Him, I find particularly alarming.

Consider Jesus’s response to the rich man in Matthew 19. I am focusing on the exchange between Jesus and the young man. “’All these I have kept,’ the young man said. ‘What do I still lack?’ Jesus answered, ‘If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’ When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth” (Matthew 19:20-22). Why was Jesus so unbending with this young man? Why did Jesus ask so much of him? Why was Jesus willing to allow him to walk away? After all, Jesus dined with prostitutes and tax collectors, right? Matthew 19 is a chapter of tough teachings, so tough, in fact, that eventually the disciples even appeared to express some trepidation. “When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, ‘Who then can be saved?’ Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible'” (Matthew 19:25-26). Jesus sent away people unwilling to believe, commit, or change, yet Jesus is love? Do we know something today about love that Jesus didn’t know then? Or maybe our love has grown shortsighted?

The scripture considered in this post is full of any number of other revelations and wonderful truths worth exploring, but I have written what I believe the Holy Spirit has guided me to write.

Conservative, Republican Jesus, liberal, Democrat Jesus, they’re both the same Jesus, one and the same, and He is an idol. Roman Catholic Jesus, Jesus of the Presbyterians, Lutherans, Methodists, and Baptists, along with the Jesus proclaimed by Nondenominational believers, Pentecostals and Charismatics is an idol too. Perhaps, we ought to replace the image of the Lord on our crosses with an image of Moloch? God is crying out to His people today, just as He has from the beginning; the separation of the wheat from the chaff is underway (Matthew 3:12)! The human incarnation of God, Christ Jesus, demonstrates the true manifestation of the character and love of God. And it is the love of Jesus Christ, the Lord, which I look forward to exploring further in the posts ahead. Until next time!

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