"Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself,
unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does,
these things the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son,
and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him
greater works than these, so that you will marvel. For just as the Father
raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He
wishes. For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to
the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who
does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. Truly, truly, I
say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal
life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will
hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the
Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in
Himself; and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son
of Man. Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in
the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good
deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a
resurrection of judgment.[1]
There is no doubt God determined that the path to life is
through his son. Jesus of Nazareth is the, path, the way, the door, to life. Nothing
could be simpler, yet man has taken upon himself to embellish and modify that
simplicity, encumbering disciples of Jesus with doctrines, traditions, and churches.
Jesus rebuked the Pharisees…
…for the sake of your tradition, you make void
the word of God. You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied rightly about you when he
said: 'This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.[2]
Through the prophet Jeremiah God announced that the new
covenant would be written on human hearts.[3] Look
around, do you see believers wearing the helmet of salvation[4],
or as Paul told the Thessalonians, “…let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for
a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has destined us not for wrath but for
obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.”[5] What
you may see, is people on their way to their particular church, to listen to
its preaching and follow its rules. Christianity today is represented by
institutional groups, rather than the way God planned. As Jesus was the
representative of God, believers are to represent Jesus, not through a church, doctrine,
or tradition. As an old hymn said, “Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me, all
his wonderful passion and purity…” That would be a good starting place.
In the old system, the temple and the synagogue were not to
set rules –the law was preeminent. Isaiah ptophecied the time would come when
religious leaders would usurp the law’s authority, taking upon themselves the
right to set rules. It was those rules which Jesus denounced. From the
institutionalization of Christianity under Constantine, the Church has taken on
itself authority it has no right to. Jesus is the only avenue through which
people can approach God. When a church functions to support individuals as they
walk with Jesus it provides a much needed service. When a church establishes
programs and mission activities, organizing religious life for members, it has
gone too far. The church is not the path to life, only Jesus holds that
position. The church is not a vehicle delivering believers to God. Whenever the
church takes upon itself any priority role to act as a medium between a
believer and God, it becomes a hindrance to that believer. Church organizations
are at best social clubs, but most times, they are much worse than clubs. The
reason for this is, they teach believers that joining the church and following
its rules is the way to life. Church programs are not the same as living for
Jesus. Preachers aren’t paid to live godly lives; they live godly lives, and
are paid to work with a church, to preach and teach in that locality.
"What must we do to perform the works of God?" Jesus answered
them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has
sent."[6]
There are many believers who attend churches and yet maintain
their individuality in serving Jesus. Christian unity exists, despite divisions
and rancor among churches. “…God's
firm foundation stands, bearing this inscription: ‘The Lord knows those who are his,’”[7]
thank goodness, it is through Jesus we come to God. There is no church that has
everything right. As someone said, “we can’t all be right, but we can all be
wrong.”
Our focus should be on Jesus –only Jesus.
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