Obedience

They say, “God’s love is unconditional.”

/ Joan C. Thomson / Leave a comment

Is it true? Not exactly.

The word unconditional doesn’t appear in the Bible—I checked several translations. And yes, sometimes there are things that aren’t said directly but are nevertheless true. But when I ask people what Scripture they base this on, they mostly point to God’s love for Israel—that doesn’t include everyone, which is a condition. Some quote John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son…” This verse, rather than saying it doesn’t matter how you live or what you do, God still loves you, it speaks of a general love.  God loves the world so much that he was willing to put his Son through suffering and death—and resurrection, to offer salvation to those who would believe and obey.

The Bible is full of “if—then” statements such as,

 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. John 15:19

Jesus’ replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.”  John 14:23,24

To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31,32

God’s love isn’t mushy or shifting, but rock solid for those who believe in Jesus and follow his teachings.

They say, “Most of Jesus’ teachings were before the cross so they don’t apply to us.”

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Is it true? No.

If it were, how could one be a Christian at all if not by following Jesus teachings?

Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31,32

If Jesus’ teachings don’t apply to us, then we can’t be his disciples—Christians, or know the truth and be set free by it. How sad and empty that would be!

Yes, a few things Jesus said were specific to the situation but the truth is, we are to follow Jesus’ teachings in order to be his disciples, which results in knowing the Truth and in freedom..

They say,“Religion is a dirty word; Christians aren’t supposed to have religion but relationship.”

/ Joan C. Thomson / Leave a comment

No.

It’s been the “in thing” the last several years to despise the word religion, and define it differently than the Bible does, instead, defining it as man’s way of getting to God, as judgmentalism and formality. But James spoke of true religion as taking care of widows and orphans, and remaining unpolluted by the world (James 1:27). How can that be bad? Jesus cared very much about widows and orphans, about holiness—how can you have a relationship with a person and not care about what they care about? Religion isn’t bad—the problem is with false religion.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

James 1:27

They say,“Paul was wrong about a lot of things, so we don’t have to go by what he said.”

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What things?

Peter, the one chosen by Jesus to be the lead apostle had this to say about Paul’s writings:

Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. 2 Peter 3;16,17

Peter refers to Paul as “our dear brother”, said that Paul wrote “with the wisdom that God gave him.” He calls Paul’s writings “Scriptures” and that those who distort them are “ignorant and unstable people” who are headed for destruction by doing so.

Some protest that Peter’s “opinion” isn’t a good example because he was “always saying the wrong thing.” The Bible is unique in not hiding people’s miss-steps, even sins.  However, none of the inappropriate things that Peter said (Matthew 16;22,23; 17:4) were for our instruction but only his reactions to the utterly new things he heard and saw.

Of course, Jesus is the better witness:

But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. Acts 9:15

Jesus sought Saul of Tarsus/Paul out and appeared to him personally to call him to be his follower.  Jesus chose Paul to proclaim his name to us so we pick and choose what we observe of Paul’s teachings* at peril of rejecting Jesus’ commands.

*Perhaps a few things are only for the culture but probably not as many as people think—and everyone seems to have differing opinions on this.