Why People Reject Jesus

There are lots of reasons that people reject Jesus.  With some effort we could name perhaps dozens of reasons.  But the first chapter of 1 Corinthians sums it up into two categories.  And to be fair, we must recognize that this is Paul writing to the Corinthian Christians, dealing with some of the problems they were facing.  Still, people are much the same today and have much the same problems.

We actually see three categories of people in 1 Corinthians 1; note this verse: "Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified; a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God."

So it seems that Paul is summarizing these three categories of people:

Jews--They always wanted a sign.  But Jesus gave them plenty of signs; miracles that proved He was from God, that He was God.  Still, they wanted more.

Greeks--(non-Jews)--To them the Gospel of Jesus was just foolishness.  It didn't fit with their own thinking, their own reasoning.  And the Greeks were big into human reason; note Acts 17, when Paul went to Athens and spoke with them.

Believers--The above passage shows that, while Jews always wanted another sign (miracle), and Greeks called it "foolishness," there would be people who believed in Jesus, who knew Him to be the Christ, the Savior of the world.

The passage goes on to say, "For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength."  God has no foolishness or weakness, but this passage just shows that if He did, it would put man's to shame.  We need to recognize that God is God, He has the power, and He will use it on us.  He will use it to raise us up.....or to bring us down.  Let's be in the 3rd category that Paul was talking about.  Praise be to God.

Thanks for reading.  Feel the love. 

Church Unity

There is a great deal said in the New Testament about church unity.  This was important to God and to His Son Jesus.  We will look at a couple of verses that relate this point. 

In John 17, Jesus prayed there for the apostles and all of His people who would be left behind, that they would be unified in their faith and practices.  Jesus was about to leave this earth and He appealed in prayer to the Father that "they may be one" as He and the Father are one.  

The subject is well discussed by Paul in 1 Corinthians 1, where it has been reported to Paul that the Christians in Corinth were quarreling.  Beginning in verse 10: "I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.  My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you.  What I mean is this: One of you says, 'I follow Paul'; another, 'I follow Cephas'; still another, 'I follow Christ.' Is Christ divided?"  Obviously, Paul is upset over what he has been hearing regarding the dissension going on in the church.  He is telling them to stop it.

When we look at this teaching of Paul to this Corinthian church, we realize that the truths he was teaching apply to us today.  When one looks at "Christianity" today, do we see splintering, division, and quarreling?  of course we do.  There must be over 1000 different denominations of so called Christians.  And it is all about division.  Would Paul be upset with what he would see in this regard today were he here?  You know he would, based on his teaching.

In the message of 1 Corinthians 1, we can see that Paul did not want different names put on Christians.  He said no Paul Christians, no Apollos Christians, no Cephas Christians; just Christians.  And it can be noted that he never wanted unity at the expense of truth, at the expense of doing His commandments, doing things His way.  But as he teaches here, we must seek to get along, agree, and not divide.

Paul wrote to the Philippian church, "..make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose."  This must be our goal.  We can start by just being Christians and wearing no other name. 

Have a great week!

The Commandments of God

God, and His Word, the Bible, is very clear that He wants and requires man to keep His commandments.  This is not a request, but a demand.  Obviously, people don't have to heed this demand; but He makes it clear that if we want to realize the rewards He has prepared for us, we must do things His way.

The book of Psalms begins with these words: "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.  But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night."

Psalm 112 says, "Praise the Lord.  Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in His commands."

Psalm 119 begins with this, "Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord.  Blessed are they who keep His statutes and seek Him with all their heart."

Psalm 119:105,  "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.  I have taken an oath and confirmed it, that I will follow Your righteous laws."

These are just a sampling of the hundreds of verses that are contained in the Bible regarding the importance of following His commandments.  And we know that Jesus said a lot about this subject.  He said in John 14:15, "If you love Me, you will obey what I command."  And in John 14:23, He said, "If anyone loves Me, he will obey My teaching."

Our lives will be better if we keep His commandments.  And doing so will bring eternal life.  There will be no fear of death, no sadness, or sickness, or pain, or tears in heaven.  Let's do this!

Thanks for reading.  Have a great week!

 

Openings

In Matthew chapter 7, Jesus talked of the ease of salvation....and the difficulty of salvation; and He did it by discussing "openings."  In 7:13 He said, "Enter through the narrow gate.  For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.  But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."  This statement by our Lord contradicts the common thinking of today.  All one must do is read the obituaries to see that almost everyone that dies didn't "die;"  they passed, or "went to be with the Lord" or "are in the arms of Jesus."  The thinking is that almost everyone is safe, saved and in heaven with God.  But in the aforementioned verse, we see that the gate is narrow and not many will enter that one.

One the other hand, we see in the same chapter just how easy it is to be in the right place after we die.  In verse 7, Jesus said, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."  This shows just how willing God is to have us follow Him.  The point, of course, is that the choice is ours; it is purely a matter of choice on our part.  God has done His part in sending His Son to die for us.  Now we must make the right choice.

And Jesus recognized the point that we see in the obituaries when He said in 7:21, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.  Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?'  Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you.  Away from Me, you evildoers!' "  This is a hard saying, but it shows that only the true followers of Jesus will enter the narrow gate, will knock on that door, will be accepted into heaven by our Lord.  Let's you and I be there!

Thanks for reading again.  Have a great week!