Sunday, September 14, 1997 In Your Absence:
In this week's lesson, which came from John 14, I Timothy 2 and I John 5, we studied about Jesus as our one and only Savior. Many in this world would argue that a person can go to Heaven simply by being good, but in Romans 3:23 and 6:23, the Bible tells us that goodness will not get any of us there. Some religions would tell us that we can trust in the prophet of their particular faith and then get to Heaven. However, in I Timothy 2:5-6 and Acts 4:12, we learned that Jesus is the only true Prophet and Mediator who could and did make a way for us back to our heavenly Father. In this world of so many counterfeits, we need to be very careful about the messengers which we follow. A number of years ago, some people, who were probably good and decent, followed a man, named Jim Jones, down to Guyana and lost their lives because of the radical nature of their very charismatic leader. Recently, another group of people, who were also probably good and decent, lost their lives in Texas because they were fooled into following another charismatic person who professed to have a special link to Heaven. Even more recently, still another group of people lost their lives because they were content to follow one who said that they could ride a comet to Heaven.
Perhaps the truths of this week's lesson seemed trivial to one who has been a Christian for a long time. But as the above examples should show, many have lost their lives and souls by following insincere, uncaring men who did not have the best interest of their people at heart. When Jesus lived on this earth, He, too, said that He was God, and He, too, said that we could follow Him to Heaven. Was He like all the others who have misled the masses, or was He truly the One in Whom we can trust? The answer is given in John 14:6, where it is recorded that Jesus told His disciples that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Many would argue that the Bible was written by uneducated or undereducated fishermen who did not understand what they were hearing or how to report what they were hearing and experiencing. Many would argue that the numerous translations and copies of the Bible make it impossible for us to know that we have the true Scriptures at hand. These claims by Christian critics are not really founded, as a careful study of all the facts will indicate. However, even if they were, those who have chosen to follow Christ can still have confidence in their choice, and the reason is because of the truth of I John 5.
We learned from Verses Seven through Twelve of our study in I John 5 that God has provided us with undeniable testimony to support the validity of Christ's claims to Lordship. We do not believe that Jesus is Lord "only" because the Bible tells us so, nor do we believe that we are sinners in need of a Savior "just" because the Bible tells us so. Our faith in Christ is not solely dependent upon the Bible, although we certainly learn much about our Lord when we study His inerrant, verbally inspired Word. The real basis for our faith in Christ, once we have trusted in Him, is the continual witness of the indwelling Holy Spirit. We do not need to have all the answers to know that Jesus is the one and only Savior and Lord. Those who have placed their trust in Him, now and through the ages, already know it. Jesus did not come to this earth so that we could collectively clean up our acts and be better people. He came so that we can have life and have it more abundantly. My prayer is that none of us will ever be moved from our faith in Christ by those who would try to argue against His Lordship. Instead of being shakened or moved, let us stand fast in our faith and share with others what we already know to be true. Jesus is Lord, and He loves each of us very much.
Tom of Spotswood"He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." (I John 5:12)
"And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13)
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