1999-12-11 - Which Jesus Do You Worship?

The Christmas season is fast drawing upon us. This time for us holds a time of reading about the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Throughout the year we have at times prayed about those who embrace "a different Jesus" but never really accepted the Jesus we know and love. Allow us to explain.

It is possible to "accept Jesus" -- A certain kind of "Jesus" -- and not receive the historical Jesus at all! We see in our society today that many people are receiving a "Jesus" that is not the Christ of the New Testament. What they embrace is an idea, not a person. They hold fast to a "Jesus" they have created in their own minds. How do we know then whether we have received the Jesus Christ of God? In all honesty there is only one way to know and that is to check out the historical record (The Bible) and ask yourself a few questions. Is the Jesus you Worship the same One revealed in the Gospel records of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John? Is He the sinless, spotless, Son of God? Is He the Savior who died for sinful man and rose again? Is His doctrine and lifestyle that of the Jesus of the Bible?

If you have created "a Jesus" in your own mind you then are bigger than He is. If he has emanated from your personality then he is an expression of your personality. Allow me to give an example. There are young people today who are rebelling against the home -- the church -- and the institutions of our society. These folks also come up with a revolutionary Jesus. Who is this Jesus? He is an expression of their rebellious spirit. It is what they want Jesus to be not who He really is.

It is helpful to study the Scriptures with regard to what relationship Jesus had toward the institutions of His day. The Word of God said that He was subject to His parents. That He learned and taught in the synagogues. He worshipped in the Temple calling it His Father's House. He did all of this even though His parents were imperfect, the synagogues were attended by hypocrites and the Temple was built by a pagan king. Jesus supported the institutions of His day but He did not condone the evil practiced in them. We encourage everyone this Christmas season to go to the Bible and learn to know the historical Jesus.

He is the true Jesus and the only one who can save us.

In His Service,
Rick & Sandy

liv4yeshua@aol.com
http://www.cfdevotionals.org