Got Christ?

What is Christ?
“Christ” isn’t the last name of Jesus, but it is a title. It means “anointed one”, just the same as the Hebrew word Messiah. But having some guy with oil on his head isn’t what the world needs. Instead, the “Christ” is actually the emperor of God, the ruler of the world. The Christ is like a Roman Caesar or a Napoleon. Someone who takes over the world by force and then rules over a central part of the world, and, by extension and treaty, provides peace to the rest of the world. Other terms that are used both in the Bible and in the pagan world for an Emperor are: Son of God, Alpha and Omega, Father (or Pope), and Lord.

The New Testament claims that Jesus is the fulfillment of this role, appointed by God at his baptism and approved by God through his resurrection. But the promise becomes crystallized at Jesus’ birth, where the promise of the Son of God, the Christ, is displayed to the poor and lowly of Bethlehem

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this. Isaiah 9:6-7

Why do we need a Christ?
This concept of the kingdom of God is exactly what Jesus was speaking about. But why do we need a ruler like this? Hasn’t it been proven that dictators are a bad idea? Shouldn’t we learn to rule ourselves? Well, anarchy has been attempted and all it does is lead to injustice and chaos. But why a Christ? According to the Old Testament, there are some very good reasons why we should have an Emperor of God:

So the world can acknowledge God as the true ruler
God is the Creator of the world, the King of the universe. Yet most of the world did not acknowledge him as God or properly give God his due. Instead, they saw other gods, who assisted them with their petty lives, as being more worthy of their devotion and sacrifice. But with the Christ ruling the world, then God will be given his proper due and praise and thanks will be offered to Him by all the world.
And He will delight in the fear of the LORD… For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea. Isaiah 11:3,9

To destroy the injustices of secular empires
The rulership of the world has passed on from one empire to another from the ancient days to today. And not a single empire has ruled with justice or with equity. There is always an elite, who reap the benefits of the empire, and a servant class on whose backs the empire is built. The rulers always ignore the rule of God and establish their own rule according to their own principles. But the new kingdom will be built upon justice and righteousness, and set aside the old empires with their injustices.
In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever. Daniel 2:44 And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked. Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins, And faithfulness the belt about His waist. Isaiah 11:5

To take us out of the system of judgment
For all governments of the world, if you do wrong, there is a penalty. Do the crime, pay the time. This is a system of judgment, and it was established by God. However, this is not the only system of dealing with lawbreakers that God had established. Jesus’ system is that of repentance and release. In other words, give a person the opportunity to make their crime right and to turn from their ways and then just welcome them back. Jesus as the Christ does not do away with the system of judgment, but he gives us an opportunity to escape it. This is done through his death, where his new system of dealing with crime is the judicial basis of his kingdom, established by his death and resurrection.
As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. Isaiah 53:11

For the poor to be heard
In every system of government that has ever existed there is a lower class for whom there is no justice. This group is always assumed to be the criminals, they are feared and hated and accused of the most terrible crimes. Should one of this group do something wrong, then they are all punished. But the Christ will listen to the poor and acknowledge their actions. He will not judge them according to their class, but according to their deeds. And he will love the poor and draw them up to rule with the elite.
With righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth. Isaiah 11:4

For there to be shalom
Only through God’s righteousness and justice will there be an opportunity for the world to run as it should, not only for people, but for all creation. “Shalom” is usually translated “peace”, but it really means a community of well-being, a society where everyone is benefited. The Christ brings this peace to all who can enter into his kingdom.
And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them… And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper's den. They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, Isaiah 11:6-9

This is the promise of Christmas, “Peace on earth for those favored.” Christmas isn’t just about the incarnation—God coming to earth—as important as that is. It is about the fulfillment of the hope of the Christ that God’s people have been waiting for. It is the coming of the Emperor of God, who rules today from heaven and will rule on earth when he returns.

Got Christ?
We can participate in his kingdom today. We don’t need to wait until he returns. In fact, he doesn’t want us to. Jesus is ruling at the right hand of God and wants us to turn our lives over to him so we can live in his justice and peace right now. If we commit our lives to his rule and get baptized in his name then we will begin living in a different kingdom, under the best ruler of the world that has ever existed, free from our wrongs and living in peace.

Support Our Troops

Our nation is the most powerful nation on earth. Yet we are still completely vulnerable to attack, and we need protection. But our nation is not of the earth, nor do we have a worldly ruler. Our ruler is Jesus.

Christians are citizens of God’s kingdom
All of us who are believers in Jesus have him as our king and Lord, and we offer our allegiance to him. Jesus did battle for us on the cross and has gained the greatest victory through his death (Colossians 2:14-15). Our nation is not of the world, and so we do not fight against the enemies of the world, nor do we fight in the world’s way (John 18:36). Rather, we focus on God as our strength, God as our warrior, God as our justice-maker. We rely on God alone to make, empower and protect our nation. He alone is our Lord.

Citizens of God’s kingdom are called upon to fight
Although we have God to fight for us, yet in obedience to God we realize that we too are called to fight. We have powerful enemies that stand against us. They are hidden from our eyes, and they live among us, and we are to attack them with no mercy. But our enemies are not humans—we followers of Jesus do not attack anyone of flesh and blood. Rather, we attack the spiritual forces that stand behind the humans in rebellion against God (Ephesians 6:10-13). Nor do we use weapons that the world uses. We do not bother with such useless weapons as guns or bombs. Rather, we attack spiritual forces with spiritual weapons—the authority of the Lord Jesus, the word of God, prayer, healing, casting out of demons, and the speaking of truth in love (II Corinthians 10:3-5; Matthew 10:7-8). The secret weapon that completely decimates the enemy is that of suffering oppression for the sake of Jesus and then crying out to God for justice (Luke18:1-8; I Peter 2:21-24).

We have devoted soldiers
Even as the world has professional soldiers, those who are set aside to fight for their political goals, so our country has those who are designated as warriors against our spiritual enemies who are attacking us. However, these warriors do not wear cammies, nor helmets. Rather they are boldly open about their warfare, and they are attacked viciously by their enemies. They do not look like soldiers of this world, nor do they act like them. They suffer much at the hands of humans, yet offer them the forgiveness of God through Jesus. In response to the evil they receive, they do good. And they rely on God for their protection, power and deliverance from their enemies.

Who are these soldiers?

The persecuted
These are followers of Jesus who are attacked by people. Some have been rejected by people, and some have been openly rebuked. Still others have had their churches burned, been arrested and sentenced to prison. And some have died for the sake of the kingdom of God. Many speak of the martyrs of long ago, but there have been more martyrs in the last hundred years then there has been in all the history of God’s church.

The evangelists
These are the ones who speak the word of Jesus with boldness amidst those who do not know or trust the Lord. These warriors call people to Jesus in the midst of an unbelieving generation and suffer much because of their faithfulness to the ungrateful.

The prophets
These are the ones who speak repentance to a generation that thinks they hear God, but they do not know God’s voice. These prophets listen to God’s word—both in writing and in spirit—and then clearly discern among the people who they live with what is true and what is not. They are often attacked by the religious and well-meaning.

Spiritual warriors
These are the ones who see the spirit world clearly and can perceive the spiritual reality behind the world we live in. Instead of seeing people who use drugs or are in constant anger, they see them as people who are oppressed by spirits who lead them to use drugs or violence or sex to do evil in the world. These warriors then attack the real problem—the spiritual oppressors—and get rid of them in the name of Jesus. But often they too are attacked by spiritual forces and are sometimes crippled by the attacks.

They are fighting for us
These soldiers are not just fighting for themselves, but they are fighting for all of God’s people (Colossians 1:24). They attack the evil ones and suffer and are rejected so that we might have greater salvation in Jesus. God sees their suffering, and offers peace to the church because of their sacrifice. The spiritual forces that are attacked by these warriors are neutralized for all the church. The truths that are proclaimed by these soldiers of the spirit are proclaimed for all the church.

We need to support our soldiers
Because of their effort for us, it is our responsibility to support these soldiers. If we help these who have suffered for us, then Jesus says that we will be helping him and we will gain great rewards from him (Matthew 10:40-42; 25:31-39). To gain the reward from Jesus (which is as yet another benefit we receive from these warriors), we need to show honor to those who represent Jesus.

We should honor them (I Thessalonians 5:12-13)
The warriors who fight for us should be given respect and treated with honor as they come among us. This doesn’t mean that they should be bowed to or anything, but they should be listened to and spoken to with the respect their actions deserve.
We should pray for them (Ephesians 6:19-20)
Although we all need God’s help, we need to especially pray for those who are suffering for the sake of Jesus. They need God in their lives, delivering them in ways that we might not. We should be lifting them up before the Lord, seeking His deliverance for them every time we pray.

We should provide for their needs (Matthew 25:37-40)
As any of these warriors need assistance, and we are able to help them, we should do so, especially as they are suffering for the gospel. Jesus specifically mentions that we should be giving them food, drink, clothing, shelter, and assistance as they are sick or arrested for the gospel.

We should be hospitable to them (Matthew 10:40-42)
Jesus tells us that these suffering disciples should be welcomed openly by those disciples who have homes. They should be given assistance, and a place to speak their message, if it is necessary.


Give respect and assistance to those who suffer for Jesus, and you will be given salvation.

Is God A Bigot?

At first glance, this seems like a silly question. After all, God is the most moral of all beings, then of course he would not be driven by bigotry, by racism, by prejudice of any kind. He would be, as Paul said, “No respecter of persons.” But this question is not as clearly answered as you might think. If you accept the Bible as the best representative of who God is, the communication of God to people, then God’s perspective is not very clear…

The Death Penalty for Canaanites
The most prejudiced, racist passages in the Bible have to do with God’s commands concerning the Canaanites. From the time of Noah, Canaan was cursed because of the actions of his father against Noah. Canaan’s children were much later targeted for destruction as a group by God for the Israelites. And the Israelites were not to leave even their children or cattle alive. This is clear racial and national prejudice against a people. (Genesis 9:22-27; Deuteronomy 7:1-3; Exodus 23:22-24; Deuteronomy 20:16-18; Joshua 6:16-21)

However, to look at these passages is not to see the whole story. First of all, God was not destroying a people, but a way of life that was in opposition to Him. He wanted the Israelites to destroy the Canaanites because those nations would seduce the Israelites to worship their gods and to participate in their evil sexual practices. Also, God rescinded all of the commands to destroy the Canaanites long before the time of King David. And from that time, God did not utter a command to destroy a whole race again. (Deuteronomy 20:17-18; Leviticus 18:24-25; Judges 2:1-3)

Preference to the Race of Israel
God also, it seems, is racially biased toward the children of Abraham, specifically in Jacob’s line, called the children of Israel. He seems particularly interested in keeping this line racially pure and pours out all of his blessings on this people alone. (Genesis 17:18-19; Genesis 24:3-4; Genesis 28:1-5, 13-15; Ezra 9:1-5.)

However, again, this is only looking at half the story. God was not preserving a race of people, but a way of life, as exemplified by the ten commandments. Anyone of any race is welcome to participate in the people of Israel, although they might have to wait some time, as long as they are willing to conform to the way of life that God instructed the people of Israel to live. In fact, people of every race married into Israel, including Egyptians, Africans, Arabs and even Canaanites. Israel was not supposed to be the most racially pure nation, but the most racially impure, accepting everyone who is willing to be devoted to God. In this way, Israel becomes a blessing and the salvation of all the nations, no matter what ancestry or race. (Genesis 12:1-3; Deuteronomy 23:3-8; Isaiah 66:18-21; Genesis 38:2; Ruth 4:10-22; Acts 2:7-11)

Preference to the nation of Israel
Well, then, if God isn’t racially biased, then perhaps he is nationally biased—a prejudice based on what nation one belongs to. After all, he reserves his greatest blessings on earth—prophets and the Holy Spirit—only for those who are in the nation of Israel. And He says that only those who are in the kingdom of God—the full realization of the nation of Israel—will gain the future blessings of resurrection, no sorrow and eternal life. Why should God pick one nation out of the whole earth for this blessing? (Matthew 15:24; Romans 9:4-5; Genesis 12:1-2; Psalm 132:13-18)

While it is true that God has chosen the one nation, Israel, to be the focus of his blessings, not everyone in Israel will receive these blessings. Those who cause others to stumble, who oppress others will be thrown out of God’s kingdom. And even so, God promises that everyone who comes to God through faith in Jesus and who lives like Jesus will be in the kingdom of God. Thus, God is more concerned about devotion to Him than He is about belonging to a nation. To be in Jesus is to be in the kingdom of God, which is the real Israel. (Matthew 8:10-12; Matthew 13:41-42; Romans 10:9-10)

Another thing that people are concerned about is the modern-day nation of Israel. Do they receive God’s blessings because they are his chosen nation? No. Just because a nation calls itself “Israel” doesn’t mean that they are the people of promise. The true Israel today are those who live Jesus. No one else qualifies, especially those who act in opposition to God’s law. (Romans 9:30-33)

Condemnation of the Jews
In the New Testament, however, there seems to be another issue of racial prejudice. Even as the Old Testament seems to be racially in favor of the Jews, the NT seems to be racially opposed to the Jews. There are many passages that condemn the Jews and even curse them! Isn’t that just a different kind of racial prejudice? (Acts 13:45-46; I Thessalonians 2:14-16)

There is a lot of confusion because of the word “Jew” and the idea of it as a racial term. However, since almost all the writers who used the term “Jew” in a negative sense were racially Jewish themselves, they weren’t condemning Jews as a race. They were using the term Judean, not Jew, to speak of those who thought that one’s citizenship in the nation of Judea is what will give one salvation. The NT teaches that it is one’s citizenship in the kingdom of God through Jesus that is significant, not in Judea. Thus, the Judeans persistently opposed the Christians and persecuted them. The NT writers condemned the Judeans who persecuted them because they were opposed to God’s plan. (Revelation 3:9; Acts 26:20-21; John 12:10-11)

Preference to Christians
Isn’t it unfair, however, that God seems to say that only those who believe in Jesus are going to be saved? What about all of those who have not even heard of Jesus? And it is certainly prejudiced to say that only one religion is right, when there are so many options, isn’t it? (Acts 4:12; John 14:6)

On the other hand, to believe in Jesus is not in any way culturally or racially or linguistically centered. All God wants is that the people who would receive his best blessings would believe in what He has done and to live the life he has chosen us to live. This is the only way for us to obtain the blessings of obedience, of inner peace and the Holy Spirit—if we trust in who He has revealed himself to be and not just our own imaginations. If we refuse God’s work for us, or refuse his blessings, then understandably we would have no connection to God. But this is not because God has rejected us, or any individual. It is because that individual rejected God. If someone has never heard of Jesus, God will deal mercifully with that person. But if someone knows of what Jesus did, and sees that it is God’s truth, but refused it, how can God give that person His full blessings? God will not force anyone to receive his gifts—they have to accept it willingly. And Jesus is the way to gain God’s blessings. (Hebrews 11:6; Romans 3:22-26; John 5:36-47)

God is not a bigot, but treats everyone equally, according to His own terms.

The Christian Church Without Jesus' Teaching

 

What You Really Believe

Who Am I, Really?
It is often quoted, “You are what you eat.” But I am not a tuna sandwich or a quesadilla. Perhaps what we eat gives us the energy to be who we are, but it is not who we are. Rather, it is our thoughts and beliefs that make us who we are. We do not name ourselves according to our culinary preference, but we proudly tell others the names that display what we believe. Our church group (what we believe about God), our political leanings (what we believe about how to help our country), our sports team (what we believe about that team—namely, they are great)—these are the things we talk about to indicate who we are (as well as other things, like occupation)

However, our beliefs are as complex as our thinking, and at times we say we believe something that contradicts what we believe about something else. And we also will say that we believe one thing and do another. I can say that I believe that people should be nice to one another, but if I found out my neighbor took my television without my permission then I might not be so nice to him. My wife would then point out the contradiction between what I say and what I did, and I will explain it to her: “You see, I think that we should generally be nice to each other, but if someone takes something from me, then I don’t have to be nice.” The reasoning may or may not be valid, but I only came up with the reason to excuse what I did. The reality is, what I said I believed originally—“People should be nice to each other,”— is different from what I really believed— “I will be nice to others as long as they are nice to me.”
Given that what we say we believe is so often contradicted by what we do, how do we know what we really believe. I say I believe in Jesus—but do I really? And how do I know? I think that if I make statements of belief—“I believe that Jesus is Lord”, that will be enough. If I know something, “Jesus rose from the dead” or “Airplanes are safe,” does that mean I believe in it?

Evaluating What We Really Believe In
Jesus recognized that often what we say and what we believe are two different things. This is why he gave us a test to find the true character of a person—what they really believe in, whether they are really good and bad. Jesus said, “We know a tree by its fruit. We know that a tree is an apple tree because it bears apples. And we know that a fig tree can’t produce pears. Even so, we know what a person is really like by their actions and careless speech.” (Matthew 7:16-20 and 12:33-36). Thus, we know what people really believe by how they behave in certain areas in life.
Below are six areas that, according to Jesus, indicate what we really believe. If we follow God in these areas, then we can say we believe in God. But if we do not, then we must believe in something else—for our actions are a mirror of our hearts.

Actions
As shown above, what we do with our lives—our work, our response to stressful situations—that’s what really shows who we are. We can say that we love God, but the question is, how do we show it? Sometimes the best way to determine our character is to imagine that a stranger who has never seen us before is presented with a videotape of our whole lives, with the sound off, so they can’t hear our own explanations of our lives. How would that stranger evaluate us? What would characterize us? If we stole, we would certainly be characterized as a thief. But we more often than not excuse ourselves, not wanting our actions to determine who we are—“Sure, I get drunk occasionally, but that doesn’t make me an alcoholic.” “Yes, I have hit my child in anger, but that doesn’t make me a child abuser.” Yet Jesus said that a person shows truly whether they believe in him as to whether they do what he says (Luke 6:46-49)

Wealth
Jesus says that what we do with our money and possessions indicates where our heart is, thus who we are (Luke 12:34). A person can say, “I believe that God will heal me,” but then why does he spend so much money on medicine? A person can say, “My comfort will be in heaven,” but then why does she surround herself with comforts on earth? If we want to see what a person really believes in, we can look at how they spend their money—that will indicate what they think to be most important in life. Jesus said that if we want to show that we believe we will get to heaven, then we need to take a substantial amount of our wealth and give it to the poor—not necessarily the church, unless they are serving the poor (Luke 12:33; Acts 4:34-35)

Words
As we said above, a person can say one thing and do another. But Jesus said that we should pay attention to people’s careless words—the statements they make when they didn’t have time to plan it out. Often that’s when people’s pride and anger and selfishness flare up. If we are planning a statement, that can be one thing we say, but the statements we use when we are being thoughtless and carefree—those are the words by which we will be judged, for those are the words that show what we really believe and so who we really are. (Matthew 12:35-36)

Security
At times we all feel insecure. We are often struck by anxiety and we don’t know where to turn. Where we do turn in those moments of crisis indicates what we trust in or who we think will pull us out of our fear. Perhaps we will turn to a family member—especially if they are wealthy—or a friend. Perhaps we have a habit or addiction that we think will make us feel better. Perhaps we have nothing we can rely on but our anxiety, but we say, “How I wish I had this or that”. That is what we really rely on, the person or object we truly believe in. But Jesus tells us that in our time of crisis, the one we can always count on, the dependable one who we can trust in is God. (John 14:1; Luke 12:30-32). To “believe in” God doesn’t mean to have the correct doctrine, it means that you will count on him in a time of crisis. So whatever we turn to in crisis, that is our real god.

Attitude
God makes it clear that he wants us to treat everyone according to their well-being. He wants us to do what is good for everyone we meet—whether that person is an evil person or a good one (Luke 6:27-36; Galatians 6:10). We can make a list of who we actually show care for and who we do not. “Yes, I try to help this person whenever I can. This person, though, is a dolt and so I avoid then when possible. I like to assist this kind of person, but this kind I detest and wouldn’t even give them the time of day.” By this test, then, we can often see what limits we place on our belief in God. We believe in God and in his ways when we are around certain people or situations, but in other ones we do not. If people respect us, that’s fine, we can believe in God in that situation. But if someone cusses us out, then we find it difficult to believe in God. For we know that we will be rewarded according to our love, not our doctrinal beliefs.

Promises
We often make promises and commitments, from appointments to projects we agreed to work on. Sometimes we do not even have a promise to do something, but we have a “social contract” with our family, in which our behavior is determined. And there are many things that we “believe in” that we commit to do, whether it be prayer or a favor for someone at church or visiting a sick person in the hospital. But what we believe in is not found in the promises we make, but in the promises we actually keep. We may “believe in” prayer and make a schedule for us to wake up a bit early to do it. But, when the time comes, we find that we actually believe in sleep more than prayer because the snooze button is hit until the prayer time has vanished. We may “believe in” visiting the sick, and so promise to do it, but when the time comes we find the television too alluring, showing that we believe in our comfort and rest more. Jesus said that we must fulfill our promises and so display our faithfulness, for what we do shows what we believe. This doesn’t mean that we are able to keep all our promises. Sometimes emergencies come up. But we must remember this, whatever we chose to do, that is what we really believe in. (Matthew 21:28-31)

Repentance
One last thing to note—Jesus is a firm believer in changing one’s ways. We know he believes in change because he forgives people their sin. He displays his belief of changed behavior by accepting those who have repented. Even so, if you evaluate your true beliefs and determine that you haven’t really believed in Jesus, it is not too late to change! Jesus said he will give you his Spirit and he will help you repent from your old life and begin to believe in Him anew! Pray for God’s grace and you will begin to truly believe in Jesus, not just in words, but in your whole life. In that way you will be a new creation, created by God to do actions in light of Jesus!

Evaluate your actions, and determine
what you really believe!

Do I REALLY Have to Go To Church?

Why bother with church?
Well, if you aren’t interested in Jesus, don’t bother with church. Church isn’t for the uninterested, nor is it for those who want the church to adopt their own philosophy. Church is about a bunch of people working together to follow Jesus. That’s the whole of it.

But if you do want to follow Jesus, the church is the best place to be because that IS what the church is about. And that’s the reason why everyone who wants to follow Jesus should be a part of a church—because it helps us follow Jesus. The church is really just about “en-couraging” each other. This means that we give “courage” to each other to be like Jesus, in the midst of a society that wants to dis-courage us from Jesus. The church’s purpose is to provide a context to grow in Jesus and to serve Jesus. Without the people of Jesus, our life in Jesus is limited to ourselves, which is like not having Jesus at all.

But the church isn’t just a good idea for a believer in Jesus—it is necessity. Here’s three reasons why:

1. The church is part of Jesus’ salvation.
Jesus died and rose again so we can be a part of God’s kingdom. Jesus is the king, and the kingdom is not a land, but a people—Jesus’ people. If we refuse to be with Jesus’ people, we are actually refusing a part of Jesus’ salvation.

2. The church is the body of Jesus.
The church is actually a part of Jesus. Jesus said that what happened to his people happens to him, whether love or persecution. This means that if we reject Jesus’ people, we are actually rejecting Jesus himself! Thus, to not have anything to do with the church is to separate ourselves from Jesus.

3. The church is the context to obey Jesus
Jesus gave us many commands that are to be done in the midst of his people. Jesus said, “love one another,” and “be at peace with one another” and “serve one another.” But if we are not a part of Jesus’ people, we cannot obey Jesus.
Thus, the church is essential for real Christian life, not an option.

The church problem
As necessary as the church is, the church is also the biggest problem of being a follower of Jesus. The church is full of arguments, hatreds, divisions, hypocrites, superficiality and wrong directions. There are so many people in the church who seem to be trying to KEEP people from following Jesus, it is hard at time to look at this group of disobedient “saints” and call it the place where we will grow in Jesus.
What we need to realize is not all the church is the church. You can look at any given group of so-called “followers” and find a bunch of people that aren’t in it for Jesus at all. But you can also look within most churches—not all, but a lot of them—and find a core of people who are truly seeking Jesus above all else. You may not find them in the leadership of the church, and you probably won’t find them in the group that’s in charge of the “programs” of any given church. They may be in charge of a small group fellowship. They may lead a prayer meeting or bible study. They may be a counsellor and supporter of others in the church. But you will find that these people are the heart of the congregation of Jesus-people in the church.

Don’t look for these things in a church
Great music—This has nothing to do with following Jesus
Great preaching—Just because somebody sounds good doesn’t mean they know Jesus
No hypocrisy—Every church has some hypocrites, and most every church have those who are not hypocrites. The trick is enduring to find the difference.
A holy looking building—A lot of the best churches don’t have their own building at all, but meet in a house or a storefront.
Rich people or the opposite sex of the right age—Don’t go to church to further your own economic or social agenda. Church is for Jesus, not personal gain.
“People like me”—A church is not a social club, either. Yes, we are going to be more comfortable in a church with people we culturally understand, but the real issue in church is participating in Jesus.
Total agreement in theology—Certainly we want to be in general agreement of how to read the Scriptures and understand Jesus. But we will never find a church we completely agree with. It is enough to find people who are living it.

Signs of God’s church
So, let’s say that you are visiting a church and you meet some of the leadership and you’ve even found the spiritual heart of that gathering of Jesus-people. But still, how does one know if it’s the right place? How does one find a place that truly has Jesus in it, and not just something that looks like Jesus? As you do your detective work on a church, check for six things that a true church has:
 The gospel
The true church of Jesus holds the truth about Jesus at its core. They proclaim that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead. They have a very firm commitment to Jesus and know that the true Christian is one that not only says the right words, but acts in the way Jesus wants them to act. They are working hard to have Jesus rule over every part of their lives, and yet, somehow, they are not judgmental against those who are finding it difficult to have Jesus as their Lord. And not only that, they are so hot about Jesus that they are ready to talk about him to anyone who will listen—and possibly to some people who don’t want to listen. Don’t join a church that isn’t talking about Jesus.
 The Holy Spirit
The true church of Jesus displays the Holy Spirit in its very fiber. They know that their prayers are heard, and they expect people to be healed and set free by the power of God. But the Holy Spirit isn’t shown just by loud, demanding prayers—rather the Spirit is shown by the actions of love—they are gentle, peaceable, self-controlled against sin, open to everyone yet understanding that God wants us all to be pure. They are firm but not forcing, they make sense, but are maybe a little crazy, too! Crazy in a good way, though. Don’t join a church that isn’t powered by the Holy Spirit.
 Sharing with the poor
Jesus’ true church is interested in the needy. They seek out those who have needs—either within or outside of their congregation—and try to meet the needs with whatever resources they have. This doesn’t mean that they spend all their time with the poor, nor does it mean that everyone lives like monks, either. But the serious people in the church must be serious about adjusting their lives to include the needy around them. Don't join a church that doesn’t help the poor.
 Servant leaders
The leadership of Jesus’ church aren’t interested in promoting themselves, but they want to assist the people in the church. The leaders see the average person in the church as the most important people in the congregation, not those on the leadership team. They do not promote their personal agenda, or their own church, but consider what is best to help others. They aren’t focused increasing the size of the church or in new buildings—rather, they want to serve people. Don’t join a church where the leaders are full of themselves.
 Support of the persecuted
Jesus’ true church sees themselves as part of a persecuted body. This doesn’t mean that they are paranoid. Rather, they know that Christians around the world are being persecuted for the gospel, and they want to do what they can to support them. Perhaps they support the persecuted in their own community and rally around them. Or perhaps they support the persecuted from a distance. But they see persecution as a sign that the church is involved in the spiritual battle. Don’t join a church that ignores the persecuted followers.

 Community Support
Jesus’ true church is a family that supports each other. If you are in a social club, people come in and go out and don’t feel the need to talk to anyone. In a community, people are involved in each other’s lives—not being busybodies, but trying to offer help and support as they are able. Jesus’ community really cares about each other, and when they ask, “how are you,” they really mean it, because they really want to rejoice or sorrow with you. When someone is in sin, the rest of the church prays for them to repent and encourages them to remain in Jesus. When someone is in need, the rest of the church looks for ways to help them. Don’t join a church that silently encourages isolation.

Be a Part of Jesus—Join Jesus’ Community!

How Did We Get Into This Mess?

What do we want?
As humans, we are pretty simple. We have a bundle of desires, and we will do whatever we can to get them. We want our basic needs met: food, drink, sleep, health, a place to go to the bathroom. We want contentment and peace in ourselves. We want to be secure from things that might endanger us. We want some pleasure in our lives. We want to be connected to other people, feel a part of them. And we want to be respected. Pretty basic stuff. Not complicated.

What God wants
God is our Father and he sees what we want. He created us and so He knows what we want, because he made these desires in us. They are good, and he wants to see them fulfilled. He wants us to do what we can to get these needs fulfilled. But he also doesn’t want us to hurt ourselves or others. And so many times, we are like toddlers—we don’t see what’s wrong with touching the stove. God knows, and he wants to protect us from harm. Also, he recognizes that He is the most important One in our lives. So He doesn’t want us to drift away from Him. He wants us not to give to other people or things or ideas what belongs to Him. He wants us to love Him and to acknowledge Him as the most important One in our lives.

Who are we?
We are just like complicated toddlers. When we see what we want, we go for it. We change want we want with every hour, at one moment wanting something, and the next wanting the opposite. Some of this has to do with the bodies who make up a part of who we are. Our bodies are flooded with hormones and get trapped thinking in a certain way. Some of this mutability has to do with the society we see ourselves in—our family, friends, entertainments, co-workers, and the environments in which we live are all offering us different options and ideals for us to live up to, and we have a hard time resisting any of them. Also, though, we are influenced by spiritual powers. Most of the powers around us are trying to get us to ignore God. They want us to do anything, to think about anything except God, our Father, who loves us and wants to care for us. They want us to focus on money, on greed, on lust, on revenge, on obtaining power. They want us to focus on this because all of these things cause our ultimate destruction, as if we were a pointless message, doomed to self-destruct in a twisted version of Mission Impossible.

What Jesus came to do
God, our Father, sees our plight, and so he sends us Jesus. Jesus comes to tell us the truth about God, and to help us focus on Him again. Jesus doesn’t do this because God is a great guy, but because it is best for us. Jesus’ ultimate goal is to make our lives better. So he displayed again and again that God will help us with what we really want. While God may not give us money or revenge or power, He will meet our needs. God will give us health. God will give us security. God will give us joy. God will give us a society. God will grant us respect. Jesus demonstrated that on common people, just like you and me.
But it isn’t enough for Jesus to give us a good life through God. He recognized that we aren’t just made up of ourselves, but that God is in competition with other people and spiritual forces for our best interests. So Jesus had to create a place—a nation, rather—where we could live for God. So he told everyone that he was planning on establishing a nation where that could be done, and doing this through God’s power alone.

What happened to Jesus?
But there were people who didn’t see Jesus’ goals as noble. They felt that they already were living for God and that they already had a nation where people could live for God. Jesus, however, pointed out to them that they weren’t actually honoring God at all, but money, greed, lust and power. And he let them know that he was taking over. Because Jesus had many people following him, these political leaders thought that Jesus posed a threat—so they killed him.

What Jesus did for us
God, the Father, saw all this and decided it was time to step in. He raised Jesus from the dead to demonstrate for everyone that Jesus was right and the ones who killed him were wrong. He showed everyone that you can’t claim to be of God if you are really focusing on money, greed, power, and lust. And then God did something else: he appointed Jesus as head over the new people of God—the new nation of God’s people. Included in this nation is freedom—freedom from the many distractions that keeps us from God. Free from the spiritual forces that are trying to force us into molds of corruption. Freedom to live our lives as God intended—meeting our needs without destroying ourselves.

What is Jesus offering us?
1. He offers us a chance to be separated from our old lives of corruption
Through Jesus, we can be forgiven for trying to forget God and His ways. God is willing and enthusiastic to take us back.

2. He offers us a new community to be involved in
Through Jesus, a new community who strives to honor God in every way exists. We can take part of that community, and so find it easier to live for God.

3. He offers us an opportunity to ask God directly to meet our needs
Through Jesus, we have an open channel to God. Even as Jesus prayed and was answered, so we can do the same.

4. He offers us the Holy Spirit who will encourage us to be who we need to be in God
Jesus grants those who follow Him a friend who lives inside of us who will encourage us to seek God and to honor Him with all of our lives.

Taking Advantage of Jesus’ Offer
Sounds good? Well, then just follow up on what Jesus asks us to do:

A. Jesus wants us to acknowledge Him as the Ruler of our lives
Pray for him to take over. Look below for a sample.

B. Jesus wants us to find one of His communities and join it
Find a church that welcomes you and demonstrates Jesus in their lives, and be part of it.

C. Jesus wants us to get baptized as a life-long commitment to Him
Get baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit to show that you are in Jesus’ nation and will never leave it.

D. Jesus wants us to get to know Him and His ways
Begin by reading the book of Matthew—the first book of the New Testament in the Bible.

You can pray this prayer:
Jesus, I haven’t done a great job of trying to rule myself. Please, take over my life. I want you to be in charge. Please, lead me to your people who will help me live for You. I love you and want to live my life for You. Thank you so much for dying for me so I can have this opportunity. Amen.

Fear Factors

Fear is on a spectrum
Not all fear is the same. We can have a concern about any number of things—and that is normal and fine, no matter what the reason, no matter what the context. And some things we are right to fear—overwhelming things, like the death of a spouse that has cancer or the a close swerve into oncoming traffic. There are many different words for this: stress, anxiety, fear, despair, panic, nervousness, concern, and more. But they all speak to some sort of fear.

God gave us fear to avoid unnecessary calamity
Concern is natural, and we can plan because we are concerned about certain situations. Fear is natural if we are in situations that are immediately dangerous. God provided us with an increase in heart rate and adrenaline so we have the energy to deal with immediate situations if they come up.

Concern and fear are not wrong
Scripture says that we are to fear God, and fear hell and fear disobedience, fear breaking God’s covenant (Matthew 10;28; Hebrews 10:26-31). If we rebel against God, we need to be afraid, and in our panic seek to be right with God. Scripture also says that there are some earthly situations that we need to be concerned about—death and war and hatred and separation and rejection and more. We need to be aware that these things will happen, and take the proper steps to prepare for them (Matthew 10:17; Mark 13:23). The Psalms are full of the writers speaking of their fear and concern—but ultimately it all turns on trust in God. For example, Psalm 22 speaks of betrayal and attack—but also of trusting in God who will make things right.

Fear needs to be balanced with trusting God
Fear and concern is fine, in the context of trusting God. But often we can lose focus on the power and love of God, and the object we fear becomes greater in our minds than God himself. We feel that God cannot help us or that God won’t help us or that God will allow us to be destroyed. We forget about God in our time of fear, and then it is suddenly just us and our fear—and nothing or no one can help us because we cannot cry out to God. But if we trust God, God can lead us through our fears and show us again and again that he is stronger than what we fear and we can rely on him.

We must not fear the wrong things
Although there are things we are to fear (see above), but there are many things that we are not to fear. Things that are not significant enough for us to fear, or things that to fear them would show a lack of trust in God. The possibility of other’s harming us if we are doing good (Matthew 10:28); any situation that God directed you to go to; not having enough to eat or drink when doing what God wants (Matthew 6:25-33); about what will happen in the future (Matthew 6:34) and many other things. If we are afraid in spite of God’s promise, then we are not showing faith in God.

We must not respond to our fear wrongly
Even if we are afraid of the wrong things, we can still set things right if we trust in God to care for us, and pray to him. And, of course, we could be afraid of the right things. But if we respond to our fear in a wrong way—even if we are fearing the right thing, we are still showing a lack of faith. If we allow the fear itself to overwhelm us, then we can respond in many different ways.

Wrong Ways to respond to fear:
Hostility
Hatred
Obsessive thinking about what we fear
Freezing up—Not doing what we need to do
Panic
Sinning against God or others
Turning to other authorities apart from God to help us (such as drugs, alcohol, evil counselors, etc)

How to respond to fear:
1. We need to reject unreasonable concerns that are opposed to trusting in God.
2. We need to surrender our fears to God (I Peter 5:7)
3. We need to pray for God’s help and deliverance. (Phil. 4:6-7)
4. We need to actively do what is right, as much as we know.
5. We need to stand against evil spirits trying to encourage us to fear. (James 4:7)
6. In most cases, we need to confront what we are afraid of.
7. We need to do what we can to put the anxiety out of our mind.

Fear leads to setting aside faith.
Trusting in God leads to setting aside all fear.

World Peace or Whirled Peas?

Got World Peace?
Peace, according to the Bible is not just an absence of violence or a peaceful, easy feeling, but it is well-being in a community. When the Bible promises “peace on earth to those obtaining grace”, it is not speaking of a lack of war, but of a ruling principle and nation who would provide for all in need and offer justice and peace to everyone, without exclusion. This well-being and justice is called “shalom” in the Bible.

Stuck with Whirled Peas?
If there is one thing the world lacks, it is peace, meaning shalom. If shalom is a world-wide community in which everyone experiences well-being, acceptance, mutual assistance, and equal justice for all, then we have never experienced it. In every nation, in every era, the poor have been oppressed. The outcast have been thrown out because of arbitrary cultural mores. The religious have judged and rejected all people who did not accept their narrow guidelines. The non-religious have judged and rejected the religious because of their devotion to God. And all people purpose to harm all people who stand in the way of their culture controlling and manipulating all others.

Life on earth is not shalom. It is anti-peace.

Everyone wants peace. Most of us in the world recognize that we are all in trouble, that we don’t have peace, and all of us want to obtain it. Or create it. Or force it on others. To create shalom where there is no shalom is what the Bible calls “salvation.” Frankly, it is a utopian ideal, just like democracy is, just like capitalism is, just like communism. The difference is that the Bible claims that salvation—the creation of shalom in the world—is something that only God can do. Peace and justice cannot come simply from human effort or from anarchy. It must be a work of God that humans join with. But it is initiated by God.

Getting Better All The Time
The first step of God’s shalom-making was creation. God saw the chaos, the pointlessness of the world and made it again. And, according to Scripture, after God’s peace-making, He established humanity to rule over His creation and to keep it in shalom. This plan failed when humanity chose rebellion and chaos instead of God’s shalom.

Another step in God’s shalom-making was choosing Abraham. Abraham was not a perfect man, but he was a person who sought God alone, being faithful to Him, and trusting in Him when all else seemed chaotic. God chose Abraham because of his trust in God and said that whoever would obtain shalom, in all the world, they must be like Abraham and choose his path of trust. This plan failed because people thought that following the ritual of Abraham or being born into the family of Abraham obtained this shalom.

Another step in God’s shalom-making was to create a community of shalom with very specific rules. He chose for His people a nation in slavery—the outcast—so they would know how to treat those who were outcast. And He taught them His ways of love and shalom for all his people. This experiment failed in different ways, over the years. First, the people didn’t believe that God could really give them shalom. Then, they sought out other spiritual powers to grant them shalom. Then, they oppressed the poor, forgetting that they were once poor themselves. And finally, they took God’s rules and make them so burdensome that it became impossible to live them out.

Without exception, everyone has done wrong before God and become offensive to Him. But we all have been given the opportunity to be right before God through the deliverance from the slavery to sin and death which can be found in the Messiah Jesus. When the Father raised Jesus from an official execution, he showed him to be the path to be forgiven of our sins and to have a relationship with God. God proved his justice—which was called into question by him overlooking sins in the past and because of his patience—by making acceptable the one who enters into the devotion of Jesus, and so He proved his actions just….Jesus was given to the authorities to be punished because of our wrongs before God and Jesus was raised from his execution so that we could be made acceptable before God. Therefore, since we have been made acceptable by committed devotion, we have the shalom of God through our King, Messiah Jesus. It is because of Him that we have the right to speak to God and receive the blessings of God, on which we depend on for our very well-being. We boast in our confidence in being a part of God’s glory. You see, we can boast in the sufferings we receive—even as Jesus did—because we know that our suffering gives us the opportunity to stick with God. And sticking with God in the midst of suffering—even as Jesus did— is the test of our true devotion to God. And if our devotion is tested, then we have confidence—because if Jesus was raised by His enduring devotion, so will we. And this confidence will never be dashed because God’s love fills us through the Holy Spirit, given by God, to help us endure in the midst of our struggles. (Romans 3:23-26; 4:25-5:5)



Love Reign O’er Me
Finally, after all of these temporary experiments, God began his final plan for shalom. He sent his Son to be emperor of the world, ruler of his people. First, Jesus displayed shalom by setting people free from spiritual judgment, offering them freedom from diseases and mental illnesses and offering them a new life in God. Then he told the people the life of shalom in God, living by the principles of shalom. Then, finally, he allowed the rulers of God’s people—the priests and elders—to kill him, treating him as an outcast of God’s people. But God vindicated his Son as the only way to God’s shalom, the great Truth-teller. And a new people was created under Jesus, living Jesus’ shalom-principles and testing the world with their message of destruction of the anti-shalom and the establishment of God’s shalom.

The Underground Revolution
Through Jesus, God is continually creating communities of shalom—some big and some small. These communities are made up of those who were rejected by the world and who are baptized in Jesus—namely, those who have committed themselves to being citizens of Jesus’ new nation of shalom. These baptized are committed to Jesus’ principles of peace and justice. But these principles are not enough in and of themselves, because we all are too weak, as humans, to maintain shalom. So the Emperor has allowed us to receive the Holy Spirit, who helps us in our weakness to maintain shalom, even when we do not have the strength to live it out.

Would you like to be a part of this process of creating shalom, or peace and justice on earth? The first step is to commit yourself to Jesus by being baptized. And then you live out Jesus’ principles of peace. Begin now by praying this: “Jesus, I have messed my life up. Rule over my life and make me a new person. Teach me how to being peace and justice to the world and give me the Holy Spirit to remain in that peace myself.” If you want to be baptized and be a part of a community of peace, contact Anawim at the number below.

GO TO HELL (Top Ten Ways to)

Perhaps you are tired of the idea of going to heaven. Sounds boring? Well, try hell instead! It’s sure to be interesting. After all, every selfish person who has ever lived will be there, and there won’t be anyone with good intentions to limit the evil done. Not only will you be able to do whatever evil you want, but so will everyone else! It will be a free-for-all of oppression and destruction and theft and hatred, without anyone to stop anyone. Everyone doing even more evil to you than you do to them. That ought to be interesting. In fact, it is mentioned as a place where crying and agony will never cease. If you want to try it out, here are some ways that people have found to be really successful in getting there:

1. Curse God
“Curse God and die.” Job 2:9
If you want to be cursed by God and gain his hatred, all you have to do is express hatred to God. Tell God just how much you despise him and how you wish he would be extinct. Disrespect him in every way you can think of. Although he would still want you to repent (because he loves you) he will send you to hell.

2. Rebel against God
“If you refuse to listen and rebel against the Lord, you will be devoured by the sword.” Isaiah 1:20
God has the right to ask everyone on earth to listen to him and obey him because they are all his creation. However, if you want to be punished by God, you can always refuse to listen to anything God says. Whatever God says, just do the opposite. Whatever God wants, thumb your nose at him and do whatever you want. This way to get to hell isn’t unique, but it’s really effective.

3. Blaspheme the Holy Spirit
Blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. Matthew 12:31
This way to get to hell is more rare, and it has some flair to it. Blasphemy of the Spirit is to see God’s work—a miracle that does someone some great good, for instance—and claim that it is done by the power of some evil god, like Satan. No believer in God can do this one, so one has to really work at it!

4. Don’t believe in Jesus
“Unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins." John 8:24
This way is very popular with the majority of people of the world who are not Christians. It is very acceptable to those who wish to be tolerant as well. After all, in the world today it is popular to be tolerant to everyone except to those who say that Jesus has an exclusive claim to life.

5. Believe in Jesus but don’t act like it
He who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." John 3:36
This is the most popular method for Christians who wish to go to hell. Christians are participating in this in droves! Whole churches are praising Jesus and ignoring his commands, and so you can join a community of Christian hell-visitors.

6. Don’t Help the People of Jesus when they are in need
“Depart from me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels for I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat.” Matthew 25:41-42
If you feel that anyone who needs food or shelter is that way because of their own laziness, this way could be for you. If you see a follower of Jesus in need, just ignore them. It’s easy and effective! To make sure it does the trick, you can add an insult like “get a job” on top of it.

7. Oppress the Needy
If you afflict the needy at all, and if he does cry out to Me, I will surely hear his cry; and My anger will be kindled, and I will kill you with the sword. Exodus 22:23-24
You could go all the way and actually take from the needy! This is the quickest way to get to hell, and popular among the wealthy and powerful. Rub elbows with the upper crust and see that the needy don’t get a fair shake!

8. Don’t repent of your habitual sin
Even if a good man changes and then does evil, every good thing one has done will not be remembered, but only the sin and treachery he committed, and for them, he will die. Ezekiel 18:23-24
God has repeatedly said that anyone who repents from their evil deeds will live. But if you keep doing what evil you’re already doing, you will die and go to hell! There’s nothing to it, just keep doing the evil you are already doing. Of course if you think you aren’t doing any evil, then just keep that up, too! Hypocrites get to hell just as easily as any other sinner.

9. Reject the one who repents of their sin
If you do not forgive, you will not be forgiven. Matthew 6:15
This is a lesser known path to hell. Whoever has ever done you wrong, just keep it in mind and refuse to have anything to do with them because of it—that will send you to hell! Getting to hell is so easy, sometimes you can get there by not even trying!

10. Train others to go to hell
You travel to make one student; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. Matthew 23:15
There are so many ways to do this! You could help someone lose their faith in God, teach them to rebel against God, or tempt them to sin. This is the group method of getting to hell. And, as a special bonus, the one who does this gets to see the worst parts of hell!

You see how easy it is to get to hell? Jesus himself said, “Broad is the path that leads to destruction.” Of course, the problem about visiting hell is that you can’t ever leave. It’s kinda the Hotel California of the Spirit world. That can be a bummer, especially if you are tired of it. But anyone who visits hell, has it for their home. Forever. Frankly, that really sucks.
Now, God isn’t in the business of sending people to hell, even if some teachers make it sound that way. God says, “I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies, therefore, repent and live.” Ezekiel 18: Everyone has the possibility of escaping hell—God gives everyone the chance to not visit it at all. If you are interested in not visiting hell, then do the following:

Believe in Jesus
Do what Jesus says
Ask for the Holy Spirit
Keep living according to what God gives you.

This isn’t necessarily easy, nor is it popular. But it’s a much better life both on earth and eternally than living in hell on earth and then suffering with real hell for eternity.

Visiting hell is popular, but Jesus’ way is really radical.

Jesus' Suicide Politicians

Those who believe in a future kingdom of God to come and reign on earth are clearly dissatisfied with the system as it now exists. The innocent die, the righteous are punished, wars destroy mothers and children and the masses who have power are lulled into sleep—which is probably good as well, for the masses would only enact greater injustices than their leaders do. Yet many leaders of governmental powers are abusive, unjust and concerned only with their own position, not the good of the people or in doing what is right. God is not satisfied with injustice in the governments of the world and he has promised that injustice—especially against the poor and lowly—will be destroyed.

But there is a disagreement as to how God creates justice in the world. Some say that God is working through the wars, the court systems, and the unjust governments of the world. This is certainly true, to a degree, but Jesus was not satisfied with God working his justice through judgement and hated and killing. He established a new way of dealing with injustice, of dealing with corrupt governments. His way was based on two basic principles: 1. That God destroys rulers and governments that display injustice against the poor and lowly (Psalm 37, 82). 2. God will place in political power those who show themselves to be lowly and righteous before him (I Samuel 2:7-9; Matthew 5:3-12). Jesus summarizes it like this: Those who exalt themselves will be cast down, while those who lower themselves will be raised up (Luke 14:11). Jesus provided an example of enacting God’s justice through becoming lowly against the world’s injustice—through the cross.

Although Jesus’ example is the greatest, he also invited all of those who followed him to participate in the same upside-down justice. The way of the cross is open to all who wish to follow Jesus. But how does one cause the governments of the world to topple by sacrificing oneself?

Making oneself odious to the ruling class
Jesus made himself unacceptable to those who ruled by doing God’s will publicly, thus displaying the government to be unjust and oppressive. He healed those who were rejected by “acceptable” society—proving that they were accepted by God. He opposed some of the laws and rules placed upon the populace by political wannabes that were unmerciful to the hungry and needy (Mark 7:1-9; Matthew 12:1-13). Jesus also proclaimed that the government of the people of God was soon to pass away, and be replaced by God’s direct rule (Mark 12:1-9). Then Jesus made vague references to the destruction of the temple, the center of the government’s power (John 2:19). All of this together, made Jesus dangerous in the eyes of the government and to the ruling class in general.

Jesus also established his disciples to be people who would be on the government’s “most wanted” list. He told his disciples to go out to every town, declaring that the current government would be replaced by God’s righteous one (Luke 9:2). He taught them to accept those whom the government found unacceptable (Mark 2:17). And he laid out in detail the faults and injustices of the ruling class (Mark 7:1-9; Matthew 23). Jesus sent out his disciples prepared to be rejected by the world.

Response to Persecution
Jesus was hated by all the ruling political parties—Sadducees, priests, Pharisees and the intellegencia of the ruling governments—scribes and lawyers. They spoke publicly against him, attempted to make him look bad in the midst of those who he was teaching and made plots to kill him (Matthew 12:14, 24, 38). He was eventually arrested, tried, tortured, and killed for treason (Mark 14-15). But he knew ahead of time that all of this would happen, and he planned for it, even desired it (Mark 8:31-33; 9:31-32). And when it happened, he did not resist, but allowed the plot against him to unfold just as planned by his enemies.

Even so, Jesus promised his people that they would be hated and persecuted and killed, even as he was (Matthew 10:24-25; John 15:18-20). In the midst of this, he told them, respond as he responded. Don’t be afraid of the persecution or those who can torture you, but rather accept the fact that you will have to possibly die for the message of Jesus (Matthew 10:28; Mark 8:35-38). He told them not to fight against those who punish them unjustly, but to respond to them with good—blessings and prayers (Matthew 5:38-48). If persecuted in a town, the disciples may flee, but there will come a time when each of them will be killed for the message they carry (Matthew 10:23; Mark 10:39). In this way, the disciples remain innocent, and all evil done is on the side of the oppressor.

God’s response
Jesus cried out to God for deliverance from the oppression he was facing (Mark 14:32-39). He was willing to face the death and shame, but he saw it for the evil it was. But rather than taking action himself in vengeance for the crimes done against him, an innocent man, he relied on God, and God’s justice enacted by God’s hand alone (Matthew 26:52-53). And God came through—even though Jesus had to face shame, suffering and a horrendous death, after he was done with all that, God raised Jesus from the dead. This indicated not only Jesus’ innocence, but his authority over those who had oppressed him.

Even so, Jesus told his followers that if they suffer as he suffered, then they too would gain not only resurrection, but political authority over those who had oppressed them (Luke 6:20-26; Mark 8:35; Luke 22:28-30). But for the disciples to gain this justice, they have to cry out to God day and night, asking him for release from oppression (Luke 18:1-8). In this way, the foundation is laid and God is free to respond in his own way against true oppressors of the poor and lowly.

Successful politics
The way of the cross seems naïve and foolish to almost everyone involved in politics, whether Christian or not. But it must be remembered that some of the most successful politicians in the twentieth century accepted this same pattern of political thought—Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. and Stephen Beko. These followed the pattern of Jesus, and took him as their political guide. The only difference between Jesus and these politicians is that they were looking for deliverance from the world they lived in—their own people, their own governments. Jesus, on the other hand, looked for deliverance only from God—and because of this, he proved to be the most successful politician of all time.

Oppressors shall be cast down by God;
God will exalt those who sacrifice themselves for His sake.

Cruciform Christian Leadership

Most people think of Christian leaders as a pastor, priest or teacher. However, a Christian leader is anyone who claims to follow Jesus and lead or guide others. There are leaders in politics or in corporations who claim to be Christian. A Christian leader could be in the military, in the police, in a school system, or could be managers, owners, employers, parents—anyone in a leadership position who claims to be following Jesus. Jesus has a call to all leaders as to how they should act with their authority.

The way of the world is that those who have authority do it ultimately for their own benefit. The way of Christian leadership, according to Jesus, is the way of the cross—facing struggles and trials for the sake of others.

Christian leadership models complete devotion to God.
Do not lord it over those allotted to your charge, but prove to be examples to the flock. I Peter 5:3
The Christian leader, no matter what context they are in—secular, governmental or religious—at all times displays their total dedication to God and his ways. The Christian leader does not look to the philosophies of the world to tell one how to be a leader, but looks to Jesus as his role model. In opposition to this way, many leadership models, the leader commands and gains respect through forcing others to do his will. The Christian leader provides an example of what we are to do in God and welcomes others to follow his example. The Christian leader forces no one, but grants an opportunity to be like Jesus.

Christian leadership is serving others
“Whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant.” Mark 10:43
To “minister” literally means to follow Jesus’ command to “serve” or be a slave to others (Mark 10:43-44). For this reason, some of the most important leaders in the early church were called “servants”—not because it was a good title, but because serving is what they did. Jesus called leaders of his church, not to be power-hungry, nor to be cared for by those they lead, nor to make sure that their base of leadership was secure. Jesus called leaders to be like him—to sacrifice themselves for the sake of their people (Mark 10:45; John 13:).

Christian leadership is acting for everyone’s benefit, without exclusion.
“Do good to everyone.” Galatians 6:10
A Christian leader doesn’t exclude someone because they are irritating, or “outside our circle.” A Christian leader doesn’t even withhold love because someone caused the leader harm. No matter what a person has done or who they are, the Christian leader seeks to do what is best for everyone, in as much as they can.

Christian leadership never causes destruction to another, no matter what the circumstances.
Do not overcome evil with evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:21
A Christian leader never acts with the intent to simply “punish” another. No matter how evilly someone acts, the Christian leader always responds with the intent of acting for the other’s benefit, not to destroy them. This means that the leader who follows Jesus would never cause another to be wounded, killed or beat up because they or their ministry was harmed. Other types of harm would also be avoided, such as causing someone to lose their housing or food. The way of the cross is to change others by continuing to sacrifice for them, not to cause continuing harm to them. Even if someone is gently punished, it is not for the sake of punishment itself, but so that a person might be restored to life in Jesus (Galatians 6:1; II Cor. 7:8-10).

Christian leadership convinces others to be wholly devoted to God through Jesus.
Make disciples of all people. Matthew 28:19
The goal of Christian leadership, no matter what context they are in, is to provide an opportunity for others to be devoted to God through Jesus. Sometimes the leader will speak of Jesus, while sometimes the leader shows through their Jesus-like action what life is true. But no matter what, leading others to be disciples of Jesus is the hope of all Christian leaders.

Christian leadership is sacrificial.
No one shall obtain the kingdom of God except through tribulation. Acts 14:21
Most people, when they seek leadership, want to reach it by the easiest route possible, making as little sacrifices as possible. For Christian leaders, they know that Jesus promised that if they want to gain God’s leadership, they will only gain it through the most difficult trials, even as Jesus did. The one who wants to obtain Christian leadership recognizes the hardship involved, and accepts it freely. A Christian leader accepts the rejection of others, the loss of comfort, little or no salary, a lack of permanent dwelling, and sometimes even punishments and beatings.

Christian leadership is lowliness.
“Whoever humbles themselves will be raised.” Luke 14:11
Christian leadership is not a straight path of going up and up the ladder of success. Rather, Christian leadership begins with lowliness and service for other’s sake alone. God raises up not those who work for themselves and their own exaltation, but those who are completely devoted to Him and to his way of love. Christian leaders do not seek to gain the leadership themselves, but they wait for God’s authority given to them. This means that the leader first spends time in serving others with a heart of compassion and joy for them, gaining nothing for him or herself until it is God’s time to raise them up.

Christian leadership depends on God to call and exalt them.
Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time. I Peter 5:6
Those of the world exalt themselves in order to become leaders, to be able to control others. The way of the cross is to seek leadership by God’s authority and command alone. Christian leadership is not going through the hoops and seeking to have an institution or human authority put you in a place of authority. Rather, it is remaining lowly and serving others, allowing God to raise you up in his own time. This may happen through the church, but it is based on your devotion and love of others, not on your education, training or knowledge.

Christian leadership is difficult.
“For the Son of man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45
Christian leadership is hard. It is hard to love the one who hates you. It is hard to act lovingly toward one who is rebellious against you. It is hard to set aside your plans and desires for someone who has insulted you. But this is the way of Jesus. Jesus gave his whole life and self so that the enemies of God might gain God’s salvation. Even so a Christian leader must be ready to sacrifice him or herself. And the hardest thing to do, sometimes, is to endure in love and not to give up. But Jesus said, “The one who endures to the end will be saved.” Even so, we must not give up but keep giving, keep loving, keep hoping that people will turn around and devote themselves to God.

The Inner Cross

Remaining with God is a struggle. We can begin with Jesus, excited to have the salvation he offers and ready to be guided by his will. But when we really begin living with Jesus, it can seem difficult. There is so much we do not know, and God seems to bring up our fears and angers and desires to us at all times and tells us to ignore or avoid them. At times the suffering in our lives seems so overwhelming that God could not possibly overcome it all.

Why do we suffer?
But the suffering or the struggle —whether from our sin or from outward circumstance—we face in life isn’t a puzzle to God. Nor is it something that he wants to instantly overcome. In some situations, God delivers us completely from our sins or difficulties. He does this to show his power and mercy. But many situations, perhaps most, God allows us to fight and struggle and endure through pain. Why is this? Because God uses suffering as a tool to mold us and shape us for his use.

First of all, how we respond to our suffering gives us an opportunity to prove our faith. Our faith isn’t tested and proven except in the context of suffering. What we really believe and who we really are isn’t shown in times of comfort and ease—they are shown in times of trial and difficulty and unmet desires. If we remain faithful to God through difficult circumstances, then our faith is proven and we will be welcomed into the kingdom of God (Matthew 5:11-12; Hebrews 5:8; Romans 8:17).
Secondly, our suffering is one of the keys to overcoming sin in our lives. God allows us to suffer and struggle to strengthen our resolve to obey him, even when it is difficult. As God delivers us from some of the suffering we endure, we find that we are strengthened to obey him in all our lives (I Peter 4:1; Romans5:1-5; 8:13).
Thirdly, if we show that we are faithful in our suffering, then we will gain the kingdom of God. If we do not have suffering, then we will not gain God’s kingdom (Acts 14:22). It is only by being faithful—enduring through suffering— that we have any assurance of our salvation, even as Jesus’ resurrection through his suffering shows that his path is the way of salvation for us (Romans 8:17; Mark 13:13; Hebrews 12:2-4).



The Way of the Cross
Even if suffering has good effects for us, that does not mean that it is easy. It does not mean that we are able to endure. Often we cannot endure—we fight, we struggle, we try our best to remain in God despite our desires, despite those who oppose us, despite all the various things that try to tear us away from God, but we fail. What do we do? Jesus’ answer is to take up the way of the cross. Jesus’ cross was effective for our salvation, and the cross is effective in effecting political change. But the cross is also the effective path to enduring through suffering. Some of the aspects of it are:

Be committed to remaining in God, recognizing that obedience is a big part of it.
The core of surviving our suffering and overcoming everything that is attempting to tear us apart from God is a firm commitment to God. We need to be unswerving in our commitment to God, recognizing that he is our Lord and that there is no other in our lives. We give our life, our love, our trust to God alone. Along with this is our obedience. We remain committed to doing what God has told us to do, no matter what the consequences—even if our suffering increases. (Matthew 6:33; Hebrews 10:36-39)

See the destruction disobedience causes.
We need to open our eyes to see what disobedience to God causes. This disobedience is fundamentally rebellion against God and so we will be separated from God, from Jesus, from any power of the Spirit. The disobedient and unfaithful will be under the control of death and heading to hell. But we also have to see that our disobedience to God destroys our relationships with others as well. To disobey God is also to cause destruction to those whom we love, and eventually cause them to hate us. (Romans 1:32; Matthew 7:21-27; I John 3:10-15)

Don’t rely on other powers, only God
To help us escape suffering, there are many powers and authorities that claim to be able to help us. Drugs (both legal and illegal), alcohol, sex, money, various religions, occultism, and thousands of consumer goods all claim to ease your suffering and make your life better—and that quickly. What we need to realize is that God wants us to depend on him. He is the only one who can grant us help through every difficulty and the only one who can help us be who we need to be through the struggle we are having. We need to be confident that God loves us and will do what is best for us—even if we want release from pain and he says “no.” We need to be confident in God’s strength—that he can do whatever he wants and he will use his whole power for our best interests (Luke 1:37; Matthew 6:24)

Recognize our weakness, the weakness of the flesh.
Despite our confidence and trust in God, we are weak. We don’t always have the steadfastness we need in God. We want to be right with God, but sometimes we don’t care. We want to love those around us, but sometimes, we really don’t. We want to do what is right, at all times, but sometimes we are just tired and will do whatever comes into our mind. We have to recognize that when we feel strong, our weakness is right around the corner. And sometimes, when we least expect it, we will fail. It is important to remember that God is our strength, but we are weak and so often we are faithless, no matter what we try. (Mark 14:38)

Repent when we sin
Recognizing that we will fail sometimes, Jesus told us what to do. He recognizes our weaknesses and has offered a plan for when we give into weakness—when we are disobedient, or when we rely on something else to take us out of our suffering, then we can still return to God. To return to Him, God wants us to do three things—we need to admit our sin to Him and to another brother or sister whom we trust; we need to do everything we can to stop from doing it again; and we need to make it right with those whom we’ve hurt because of our sin. (Luke 17:3; I John 1:19; Mark 9:43-48; Matthew 5:23-24)

When faced with temptation, fight against the Enemy.
We need to remember that the one who wants us to die at the hand of God is Satan. He is the one who wants us to fail and to be destroyed. Therefore we must do everything we can to fight him. We must battle him with all we have, with every authority we have received. Jesus gave us authority over the evil spirits that want to destroy us, and we need to take advantage of that and verbally assault them. We need to command them to go and they must go. That doesn’t mean they won’t come back to attack us again later, but we don’t need to live under their control—Jesus died to set us free from them. (I Peter 5:8-9; Matthew 4:1-11).

When faced with temptation, rely on God
When tempted to give up, rely on God. He will strengthen you. He will never be faithful, but offer you an opportunity to escape from having to rebel against him. Pray to him and he will give you opportunity to be strong. Contact others in Jesus and ask them for prayer and counsel. (I Corinthians 10:13; 15:58).

Just don’t do it.
When tempted to give into your desire against God, the most important thing is to just not do it. We may not have control over what happens to us, but we do have control over what we don’t do. We don’t have to sin. We don’t have to give up on God’s strength. We don’t have to rely on evil to do God’s job. We can depend on God alone—even if we suffer for it in the meantime. God will make sure that we are not destroyed, and that if we endure, we will live in him forever.

Be steadfast, immovable, knowing that our toil for the Lord is not useless. I Corinthians 15:58

What Is The Cross?

To the ancient world, the cross meant one thing: crucifixion. It was a painful torture of hanging exposed before everyone, fighting for every breath, and every breath in pain. Finally, once one had to rest from the pain, he could no longer breathe. But this was not the worst of it. Everyone who was crucified was shamefully exposed before all people—openly accused, hung on a tree, naked, mocked, and shown to be the insignificant bug that he really is.

Romans kept this terrible, shameful torture reserved only for foreigners who openly opposed Rome—even Roman citizens who were traitors were beheaded. To bear a cross meant only one thing—perpetual rejection, oppression and hatred from everyone they saw. It is taking on a world of mockery and pain how long one could bear it before they gave up and died.

Jesus saw the cross during his life and he trembled—he loathed it. He called it “the cup” and he wanted nothing else but to be rid of it. At the same time, he knew that it was the secret for both him and his disciples to gain the greatest joy.

The Secret Mechanism of the Universe
Jesus knew a secret that few knew, and those that did know did not want to admit it even to themselves. Jesus revealed it to his followers in many different sayings—“Whoever lowers himself will be exalted, but whoever exalts himself will be lowered.” “Whoever loves his life will lose it, but he who hates his life in this world will gain it for life eternal” “As long as a grain lives, it is alone. But if that grain falls into the earth and dies, then it will bear much fruit.” “Blessed are you when men hate you and ostracize you and insult you and scorn your name as evil. Rejoice in that day, for great is your reward in heaven.”
The secret was this: Those who are rejected and shamed and oppressed for God’s sake, God will reward himself. They do not have to gain the limited reward of men, rather, they will gain the greatest amount that the universe has to give—peace, and joy and immortality.

The Death of Jesus
And so Jesus died the terrible death—the death of the cross. It wasn’t just something imposed on him. He could have denied it. But he chose it for the greater reward. And the reward he gained was this: chosen by God to be the king of the earth, and all authority was given to him. And he was resurrected from the dead to show that he had gained this authority. He is the only one in all the world resurrected in this way, only because he was the first to sacrifice every honor he deserved—even his own life—to face the greatest dishonor. Because of his sacrifice, he began the Peace of God and he opened the way for everyone to enter it—everyone who follows him.

How do we carry the cross?
And we can gain the promise of God as well—if we do what Jesus said. And Jesus gives us all this call, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me.” So the first thing we are to do is to commit ourselves to following Jesus. Even if it means mockery or rejection by our family and friends. We need to be ready to surrender all to come to Jesus.
Then we need to deny ourselves. Our desires are treacherous and want us to do every right thing in every wrong way. We want to live for ourselves, but Jesus calls us to live for God and to obey Him in all things. This means that we have to reject ourselves and our desires for the sake of Jesus. This is the inner cross.
Then we need to humbly serve others. We need to do for others what no one else would do. We must see their needs and sacrifice ourselves to grant them their needs. We must feed the hungry, even if we ourselves go hungry sometimes. We must give honor to others, even if we are dishonored sometimes. We must tell people the truth of Jesus with gentleness and care, even if we are called liars.
Then finally, as if all this was preparation, we will be rejected by oppressors. The oppressors will come and take away what we have, and reject us and mock us and punish us. We will not deserve it, but we will receive their punishment meekly—doing only good to them in return.

What is our reward?
If we endure the cross, even as Jesus did, we can be assured that we will receive the reward that Jesus did. Because Jesus endured the cross, he was resurrected from the dead. Even so, we will be resurrected if we endure. Because Jesus suffered at the hands of evil oppressors, they were stripped of their authority and punished. Even so, if we suffer for righteousness, those who oppress us will also be stripped of authority and punished. Because Jesus was made the lowest of the low, when he deserved authority, God granted him authority over all those who were his enemies. Even so, we will be granted authority if we allow ourselves to be made low. Because Jesus was given only death, when he deserved peace, God granted Jesus peace above all. Even so, if we endure the stress and rejections of this life for Jesus, we will gain life and joy and peace—forever without end.

The Lord’s Supper
We need to commit ourselves to Jesus—devote ourselves exclusively to him and trust in him for all we need. We need to honor Jesus death and acknowledge that Jesus is risen to the right hand of God. And we need to devote ourselves to carrying the cross as well. Our commitment can begin as we take the bread and the cup of the Lord’s supper. The Lord’s supper symbolizes the sacrifice that Jesus made—and by taking it, we accept that same pattern in our lives. When we take the bread, we memorialize Jesus’ broken body, and we accept that our flesh needs to be broken for him. When we take the cup, we memorialize Jesus’ blood shed for the forgiveness of our sins, and we accept that our lives are to be laid down for others as well. (John 6:53-57)

Being a Christian means taking up the Cross

The Results of the Cross

“Jesus endured the cross, disregarding the shame for the joy set before him.” (Hebrews 12:2) But what joy is there is taking up a cross, being mocked and beaten, and then suffocating to death? What joy is there in being rejected by one’s rulers and condemned to die by a Roman governor? What joy can there be in suffering, in being executed as an innocent? The good part of the cross is not what Jesus had to endure, but the great parts that come later.

Jesus said, “Whoever lowers himself will be raised.” (Luke 14:11). This was true of Jesus, who lowered himself to a death on a cross, and then gained resurrection and so much more. It is also true of us! If we lower ourselves to the faithfulness that Jesus himself displayed, then we receive the same benefits that Jesus himself received. “The promise by the faith of Jesus Christ will be given to those who are faithful.” (Galatians 3:22)

But what promise, what benefits? What are the wages the worker of the cross receives? There are seven major benefits:

1. Being accepted by God
The people of God are in exile. They are thrown out of God’s kingdom because of their rebellion against Him. While this was not true of Jesus—Jesus was always accepted by God and he had no sins to be forgiven—yet he still had to prove his obedience. Because of his obedience under trial, he was able to demonstrate his faithfulness to God, thus allowing him to be welcome in God’s court in heaven. (Hebrews 5:8-9). Even so, if we display the faithfulness that Jesus showed, then we too are able to be forgiven of our rebellion, enter God’s court, make requests of him and to listen to Him (Acts 26:18; John 15:7).

2. Overcoming powers
When Jesus accepted the way of the cross, he was dead to himself and his own desires—his desires no longer had control over him (Mark 14:36, 38). After he died at the hand of the rulers of God’s people, neither they, nor the Romans had control over him. Because one who had died can no longer be controlled by anyone (Romans 7:1-2). Even so, if we accept the cross, our desires no longer have control over us (I Peter 4:1-2). If we die in Jesus, all the powers of heaven and earth that try to control us no longer have control, because we are under Jesus’ authority alone. No other authority determines our destiny—even if they punish us, we are under Jesus and gain Jesus’ reward (Romans 8:35-39).

3. Resurrection
On the third day after Jesus was executed, he was raised from the dead by the power of God (Luke 24:6-7). Jesus knew that this would happen, for it was promised that the one who lowered himself for God’s purposes would be raised (I Samuel 2:7-8). And if this promise is true for Jesus, it is true for everyone who has faith like Jesus (Romans 8:17). Anyone who is in Jesus will be raised from the dead (I Thessalonians 4:16-17).

4. Political Rule
Jesus not only was risen from the dead for his faithfulness, but he also was lifted up to heaven, above every power in heaven and earth, to sit beside the Father and to act as the greatest power over heaven under the Father (Acts 5:31;Hebrews 1:1-3). Even so, everyone who endures hardship and suffering for God will gain some measure of political power in God’s kingdom (Psalm 37:11; Matthew 5:5,9; 16:24-28). And those who lower themselves the most will gain the greatest amount of authority in the kingdom (Mark 10:43-44).

5. Release of the Spirit
Once Jesus was resurrected, he was able to display his power as the Authority of God by releasing the Spirit of God to all who displayed the faith of Jesus (Ephesians 4:8; Acts 2:33). The Spirit is the power of God to do God’s word and to accomplish the promises of God on earth—even healings and resurrections (John 14:26; Mark 16:17-18). The one who has lived in the faith of cross also has the power of the Spirit in their lives (Acts 2:38).

6. Acceptance for others
Because Jesus died on the cross, he was able to create the kingdom of God and he provided a place for those who have his faith (Romans 5:6-11). He died not only for himself, but for the benefit of others (Mark 10:45). Even so, our faith of the cross is not only for ourselves, but also provides a way for others to live in Christ. Through what we endure in faithfulness, we provide opportunities for others to enter into the kingdom of God (Colossians 1:24; II Corinthians 5:18-21).

7. The Peace of God
God has promised his people a land to live where there is justice with no war; satisfaction with no theft; contentment with no greed; relationship with God with no sin (Ezekiel 36:24-38). But these promises are only for those who live the faith of Jesus—only those who have taken up the cross in their own lives will gain God’s promises (Matthew 5:3-12).


Life in God is ours—but only if we take up the cross!

Why Did Jesus Die?

Is there any reason for good person to die untimely? Why should someone be sentenced to death when they were declared innocent? Why should one dedicated to doing good suddenly have their life cut short? And how can it be declared God’s will for such to happen?
And yet, this is exactly the scenario that the New Testament proposes. Jesus was a man who did good, who healed many and taught thousands to change from doing evil to doing good. He claimed as a basic principle never to harm another. But the authorities of Jerusalem branded him a rebel whose goal was to overturn their authority. And because of his rebellion, he was killed. And yet, all of this was, according to the New Testament, God’s plan and desire—the God of mercy and justice. How could this be?
We need to understand the underlying reasons for Jesus’ death—which from our perspective is insanity and injustice, but for the purposes of God it is right and good.

I. Historical Reasons for Jesus’ deathJesus died because he threatened the temple of God.
“Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” (John 2:19) Jesus made this statement publicly, right after he cleansed the temple of the impurity of buying and selling. Jesus never said that he would destroy the temple himself, but he did declare it impure, and he said that it would be destroyed by God (Mark 11:11-20; Mark 13:1-2). But the temple was the center of Jewish religion in that day, and the leaders of Jerusalem needed it to remain that way. The temple was the center of the authority of the priesthood and the ruling Council of the Jews. If it was destroyed, then their power would be wiped away immediately. Jesus seemed to threaten the temple (Mark 14:55-58), and so, in the mind of the Jewish authorities of Jerusalem, he must be stopped (John 11:47-57).

Jesus died because he claimed to replace the government of God’s people.
Jesus entered into Jerusalem as a great ruler, which was questioned by the Jewish authorities of Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1-9, 23-27). When they questioned him directly about his claims to authority, he agreed that he was the one whom God established as king over God’s people and that he would reign over the priesthood and the ruling Council. That a borderline heretic could rule over them was unacceptable to the Council and they made a final determination that he should die. (Mark 14:55-61).

Jesus died because justice was replaced by mob rule.
Because the Council was under the thumb of the Roman government, they had to ask permission to kill Jesus. They presented Jesus to the Roman governor of Jerusalem as a rebel wanting to replace Caesar as lord of the earth. Pilate questioned Jesus, and while Jesus declared himself to be king, it was clear that he was not king as Caesar was (John 18:29-38). Because he had done nothing rebellious, the governor declared him innocent. But the Jerusalemites listening to this trial demanded that Jesus be killed for sedition. Finally, Pilate was swayed by the crowds, and allowed Jesus to be killed. (Mark 15:12-15).

II. Jesus’ Own Reasons for Dying
Jesus died because he chose to.
But Jesus did not die simply because of the injustice of the Jewish and Roman governments. Jesus declared many times ahead of time that it was God’s plan for him to die at the hands of these governments (Matthew 20:18-19) and he accepted the will of God in this (Mark 14:36). He could have escaped at his arrest, but chose not to (Matthew 26:50-56). He could have phrased his answers to be more acceptable to the Council or to Pilate, but he was being deliberately unhelpful toward his release (John 19:9-10). Jesus was prepared for his death and he did what he could to make sure it happened, even though the final decision was Pilate’s.

Jesus died to make himself king over God’s people.
Why did Jesus make that choice? Why did he act in agreement with his own death? Because he saw his death as a means to an end. He determined that he needed to rule over God’s people. But to be a ruler under God, he couldn’t just be at the head of an army or gain the acclamation of the people. Rather, he had to be appointed by God. To do this, Jesus had to prove to be a perfectly righteous ruler, one who would do God’s will rather than act for his own benefit. Also, Jesus needed to be oppressed by the ruling governments, to prove that they were unworthy to rule. This would cause God himself to act, to put down the unrighteous who raise themselves to power and to raise up the righteous who lowered their own desires (Luke 14:11). In this way, Jesus allowed himself to die to allow God to act for his ambition to rule.

Jesus died to free people from oppressive rule.
But Jesus didn’t want to rule from his own ambition alone. Rather, he desired to rule, because he saw God’s people as being without decent leadership (Mark 6:34). Jesus saw the people as under Satan, needing deliverance from his rule of misery and death (Matthew 12:43-45). Jesus saw the teachers of God’s people as being too ready to judge, and unlearned in the ways of God’s mercy (Matthew 12:7). And Jesus saw the whole priesthood and temple system as impure and idolatrous (Mark 11:15-17). Jesus desired to sacrifice himself for the sake of all those who truly desired to worship and follow God, but had no way to do it (Mark 10:45).

III. What Jesus’ death shows us
Jesus died to display the way of faith.
Jesus knew that the one whom God was pleased with is the one who is so faithful to God that he is willing to sacrifice everything he is and everything he has for him (Luke 14:33). Jesus determined to be a man so wholly devoted to God that he would die. And he also said that anyone who would gain the life that God has to offer must be so completely devoted (Mark 8:31-38). And so Jesus showed—not just taught—that the one who loves God most is the one who would obey God to the very end (Mark 13:13).

Jesus died to demonstrate the result of faith.
Jesus knew that if he died that God would act in certain ways. Whoever, in God’s name, destroyed God’s obedient servant, would be destroyed by God (Mark 12:1-9). Whoever lowered themselves for God’s sake and God’s people would be raised by God to rule (Luke 14:11). And whoever died because of their devotion to God, would be raised from the dead (Mark 8:35). Three days after Jesus’ death, God raised him from the dead to prove the third principle. After showing himself to the disciples for many days, God rose Jesus up to political authority over heaven, under the Father. And in 70AD, the temple and the priesthood and the ruling Council of the Jews were destroyed, even as Jesus predicted.

The power of faith is self-sacrifice for others.
This is the way of freedom.

Self Help Lies

A good article about some lies our society tells us:

http://www.christianitytoday.com/tcw/2008/mayjun/4.26.html