Don't Get Lost in the Weeds - Day 258 Month 9-14 Week 35-6
Today's Reading (Bible in 1 year)
2 Kings 13:14-14:27, Proverbs 31:22-31, Daniel 1, Ephesians 2
Don’t Get Lost in the Weeds
For the last month or so, Sylvia and I have been reading a book called Doctrines that Divide by Erwin Lutzer. Erwin outlines the history of the Christian church and where different doctrines have contributed to the reformation of the church and then have driven the church to split into many denominations. We are coming close to the end of the book now and we are seeing how the author is starting to show his true colours and is revealing his stand as a Calvinist. I’ve mentioned in the last week or so that a Calvinist, in very simplistic terms, emphasizes God’s sovereignty and predestination, while Arminianism, which I tend to agree with, emphasizes God’s grace and our ability to respond to Him. These two theological positions have been debated for centuries, and I don't expect Christians to completely agree on them.
Through the time that I have been reconstructing my faith and trying to use the Bible as my source rather than the many different theological positions, I have come to realize that when I have questions, I can often find answers by going back to recognizing the character of God.
So, here we go. If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus. Jesus was from the line of David, and His life was prophesied about throughout the Old Testament. The Jews were expecting a majestic king, but Jesus was born into an ordinary family and laid in a manger. Jesus is the Son of God. He taught us how to live and told us that the greatest commandments are to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, minds and souls and to love our neighbours as ourselves. He spent time with sinners because, as He said, it is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick. He lived a humble life, sometimes having nowhere to lay His head. He spent hours in prayer with His Father, healed the sick and even promised the criminal dying beside Him that he would be with Him in paradise. He lived a life of love while standing strongly against religious hypocrisy. He said He was, “I AM,” and He said that “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). He was condemned and crucified through the actions of religious and political authorities, but three days later He was resurrected. He gave His followers the instruction to “make disciples,” and then He was taken into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father.
The apostle Paul says, while writing to the church in Ephesus, that “God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) and raised us up with Him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:4-6).
If Jesus is the Son of God and He is “I Am,” He is the truest representation of God’s character because He is God. Therefore, we are well advised to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, the God Man, rather than be caught up in the deep weeds of theological differences. Theological differences matter, but they should never become more important than following Jesus.
It all seems pretty simple to me. God loves us. He sent His Son to die for us. Through faith in Jesus, we can have life through Him. Jesus said from the cross, “It is finished!” His work of redemption was complete. Now we are called to follow Him, love God, love our neighbour and make disciples. We may not agree on every theological question, but we can agree on Jesus. Full stop.
Have a great day!
Steve
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