Introduction to the Foundational Modules
.... With this posting we'll begin a new series on the ‘Foundational’ topics of our faith. But especially, we're interested in how these topics can point us to Jesus: "For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 3:11). As Jesus Himself would explain:.... "Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great."
(Luke 6:47-49)
.... Those who come to Jesus and learn of Him find a living foundation, to build a relationship that will carry them through every tempest in life. And the broader context of this passage describes the tempest as well:.... "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves."
(Matthew 7:13-27)
.... "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'"
(Matthew 7:23)
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Daily Bible Reading: Luke 16
posted by loren at 5:45 PM
3 Comments:
When Jesus said, ‘I never knew you’, the Greek word for ‘knew’ (ginosko) means an acquaintance, which implies a relationship that works both ways. He is essentially saying that despite all the activity they pursued (supposedly) in His name, a relationship with Him was just never formed.
By
loren, at 7/20/2005 5:55 PM
Jesus said the way that leads to life is narrow and difficult, and there are few who find it; Peter said, in 1 Peter 4:18, that the righteous one is scarcely saved. So I'd like you to think about that very, very soberly before I introduce a contrast.
In 2 Peter 1:2, Peter went on to speak of the grace and peace that would be multiplied in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. And in that same context, he declared:
“for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
(2 Pet 1:11)
So think about what that means! In the light of such difficulty, an abundant entrance may actually be obtained! This is a breathtaking thought! And this abundant entrance is through the relationship we build with Jesus by knowing Him, as opposed to the difficulties of those who perhaps mean well and are simply seeking to please Him, yet without actually seeking to know Him. Please think about this, even if you’ve missed everything else!
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loren, at 7/20/2005 5:57 PM
This comment is for the philosophers in our midst. God is in a class by Himself. His way of thinking and everything else about Him is far, far higher than we, as humans, could normally even grasp (Isaiah 55:9). This means that searching for Him by using our own, human intellect would be an entirely futile hope:
“For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.”
(1 Cor 1:21)
In other words God has decided, in His wisdom, that He will never be known to us through our own, human wisdom. This means we might never know Him at all, ever, unless He is the one who takes the initiative to make Himself known to us in some way.
Here is the other side to that same scenario. God is the Alpha and Omega, and everything was made by Him: therefore He, Himself, becomes the ‘standard’ of all by sheer default. For example if we were to ask, What is truth? The answer must be that He is the source of everything, so He is the truth. Truth is not a concept, Truth is a person: ultimate truth is the Lord Himself (John 14:6). And the concepts we hold as ‘true’ are true because they reflect His way of thinking. The closer they match this, the truer they are; the more they deviate, the more untrue they are. But the real point is that the closer we are to Him, the more a sincere relationship can be formed.
If you’ve ever read much from the worldly philosophers, I’m sure you’ll agree that most of them were very interested in explaining the nature of God. The problem is that, as a premise, they rejected the ways God had already expressed Himself to man. Instead, essentially, they sought to re-define Him according to their own thoughts and ideas of what He must be like. In this sense they were very much like the false prophets mentioned in our posting, and in a further similarity (though deeper down), most of them ended up as atheists as a result. Here’s why:
When someone is so interested in defining God by their own intellect, however brilliant they may be, their ‘god’ ends up as a mere figurehead who happens to agree with their conclusions, and who generally allows for their vices. In the end they find this ‘god’ to be very faulty, and not worth believing in at all. And I agree! Because, beneath that fig leaf, their real ‘god’ was simply themselves the whole time. The ‘god label’ was a self-deluding veneer because, the whole time, they never broke out of human logic and into the realm where God might actually be known. No wonder it ended in frustration for them. Why should anyone worship a god who is no better then themselves? Because the whole time, that’s all it was.
The famous German philosopher Nietzsche said that God is dead, but the truth is that Nietzsche is dead. But Jesus is alive forevermore. So think about what that means! Who could Jesus be? Where did He come from? What kind of life did He live? Why did He die? Why could death not hold Him? Where did He go after His resurrection? And why did those who saw Him, alive from the dead, devote their lives to Him even though many (if not most) ended up gladly giving their own life in order to remain loyal to Him?
If you’ll think about those questions, you’ll do something none of those famous philosophers was ever able to accomplish: you’ll break out of the cycle of human limitations and glimpse an understanding that is higher than they could ever obtain. We do this by listening to the words of Jesus, and understanding the revelation of God that was given through Him. We are not simply learning these things as ‘truths’, but we must find the testimony of Jesus’ heart and mind in them -- His character -- and reach an appreciation that will lend itself to building an actual relationship with Him. I say ‘we’ are doing this, but to correct myself, He will be the one who does all the teaching, and He simply requires that we trust Him, believe in Him and follow Him sincerely. (See 1 Cor 1:23,24).
By
loren, at 7/20/2005 5:58 PM
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