There are what we sometimes term "Red-Letter Christians" who claim, "I only believe the words of Jesus." "These," they assure us, "are the words of God, not necessarily all that other stuff." Ironically, these so-called "words of Jesus" come from ... the Bible that they are trying to relegate to "somewhat useful" at best. "But," they assure us, "Jesus gives us a much friendlier version of God than the rest of the Scriptures." And you know what they're saying. I mean, that Old Testament God with all His "smiting" and "fire and brimstone" and all was really pretty tough. Jesus gave us a gracious God who forgives everyone and it's all good. Or ... did He?
Jesus was probably the best example of the concept of "a relationship with God." He spoke of Him as "Father" to a Jewish society afraid to refer to Him as "God" (and they got upset with Him for saying it). He spoke of a forgiving God. In His teaching on how to pray, He said "forgive us our debts" (Matt 6:12) showing that God forgives debts. Now, hang on a moment. He did say "debts," didn't He? Yes, He did. So Jesus was claiming that we owe God, that our sin results in a debt to God that we must pay. God is our ... Creditor, as it were. Jesus, in fact, went on to say, "If you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions" (Matt 6:15). Apparently the Father is not an all-forgiving God ... from the lips of Jesus. Which is why Jesus said He came to make ransom for sinners (Matt 20:28). Interestingly, in that text He did not say "for all," but, specifically, "for many." Again, not a universal forgiveness. Jesus presented some other pretty startling things about the Father. For instance, "For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father" (John 6:65). Now, if Jesus was saying, "And the Father grants it to everybody," the statement would be meaningless. Jesus was explaining why some don't believe (John 6:64). They don't believe because the Father hasn't granted it. Or how about Jesus's prayer in Matthew? He prayed, "I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants" (Matt 11:25). Wait, what? The Father hid things? The text there, by the way, follows Jesus's harshest words for the unrepentant places He had visited, assuring them that it would be horrible for them in the day of judgment (Matt 11:20-24). Nope, not the all-forgiving God. A God that demands payment for debt incurred. A God that does not grant access to just anyone. And Jesus didn't learn that kind of thing from Calvin. He learned it ... from the Father. Jesus spoke famously about God's love ... specifically for those who believe (John 3:16). Remember, that "so" in that text is not a quantity -- "so much" -- but a quality -- "in this way". God loved the world in such a way that those who believe will have everlasting life.
It turns out, then, that our "Red-Letter Christian" types aren't entirely honest. They only accept the stuff from Jesus that they like, that they approve of, and reject even Jesus when He says what they don't like. Which, of course, makes them the final arbiter of truth for us all. Not quite so superior a position, is it?
5 comments:
Clearly, anyone that says God was all judgment and fire and brimstone in the Old Testament hasn't actually read the Old Testament. The story of the Old Testament is one of a longsuffering God ready to pour mercy out freely on a repentant people that constantly reject His mercy. It's almost like the Old Testament and the New Testament continue to say the same thing. Though it does seem to portray God as more interventionist in the Old, but I would argue that is more a perception issue rather than reality.
From just the few examples you presented here of assumptions vs. actualities, it is clear that many read the Bible with personal bias and not with a receptive and submissive mind towards the truth of God. Naturally, such “cherry-picking” creates a false belief system, as it feeds the formation of a personal “God” and one’s own scriptures.
P.S. Even more instances of contrasts between God’s Word and man’s misunderstanding of it as related to Jesus’ words and actions are described in John MacArthur’s book, The Jesus You Can’t Ignore: What You Must Learn from the Bold Confrontations of Christ, which reveals Jesus as far from the meek and mild hippie of the Red-Letter Christians.
I did like the "naturally" next to the "cherry picking," because picking cherries is natural, but I'm sure that wasn't intentional.
It seems like the words of YHWH in the OT should also be in red. The words of the judgemental God in the OT are also the words of Jesus, aren't they?
I would like to think that all my word choices are cherry-picked and intentional, but you are right; I did not intend to produce that fruitful pearing of words. Orange you the puny one to pick up on that! :)
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