Jesus sometimes says things in Scripture that we don't expect. For instance, in John 10:26, Jesus said, "You do not believe because you are not among My sheep." That seems contrary to logic. Don’t we become His sheep by believing? But Jesus places being His sheep as a prerequisite for believing.
He says a lot of these things.
“Whoever is of God hears the words of God” (John 8:47). Wait, don’t we become “of God” by hearing the words of God?
“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me” (John 6:37). Human logic says we choose to come to Him, but He’s indicating that it’s predicated on the Father giving us ... and never fails.
He told Nicodemus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Didn’t it seem as if being “seeing the kingdom of God” produces being “born again”? That’s not what Jesus said.
In Mark 3, Jesus said something startling. He was accused of being of the devil, and His family came to take custody of Him. When He was told they were there, He indicated those around Him and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother” (Mark 3:34-35). Doesn’t that dishonor His mother? Besides, we thought believing made us His brothers. He indicates doing the will of God indicates being in His family.
One might be forgiven for thinking that Jesus doesn’t think like you and I. Of course, it is, in fact, true. He doesn’t. So why do we keep trying to bend Him to our mold?
2 comments:
Unfortunately, even in our redeemed state, we are unable to fully let go of our old man. We want to be the efficient cause of our salvation because that gives us some level of importance. To my eyes, the Reformed view on the order of salvation gives the maximum glory to God in salvation than any of the non-Reformed views. Praise God He still saves us when we get His Word wrong.
I would guess that most believers give more thought and attention to their ongoing sanctification, rather than either their initial regeneration or their future glorification. I for one think that the conversion process--or how God converts the human soul--is an important and thought-provoking theological topic (and yes, I have a good number of relevant books in my personal library). For many decades, I believed that people join God’s family if and when they choose to believe the gospel or they “decide to follow Jesus.” However, after encountering the verses that you highlighted today (and many others), I began to realize that my thinking in this area was incorrect. Human reasoning led me wrong, as you point out. I was understanding matters as particular teachers, church groups, or denominations presented them and not necessarily as God’s Word taught them. Personally, I had moved from a specious Catholic faith and practice to a less-than-precise Protestant faith and practice--a momentous redirection, for sure, but not quite to a full and proper biblical understanding (as I came to learn). Fortunately, Jesus’s words (and the thoughts behind them) are recorded for me in the Bible, and I can consult them and adjust my understanding as needed. (That endeavor has been a big part of my aforementioned sanctification, as it happens.) It is never too late to get taught!
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