Committlment To Jesus Christ A House Built By HIm

Wherefore, holy brethren, paratakers

of the heavenly calling, consider the

Apostle and High Priest of our profession,

Christ Jesus; who was faithful to Him

that appointed Him,as also Moses

was faithful in all his house. For this 

man was counted worthy of more 

glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who

hath builded the house hath more

honour than the house. For every

house is builded by some man;

but He that built all things is God.

And Moses verily was faithful in all

his house, as a servant, for a testimony

of those things which were to be 

spoken after; but Christ as a son 

over His own house; whose house

are we, if we hold fast the confidence

and the rejoicing of he hope firm

unto the end.

Hebrews 3:1-6

     Jesus Christ is called an apostle and a high priest and this He is for the word apostle means one who is set apart and sent out and this sending out was to reveal Himself as the Messiah and that He was sent to die to pay for sin, the debt owed to God. As High Priest then He represents us to God in that capacity. The High Priest of old would enter into the most holy place once a year and present to God a sacrament for sin of the people. Jesus is our High Priest and has presented to God His death as a sacrament for sin. We are called by God to receive this death of Jesus, this sacrament for sin and to commit to Jesus all that we are and all that we will ever be. Moses was a man called by God to lead the people, to be the one who would be used by God to present to the Hebrew people His law and this Moses did faithfully. Yet, Moses was not greater than the law, this house of God, for this law, this house of God, was created by God and the one who builds this house of God is Jesus Christ and is worthy more that the house itself. What house is being spoken of as being built by Jesus? It is those whom God has called and is being built by Jesus Christ. You are, if you have come to believe that Jesus is God and is the Messiah, and is the Savior, and by this belief, a true Authentic belief, then you will commit to Him and be used by Him as a testimony of and to Him: "and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die" (John 11:26). Do you believe? Good but to believe is to commit. To commit is to abandon all that is not related to that commitment. This is conversion, a change from one thing to another, a better way is involved in conversion for it takes what is incomplete and makes it complete and useful. Have you converted to Jesus Christ, or is your belief a simple and unfinished belief? When you have committed you will find that faith is as natural as breathing, and you will look back and see how foolish you were not to commit and trust Him. 

     What is being taught is of salvation and some Churches teach a salvation that is not of Scripture. How? They teach a liberal Christianity that salvation is in man. This is not Scriptural for Christianity, Authentic Christianity finds salvation in an act of God. The basis of salvation is found in the work of Jesus Christ, not any work of man. This belief in Jesus Christ is that He is our Savior, not by virtue of what He said, not even by virtue of what He was, rather it is by what He did. What did He do? He took our sins, the sin of the world and bore that dreadful guilt of our sins upon the cross instead of us: this is vicarious atonement. This is what our testimony is all about so that others see Jesus in us by our being built into a house of God. We are the temple and Jesus is the High Priest of our temple, this temple built by God. This is the only way the New Testament speaks of the atonement: Jesus Christ died for sin and vicariously applies this atonement to those whom God has called. To many preachers and liberal Churches do not often speak of the atonement and teach more about modern culture and of satisfying human pride. Run from such preaching and teaching!

     Liberal Christianity in its essence teach that the death of Jesus Christ did not have an affect upon God but only upon man. Really? Did not God the Father turn His face away from Jesus on the Cross because of the sin that Jesus bore? Yes? When the true words of God are strained to present Jesus Christ work on the cross other teachings are presented as truth and this in many forms. One such form is that the death of Jesus Christ is an example of self-sacrifice and you are to emulate this self-sacrifice. This then becomes  a symbol for people to express self-sacrifice in concrete forms and avoids the more simpler form that Jesus came to die to bring justice for sin, a sin against a Holy God. Furthermore, it is said that God hates sin so much that He sent Jesus Christ to die upon the Cross, therefore we ought to hate sin as does God and repent. Or, that the death of Jesus Christ is an act that displays God's love for exhibits God's own Son as given up for us all. All these theories may be taught and preached in various levels and all may seem to have some truth in them, joining them with a high view of Jesus Christ. Yet, they err! How? They ignore the dreadful reality of guilt, and make a mere persuasion of the human will all that is needed for salvation. Yes, although those theories have elements of truth as found in Scripture they are swallowed up in a greater truth, and that truth is: Christ died instead of us to present us faultless before the throne of God. Without that central truth, all the rest is devoid of real meaning. If we are to commit, to convert to Jesus Christ and if the cross is to be restored to its rightful place in Christian life, we shall have to penetrate far beneath the modern theories to Him who loved us and gave Himself for us. 

     You are the temple of God, a house built by God and that builder is greater than the house that is built. That house, you, are to be a testimony, a true and Authentic Testimony of God, or Jesus Christ who died for sin and now by His death salvation can be given to you for you are called by God to be His child, His temple. Will you be one? I pray that this will be true for you.

This book of the law shall not depart

    out of thy mouth; but thou shalt 

meditate therein day and night, 

    that thou mayest observe to do

according to all that is written 

    therein: for then thou shalt 

make thy way prosperous,and 

    thou shalt have good success.

                        Joshua 1:8

The prosperous and successful way is eternal life

Richard L. Crumb