Who Is This Jesus And Our Attitude Towards Him?

For there are many unruly and vain talkers 

and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision: 

whose months must be stopped, who subvert 

whole houses, teaching things which they 

ought not, for filthy lucre's sake....they profess 

that they know God; but in works they deny him, 

being abominable and disobedient, unto every

 good work reprobate.

Titus 1:10-11;16

     The point to remember is that our fight against sin, against that which is unScriptural is to be found within the Church. Outside the Church it is easy to see who is against God, against Jesus Christ, who are doing things that is contrary to God's law: this is not easy to see within the Church were people are saying things much like Authentic Christian Faith. There is a great chasm between liberalism and Christianity. 

     What is the makeup of this chasm? it is in regard to the presuppositions of the Christian message. It the view of God and the view of man: furthermore, there is a chasm difference of their estimate of the Bible that contains the message. We need to know the message of truth and not some message based upon a person' presupposition or ideology, or theology. The main message of the Bible is not just of death and resurrection for this would have no meaning if it does not have a basis. That basis is the Person of Jesus Christ. It this message that must be considered and to be the foundation of any other message. Attitude is just about everything as it colors our words, our actions, our life. It is our attitude about the Person Jesus Christ and here we find this chasm: liberalism and Christianity are sharply opposed. 

      In the last blogs I wrote and discussed the Bible and that the Bible is truth and is our guide. The Bible does even more for it shows that Jesus appears in the whole New Testament, talked about in the Old Testament. So then, we must examine the New Testament. Where do we start? Some will say with the writings of Paul and by doing so make the Gospels secondary: this is an error! Here is a fact: the Gospels and the writings of Paul can be used as primary sources: this is not to say that other writings are less important only that we need a starting point and those two things make for a good starting point. 

      Let us examine some supposed problems: 1. The date of the Gospels. Here there is no debate and the authorship. 2. Paul: It is universally admitted that the chief of the extant epistles attributed to Paul were really written by a man of the first Christian generation, who was himself a contemporary of Jesus and had come into personal contact with certain of Jesus' intimate friends. Well, what was the attitude of these writers of the first Christian generation toward Jesus of Nazareth?

     There can be no doubt for Paul clearly showed how he stood toward Jesus and showed that he had a true religious relationship with Jesus. As to the writers of the Gospels there can be no doubt as to their attitude of Jesus. Paul, not being one of the twelve that Jesus selected as His disciples in the beginning after His encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus became an example for faith. Paul had a faith, even though not the same faith as Jesus had for God, still, Paul's faith consisted in having faith in Jesus. Yes, Paul had faith in God, not just the same as it was with Jesus, the relationship is and was different. This relationship Paul had with Jesus is not absent from his epistles and certainly not from his life. This is an important point: Paul's faith was not merely in the acts of the incarnation and atonement but even about the daily life of Jesus in Palestine. Do not exaggerate about these matters for there is more about Jesus and His life and Paul knew that he could not write all that could be written about Jesus in his letters. Paul certainly spoke more instructions than what was written, remember he spent time each day with those early Christians while in their presence. Paul wrote to them how to commence in their Christian lives. Yes, Paul spoke and wrote about such things but there was and is still more important something and that something was the redeeming work of Jesus and this was the primary thing for Paul. To have faith in God, like Jesus' faith; it was faith in Jesus. Paul was committed, and this without reserve, the eternal destines of his soul, and the soul of those claiming to be Christian. Now, the early Church had already made a decision as to their attitude toward Jesus. Paul was not led to assume their attitude, no for Paul was persuaded by His conversion when having met Jesus on that road to Damascus. This led him to the faith of those early Christians. Paul had this account of the redeeming work of Jesus as something he had "received", and that account had evidently been accompanied already in the early Church. So Paul was not the first to make Jesus the object of faith. 

     Well, the Authentic Church of God (this is those of Authentic Christian Faith) already have shown us their attitude towards Jesus and their faith in Him: so have you, like Paul, had an experience, an experience that has led you to convert to Jesus, to have this Authentic Christian Faith? Here is an important point: Our faith is not built upon a man's teaching, no, rather upon the teaching of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the object of our religious faith. Our faith in Jesus is not merely and imitation of Jesus; it is in our personal relationship with Him and we build that relationship upon the written and inspired word of God. 

     The next blogs are all about Jesus.

Woe to them that devise iniquity,

     and work evil upon their beds?

When the morning is light, they

    practice it, because it is in 

the power of their hand.

                    Micah 2:1

It is Jesus and Him alone

Richard L. Crumb