Is Jesus really enough ?
Before you get into a panic at reading the subject, read through and think about it a minute. Imagine for a moment that you have been raised in some very isolated area, apart from people other than your parents. They had been raised the same way. You read no books, never heard of the Bible, or any religion. You have no concept of church. The word isn't even in your vocabulary. You do feel that there is something "bigger" out there but it has no name.Somehow you unearth a copy of the book of Matthew, the words of Christ being highlighted in red. That is all you have. No Mark, Luke, John or any other book in the Bible.
Could you be a good Christian with only those words available to you ? Are the words of Christ sufficient ? If you believe he is the messiah, the son of God, the perfect man, I suspect you would think his words would be enough to show you the way to live a holy life.
But if you just had the words of Christ, would your Christianity look different than what you practice now ? Would there be less judgment in your practice ? Would there be more love ? Would you even know to go to church ? And would there be someone else, or a conference, telling you how to live ?
We seem to have gotten ourselves into a place where Christ's words stand second or take a back seat to others words. Even if you believe that all the scripture is inspired, surely you must know that not everyone who wrote in the Bible was the Messiah, the very son of God, and that alone should make the words of Christ stand highest. We should hear His words in Church the most and be challanged to live them daily.
If His words alone cannot keep you on the path to Heaven, then how could he have been perfect ? If His words alone are not complete in showing salvation in your mind, then what does that mean ?
If you never knew what happened after the cross, would you still live for Him ? Hard questions and answering them with the old come back of " all the words of the scripture are inspired" doesn't answer the hard questions I have asked here today. Its just a cop out for not looking at what you believe in and seeing if you think Christ alone is enough to keep you on the right road to being a really good person.
Even for you to say you need more words than just His words makes you look like you believe Christ must not have been complete, perfect etc, admitting perhaps that He didn't say all He needed to. And that is far less than perfect, to leave out something we HAVE to have.
Of course the point of all this is to have you look deep inside your heart and see where you really stand. Its hard to use just the words of Christ to judge others and to say things like, "well, we dress this way and we worship this way". You see, Christ didn't say those things to us. He gave us very little to hold over our brothers and sisters heads while we smirk, thinking we are better.
Here are some verses to chew on today, the very words of Christ.... putting them into practice would surely change the world. A Challange for many of us.
Matthew 5:
38 "You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' 39 But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41 If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
Love for Enemies 43 "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Comments
What you get in the Epistles that is not as clear in the Gospels is how we are saved by believing in Christ, the fact that He both took our penalty, and lived a perfect life Himself so that His righteousness could be applied to us.
This is not saying at all that you have to be a theological wizard to be saved. There are all kinds of people all over the world who are Christians and who might have been exposed to only small portions of the Bible at all. Think of all the Old Testament saints who had faith in the promises of God, but did not understand exactly what God would do to procure their salvation. They saw through a glass darkly, and we see more clearly, but still, we cannot fully understand the things of God until we receive our full sanctification after our deaths.
Was Christ not being honest when he said in Matthew 28:20 "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world."
wasn't that after the resurrection ? So isn't the entire message of Salvation in Matthew ???
Its always good to read the whole book of Matthew, its all there, if you take the time to study it.
In the post I do ask if Christ alone is enough, and of course he is. His words do keep us in line. The gospel is about being a good person, you even said that the longer you are a Christian, the more frightening the words of Christ are. So yes, his words in Matthew do show us how to live as a good person. Good in action. Salvation is a gift, free, but still we have to be living a life that is full of the things we are commanded to do.
Perhaps I misunderstood you. If you are acknowledging that salvation is not by our works, even partially so, then we agree!