SEE THE LIGHT

Our friend Gaven of GOD FEARING YOUTH had an amazing post we would love to share.

"Doing what we do with God Fearing Youth, I deal with a lot of people who hate Christians. A lot of these people are just jerks who don't know anything about God, don't know anything about Scripture (who say "clearly" a lot) and are usually just trying to start some sort of fight. Some of these people really hate Christians, and for most of them, Christians are the reason.

If you're a Christian, (noticed I said 'a' Christian, because Christian is a very poor adjective) it means you believe in Jesus. But what does it mean to believe in Jesus?

To me, there are two different Christs out there, Church-Jesus and Bible-Jesus. Bible Jesus teaches tolerance, acceptance, overwhelming love. He teaches that the hungry need to be fed, the naked clothed, and the lonely befriended. He preaches undeniable generosity and gets straight up pissed at the religious leaders of his day for all the blind meaningless rituals they go through while their hearts remain sinful. This is the Jesus spoken of in the scriptures.

Church Jesus on the other hand, is like an insurance policy. He's the solution to the sin problem of this world and little else, and the whole point of being Christian is to just get as many people as you can to accept this Jesus (whatever that means) so when this quasi-meaningless life is over when can all go to the same place. All you have to do to "let Jesus into your heart" is to say a prayer and nod your head at all the right times.

I myself was saved in this sort of manner. But is this in the scripture? No. Nowhere in the Bible does it talk about accepting Jesus into your heart by saying a prayer. Some denominations of Christianity even go so far as to say that once you have this "salvation" its yours forever. You said this non-biblical prayer once and you probably meant it so now you can do and say whatever you want and you'll go to heaven when you die, no matter what. What part of that is Christianity?

But I'm getting ahead of myself. My point here is to divide old tired church rhetoric from the Bible. I guess what I'm saying is,

This sinner's prayer style of salvation that is taught in many of today's churches is not Biblical.

The point is to follow the example that Jesus set. Is there really any argument about this? Jesus came and showed us how to live. Live like him, and you're good. You're living your life the way that God did, the way that God intended.

Its time to get controversial. I'm not setting out to make people mad, but I know I'm going to. But I don't care, here goes:

Is it possible for a person to say he's a Christian and not be one? Almost every Christian I know would say that it is. Its not the words that you say, its the motives of your heart and the way you live your life. But what about the other way around?

Is it possible for a person to say he's not a Christian but really be one? Almost every Christian I know would say no, it isn't. But why not? They haven't accepted Jesus? But the "accepting Jesus" belief isn't Biblical, remember? I thought the words you say didn't matter. Isn't it about the motives of your heart and the way you live your life?

Now we have to draw a line between saved and unsaved. I'm not saying that everyone is saved no matter what, but what makes a person saved? Is it belief that Jesus existed? Obviously not because Scripture says even demons believe he existed. Its faith in Jesus. But what does that mean??

It means (I think) that when you look at the life of Jesus, you believe it is the best way to live, and you strive for it and learn as much as you can regarding it because you have faith that it will make your life and the lives of everyone you meet, better.

This mixes up a lot of what people think about Christ. Look at Gandhi. Gandhi said the only example of a perfect life was Jesus Christ. So was Gandhi a Christian? It sure does seem like it. He recognized Jesus' message, his love, his correction, and that in the end he died for his friends. What else is there? He didn't say some words?

Everyone isn't automatically saved because Jesus died, but he did die for everyone's sins. It says in Hebrews that Christ came "once for all".

I've heard so many people get angry at me for this, they say I believe in Universalism, spout heresy and say that I'm offering salvation to all.

This is completely backwards.

If anything, I talk about a Jesus that is harder to follow then most Church-Jesus' are.

Them: "Come to the front and say some words, and mean them, and you will go to heaven."
Me: "Get to know the life of Jesus, follow it as closely as you can, love like he loved, live in his shoes every day, and you will go to heaven."

Which is easier? Which are people more likely to do?

Now, in telling this to people, they have quoted numerous Bible verses to "prove me wrong" so to speak. The two most common are John 14:6 and Romans 10:9.

John 14:6-"Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me."

This proves to some people that accepting Jesus and being churched is the only way to Heaven. Now I never said that you could get to heaven outside of Jesus, I just say that the standard ritualistic Christianity isn't the only way to do it.

A lot of Christians use this verse as their "accept Jesus" verse. But this verse was not originally written in English, it was written in Greek. So some of the English words don't have the exact same meaning as the Greek words. In particular, we are going to look at the word "through".

In the original Greek, the word that we translate "through" is the Greek word "οδος" (pronounced hodos). Now in Greek, οδος means a progress, an act or a journey. So really, the verse says:

"Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through my acts, following my process, and going on my journey."
This really lines up with everything I've said.

Romans 10:9-"That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in
your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."

This verse is pretty blunt. Confess and believe and you're saved. But think about that for a second, is that all? Does this verse literally mean all you have to do is confess and believe and heaven is yours? Even Christians who would say that I'm way off the mark would agree that there is more to it than that. Jesus himself even says "not everyone who says to me 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven". So does this verse mean exactly what it says?

Basically, it comes down to living.Christians, live your life as Christ did. Faith is what you base your life on, its not a ticket to heaven. Live and walk with Jesus every day and know that it will not be easy, it will stretch you, it will grow you, and it will test you



and you'll love it." -Gaven