Following Judah's Lion

The Teachings of Jesus - Irrelevant

Matt.6:24-34 - No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

It is most unseemly, and openly unchristian, and against the entirety of New Testament teachings, for believers to be involved, one way or the other, with the current health insurance debate. In fact, to be involved with any of the world’s “money” arguments is being involved with an antichrist system.

But the erosion of the path of Jesus has taken place over many, many decades until that path is no longer discernable, and the Scriptural signposts that lined that path have become obsolete with no more literal impact than a newspaper editorial. If anyone can read the Scriptures I have posted and say that Jesus allows us to worry about our finances, and even more startling to argue in the context of the fallen financial schemes of this world, then they are either liars or substantially deceived. But in either case, they do not believe in the teachings of Jesus.

Apostasy is when someone or a group leaves the truth and begins to believe in and follow false teachings. It has most prevalently been defined within the context of theological errors that misrepresent the Person of Christ or the method of salvation. And there are legions of false teachers and false churches that fit that description. However many, if not most, who would classify themselves as watchmen or discerners ignore the elephant in the ecclesiastical room.

The overwhelming majority of the western church gets involved in all sorts of things that completely misrepresent the teachings of Jesus. And when it comes to nationalism, politics, and economic issues, the emergent crowd joins hands with the orthodox group. Osteen and MacArthur and Warren and Jeremiah and all the rest join hands, mouths, and hearts in earthly issues that are openly restricted by the Master. Believers criticize their government leaders; believers worry about economic issues; believers exhibit unreceptive attitudes toward Muslims; and believers by the millions attempt to serve two masters - money and God.

And so the believer who would never enter into a pact with a Mormon or an unbeliever, speaks and behaves like his next door unbelieving conservative and in so doing he brings an open shame to the Lord Jesus and by his speech and actions and attitude that believer proves that he does not believe the words of Jesus. All of us fall short of complete obedience to the words of Christ, but no one can openly disobey them and say that they are in fact obeying them and still claim to believe them. Especially when His words on a given subject are glaringly clear.

How has the church strayed so far so as to live in complete disobedience and yet with no conviction? The backslider realizes his condition and is conflicted within his own spirit. But here we have millions of professing believers acting in utter disregard for the teachings of Jesus and yet with no inward confliction. And many would rightly identify Rick Warren and Rob Bell and Joel Osteen as false teachers that teach things contrary to God’s Word, and yet they themselves are caught in a monstrous heedlessness as it concerns other teachings from the Word of God.

Obedience to the New Testament commands to believers is not convenient, and when taken literally and at face value, they go against all that the culture would consider reasonable and normal. But the western evangelical church has so diluted His words, that believers can openly ignore them and live as do their unbeliever neighbors, and not even be aware of their disobedience. And their preachers not only do not speak words of correction to the flock, but they speak words of encouragement.

I Tim.6:7-8 - For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.

In light of how the western church speaks, thinks, and lives, those words are either moon man talk, or they stand as an open indictment of all we have come to accept as Christian. I honestly do not believe I have ever met someone who is truly content with food and clothing. But what is more startling and disheartening, is that the church no longer sees that as a goal, much less a New Testament teaching.

An Olympic high jumper tries to clear the bar set at six feet. After many misses, he takes the bar and sets it at two feet. He clears it easily and leaves the bar set at two feet for the rest of his Olympic career. And the church has taken the teachings of Jesus, the New Testament, and by diluting its interpretation and application, the church has embraced a form of Christianity which unashamedly ignores hundreds of New Testament teachings, as well as the overarching theme of the New Testament itself.

But in order to avoid the inconvenience and embarrassment of a spiritual inventory based upon the teachings of Jesus, let us continue on our current path and enjoy the temporal fruits of an earth bound life which is fully engaged with the issues that concern the kingdom of darkness. But what about the kingdom of God? Well, that can wait until we get to heaven. After all, that's where the teachings of Jesus will become relevant.