April 30, 2006

SOME THINGS JESUS DID NOT SAY

Often people talk of what Jesus said but there are many things people think Jesus said that He did not:

1. Jesus did not say “Ye shall be sincere in your beliefs and your sincerity shall make you free.” but He did say, “Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). It is possible for good people to be sincere in their religious convictions and be sincerely wrong.
   
   
2. Jesus did not say “Upon this rock I will build my churches and men shall worship at the one of their choice.” But He did say, “Upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18). If people can worship in the church of their choice then they can worship the Christ of their choice. Jesus built only one church and He is the head (Ephesians :21-22).
   
   
3. Jesus did not say, “Whosoever divorces his wife for any cause and marries another woman is free from adultery and can go on his way.” but Jesus did say, “Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery” (Matthew 19:9). The looseness with which marriage vows are taken and broken today is a disgrace too great to be measured.
   
   
4. Jesus did not say, “He that believeth is saved and can be baptized later if he wants to.” But He did say, “He that beliveth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:15-16). The order Jesus gave is believe, baptism, then salvation; not belief, salvation, then baptism. Think about it!
   
   
5. Jesus did not say, “A man can worship God according to his natural leanings; according to the way he is best able to express himself.” But Jesus did say, “God is a Spirit; and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24). Since the “truth” is God's Word (John 17:17), our way of worshiping God must be shown in the New Testament, God's will for man in this age. Can you show New Testament authority for every practice you have in worshiping God?
   
   
6. Jesus did not say, “Be tolerant of religious error; all men have a religious right to be wrong, after all no harm is done.” But He did say, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” “Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can you escape the damnation of hell?” (Matthew 23:13, 33). “Not everyone that saith unto me 'Lord, Lord' shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).
   
   

Reader, to which will you pay attention-to what Jesus did not say or did say?



MY GARDEN

My garden is a magic place,

When cares of life hit hard,

There's healing for the mind and heart

Working with the sod.

You plant a seed of hope,

Set trust plants in a row,

And Mother Nature does her part,

To make them grow-and grow.

The names, of course, are different.

But hope spring up anew,

With the seeds you plant or the plants you set

Trust returns to you.

Yes, when the cares of life are hard,

And my mind is all at Sea,

My garden is a sanctuary,

Between my God and me.

Lea Helms Davis