Grace, Faith & Works

Thought for Today
Nov. 04

"JESUS IS SUFFICIENT!"

For years, I have asked rhetorical questions during my sermons, such as "What is lacking with Jesus' baptism in spirit, that men practice baptisms in water?" Or, "What is lacking with Jesus' doctrine, that men have invented so many others?" The answer, of course, is that nothing is wrong with what Christ has done for us; it is men who are missing the mark if they are not completely satisfied with the work of God in Christ. As I have said before, if you are only 99% satisfied with Jesus, then you are 100% foolish.

During my sermon this past Sunday, it was revealed to me as I was preaching that all those years when I was struggling to fit in somewhere in Christianity, even though I was asking those rhetorical questions about the sufficiency of Christ, I, myself, was not content with Jesus. My own heart was restless, and I had not experienced the fulfilling sufficiency of Christ that I, myself, proclaimed. No one whose heart is completely content with Jesus is looking for a home in Christianity. As long as the spirit of man is searching for a place to call home, he has not yet realized where his home is. If we are in Christ, we have a "resting place" in him. In Christ, we are entirely acceptable to God, and secure. Paul told the saints in Colossae, "Ye are complete in him."

The Spirit spoke through me, and to us all here, Sunday morning while I was preaching. I do not remember ever having the holy Ghost speak through me quite so powerfully and purely as it did then. It said to us all, "You were not looking for a place in Christianity because there was something wrong with Jesus; you were looking for a place in Christianity because there was something wrong with YOU!"

It is one thing to profess a theoretical faith in that "new and living way" that Jesus purchased for us with his own blood; it is quite another to live as if that is true, as if all our hope rests on what one man can do for us-the man Jesus Christ. Jesus is, alone, sufficient for our salvation! Philosophically, all who believe in Jesus agree to that premise. But what does our mental consent to an abstract theological premise mean to God? Nothing. We must put that faith into action if we desire the favor of God.

We must demonstrate faith before it means something to anyone. James asked, "What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him?" The obvious expected response is "No, faith [alone] cannot save a man." Then, may I also ask, "What does is profit if we say we have faith that Jesus alone is sufficient to save, if at the same time we are trusting in things other than what he died for? Can believing the right thing save us if we do not DO the right thing?" Let me be specific.

What does it profit, my brethren, though a man believes that there is but one body of believers that belongs to God if he joins one of Christianity's sects? Will believing the truth that there is "one body" save him, or must he not live by the truth in order to be saved in the end? Is God impressed with man's theoretical acceptance of His mighty work?

Or "What does it profit, my brethren, though a man say he has faith that the baptism Jesus gives is the baptism of the holy Spirit, if he practices another kind?"

Or "What does it profit, my brethren, though a man say he has faith that the true communion of God is in spirit, if he partakes of a communion of a different kind?"

Or "What does it profit, my brethren, though a man say he believes that salvation is the future reward for the faithful, if he supports ministers who teach that they are already saved-and you can't make them doubt it!"

For years, I strove to find a place in Christianity, a place where the simple truth Jesus had taught me was received, where I could be with others in the sweet fellowship of the light of Jesus. But I could not find it. There were many places in Christianity that would have let me in, if I would only leave Jesus out. I could have found a place easily if I had agreed to be silent concerning the truth of God, but what Jesus had taught me was far too valuable to my heart. His truth meant too much to me to sit still and be silent about it, lest I anger someone who did not have a heart for the right ways of Christ. I wanted so much to be with my brothers and sisters in Christ, to benefit from their testimonies and be comforted by their love, but if the price they charged for those blessings was my love for the truth, I could do without them. And I did.

My pastor taught me that our heavenly Father is more earnestly searching among His own children for someone who will dare to worship Him in spirit and in truth, and run the risk of losing friends, than He is looking for sinners to come get right with Him. I believe that.

I want to make God happy. I want to make Jesus feel that he did not die in vain and that what he died for us to have, we love and are willing to pay whatever price we have to pay to win it and to keep it. I refuse to be 99% satisfied with Jesus. I will not be a fool. For me and my house, Jesus, the Son of God, is our Savior, our baptizer, our teacher, our shepherd, and our friend. We trust in nobody else's baptism, nobody else's doctrine, nobody else's family, and nobody else's god.

If Jesus condescends to give it to us, we will take it. If Jesus condescends to say it to us, we will tell it to others. What Jesus loves, we will also gladly love. What he hates, we will gladly hate. If Jesus wants it, we will work to bring it about. If Jesus does it, we say "amen" out loud. And we want all of God's dear children to say "amen" with us. Why can we not all work together in the love of God? Isn't it that Christianity has implanted its thousand different doctrines in the hearts of men and interfered with the work of God?

Oh, God! Deliver your people from the curse of Christianity, and bless us with harmony in the Spirit Jesus died for us to have!