Is Jesus really the only ‘Saviour of Mankind’ mentioned in your Bible?

Many Christians, when I confront them with the fact that Jesus Christ is the Saviour of all mankind, inevitably, through a nearly predictable ‘knee jerk reflex response’ retort with a ‘yes but God!’ response!

I’ve come to the conclusion that this is because a dichotomy exists deep down in their thinking regarding God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son.

As though they sub-consciously relate to them as being different, as divided, and as having two completely contradictory and  opposing natures and different agendas.

The 'bad' and the good 'guy'!

This reminds me of the typical‘white hat’ and ‘black hat ‘scenario in the old western movies when I was a kid. The hero, usually a clean cut ‘good guy’ type, always wore the white hat, and the ‘bad guy’ the black hat!

It seems that our early Christian mindset was formatted along these lines, I know mine was. 

I clearly recollect, that the earliest impressions made on my tender young soul about God at Sunday school 101, went something like this;

God was a mean old Judge and He was watching my every move!

He was like an angry old man, with a white beard and robe, seated behind a huge book wherein He kept a detailed record of each of my sins, big and small. He was building a case against me in preparation for the Judgement day!

On that grim and fatal day, I would be dragged before the court of heaven in order toreceive my punishment or reward!

As the book is read, and all our secret sins publicly exposed for all to see, the sheep and the goats will be separated! That day our mothers and grandmothers would wail of sadness and hang their heads in shame! 

The thought was terrifying!

If it is found that Andre had been a ‘good enough’ boy, St Peter would fling open the pearly gates, and I’ll be welcomed into heaven as multitudes of angels choirs rejoice!

However, if I tipped the scale on the ‘bad’ side, Andre, together with the other ‘damned and doomed’ ‘goats ‘would slide down into the open pit of hell as hoards of vile demons screech with delight!

There I would face the ‘vengeance’ and ‘wrath of God’…and there I would weep and gnash my teeth forever, as I roast in flames! I would now officially belong to the devil!

Yet, how both God and the devil somehow had a hand in my eternal torment was never fully explained!

God’s primary character was also introduced to me as that of an exceedingly jealous God, who hated all those who hated him, or by implication ‘sinned’ against Him.

There was no escaping His vengeance because God was going to exact His pound of flesh from you personally for ‘sins’ going all the way back to parents, grandparents and great grandparents …and possibly many generations beyond!

This fact alone, coupled with the notion that ‘you were conceived and born in sin’ made me a two time loser!

Not only was I probably sold down the river by my lousy family, I had lost my innocence when I had yielded to temptation myself! 

There was the grievous incident when I silently cussed a policemen driving by on a bicycle, to see if heaven would fall or lightening would strike me dead!

Not to mention the little blond girl next door, who insisted on playing ‘I’ll show you mine, if you show me yours?’ 

 In God’s eyes I was toast!

Religion was fear inspiring and very confusing, but my parents insisted we needed it to be ‘decent folk’ and I especially needed it so I could make ‘something of my life!’

Gentle Jesus meek and mild.

But what about Jesus?

‘Dear gentle Jesus’, God’s Son on the other hand, was depicted as ‘meek and mild’ and all goodness and light! He was portrayed as a handsome, friendly, smiling shepherd, rubbing little kid’s on the head and radiating love and peace!

 He just loved everybody, did miracles to help people all the time and wanted us to be happy!

He loved me so much that He even died for me to save me from Gods ‘wrath’ and ‘anger’ and to force  God not to send me to ‘hell’ because of  Adam’s lousy mistake!

Jesus was somehow ‘saving’ me from God, the devil, my sin and from eternity in hell, getting my sins forgiven and taking me to heaven when I die!

It is obvious who wore the white hat, and who wore the black hat in my mind!

God was a mean Judge, and Jesus was my loving Saviour!

Yet ironically in the New Testament no fewer than eight occasions it is God who is called Saviour!

And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour.” Luke 1:46

‘Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Saviour and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope,’ 1 Tim 1:1

‘…but has in due time manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Saviour;’ Titus 1:3

‘For to this end we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, especially of those who believe.’ 1Ti 4:10

‘For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour,

Who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth?’ 1Ti 2:3-4

‘….not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.’ Tit 2:10

‘But when the kindness and the love of God our Saviour toward man appeared’ Tit 3:4

‘To God our Saviour, Be glory and majesty,Dominion and power,Both now and forever.Amen.’ Jude 1:25

This is of the utmost importance to our thinking and out theology!

This forbids, once and for all times setting in contrast the ‘love’ of Jesusover against the ‘wrath’ of God!

This absolutely forbids any consideration or viewpoint that suggests or implies that the life and work of Jesus the Son was about altering the attitude of God the Father towards mankind!

That defies any notion that insinuates that Jesus had to turn the wrath of God into the love of God on our behalf!

It debunks the idea that Jesus had to persuade God to withhold His hand stretched out to destroy!

Our God is the Saviour God!

Jesus Christ did not live and die to change the attitude of God the Father towards men!

No! No! No!

Jesus Christ lived and died to demonstrate what that attitude really is!

Paul the Apostle was the expert! You better find out what he said about ‘hell’!

The Apostle Paul was no idiot!

Paul the Apostle

Neither was he a man of straw!

In fact, Paul was separated from his mother’s womb to be a Prophet to the nations.

He was an intellectual giant among men.

He was highly educated and morally superior, capable of being advisor to the Caesar’s.

Paul took his calling very seriously, and courageously stood his ground and spoke out boldly and fearlessly against Prophets and Priests and Kings.

His unique combination of uncompromising intestinal fortitude, combined with his brilliant mind, must have been why the Glorified Christ personally arrested and commissioned him, of all men, to bethe greatest  revelator of spiritual truth of all time.

Paul on the Road to Damascus

Paul’s unique ability to conceptualize and articulate abstract truth, must have been why the Lord Jesus Christ later personally appeared to him in the Arabian Desert, andfirst revealed to him the divine mysteries hidden from all ages and previous generations.

As ordained spokesman for God, Paul could claim on five occasions in Scripture, that that the mysteries of God were delivered uniquely to him. Not channelled through the agency of man, but received directly and personally from the Risen Lord Himself!

Paul could boldly assert that every man would be judged according to the Gospel that he preached.

He was ordained as a divine mouthpiece to explain God’s redemptive dealings with mankind, and to expose the inner workings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

He was given the understanding and subsequently revealed the significance of the Incarnation, the vicarious Death, the Resurrection, the Ascension, and the Glorification of Jesus Christ!

Paul was indeed the first man able to reveal the mystic secret of Who Jesus Christ is within the Trinity, and how Christ was in fact the very Source, the Agent,  and Fulfilment of all of Creation!

He explained the meaning of the Grace and Reality that came through Jesus Christ, The meaning of the First and the Last Adam, also the Second Man, revealing therein fallen mankind’s reconciliation with God through Christ Jesus, and the bringing about of a New Creation Mankind!

Paul personally wrote fourteen Epistles, comprising two thirds of the New Testament!

In these Epistles he laid down doctrine and addressed, confronted and corrected numerous errors, abuses, failures, heresies and deviations from sound doctrine and church practises.

Not only was Paul proficient in the entire body of Old Testament truth, including the  Law of Moses and the Prophets,  but of all men, he received the most accurate and extensive New Testament revelation. He was even caught up into the heavenlies and there received revelations to profound to utter!

Not only was the divine intentions and the decisions made, from before the foundation of the earth, within the eternal council of the Godhead, revealed to him, but Paul was also privileged with an  understanding of the reconciliation and final restitution of all things, when God becomes All and in All.

In presenting the Gospel, Paul came face to face, and confronted a wide spectrum of individuals and groups.

These included people with blood on their hands, cruel Roman despots and merciless and cold hearted soldiers.

There were gross and guilty sinners, outright heathens, some were demon possessed others were ignorant idol worshippers and  appeasers of false mythological God’s.

 Then there were those who blasphemed Jehovah  God, many apostate Jews, backslidden Christians and and also obstinate, mean and outspoken rebellious unbelievers!

Much of Paul’s ministry, his motives, his messages, his methods and his movements were recorded in his own handwriting and also captured by the hand of Luke in the Acts of the Apostles!

Paul could with a clear conscience declare that as an able minister of the New Covenant he ‘had held back nothing’, and had declared the ‘complete council of God!’

He could affirm that he had not run the race in vain!

On the contrary, he had poured out his very life as a living sacrifice in service of the gospel and was expecting his heavenly reward, a crown of recognition for a job well done!

Yet, have you ever read what Paul had to say about ‘Hell’?

Not one single word!

".....turn or burn!"

Absolutely nothing!

He never even hinted about, taught about , preached about , warned about or even  threatened a saint, a sinner or an unbeliever with the idea of a so called ‘hell’!

Do you think that perhaps the greatest teacher of the Church, the Apostle Paul, missed it?

Or was Paul perhaps a ‘false prophet’ or better still, a ‘heretic’, for not ‘pushing the doctrine of hell’?

After all, Paul’s neglect could be dooming and damning millions of people to eternal hell fire! ? If there in fact was a ‘hell’?

Or, do the nerds who often pose as preachers today, with their favourite cliché….‘hell is real’…. perhaps know something that poor  Paul didn’t know?

What do you think?

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The Trinity, you and the only true source of joy!

The One, the True and the Living God, the Eternal.

Unknown and unseen and first revealed by Jesus the Christ.

The divine union of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, co-exist in an eternal uninterrupted perfect harmonious communion and fellowship of mutual love and timeless dialogue.

From eternity the Father is saying “You are my beloved Son in Whom I’m well pleased!” !

The Son is saying “Abba Father, Abba Father’

The Holy Spirit says ‘Beloved’!

It is within this unique union and communion that Paul said “we live, move and have our being”

When we pray ‘”in Jesus Name” and say “Our Father” we enter this divine dialogue….

It is when we personally ‘believe’ ‘into Jesus’ that this eternal divine ‘reality’ becomes our personal ‘actuality’ and our experience…

“….. that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.” 1John 1:3-4

 

Regarding the ‘Redemption of all Mankind’ and ‘eternal punishment’ in a place called ‘Hell’!

I found out that ‘unlearning’ religion and ‘learning’ Christ is not for sissies!

Breaking the mould of the traditional Christian religious mentality and the barriers to our spiritual thinking is a scary and tough thing to do!

In my opinion this can only come to pass when the Holy Spirit chooses to reveal a ‘Truth’ to the mind of a seeking Believer, hungry for spiritual reality!

The ‘Salvation of all men ‘ through Jesus Christ is such a truth!

My own experience felt like that of a jet plane, attempting to break through the sound barrier!
Everything in the human frame resisted to the point of shuddering!

It literally felt as if everything I thought knew and believed was under such immense pressure to the point of wanting to shatter and break apart. 

My religious comfort zone and sense of security was being threatened to point where I was nearly sick to my stomach!

And then suddenly..’eureka!’…the light bulb went on and I saw the truth in the scriptures through the eye of the Spirit!

And then…. total Peace! Followed by a flood of Faith, and Hope and a Love! An indescribable Love, appreciation, admiration, respect, wonder, amazement, and glorification for the magnificence and magnitude of Jesus the Christ!

A new enlarged vision of the Love and Grace of God the Father for all His creatures!

But beware!

This revelation of the Good News is usually followed, in the Holy Spirit’s agenda, with the next major ‘choking point’ on our journey of discovery!

Namely…….is there really such a thing as ‘eternal punishment’ in ‘hell’ as we were traditionally taught to believe?

This ‘understanding’ is another tough ‘Rubicon’ to cross in our adventurous spiritual journey of ‘unlearning religion’ and ‘learning the Mystery of God; Christ!

 

 

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What did Jesus himself have to say about ‘getting saved’?

It is of notable interest that it was recorded Jesus Christ Himself spoke of ‘salvation’ only twice!

Once when He said to Zacchaeus “This day is salvation come to this house”. Luke 19.9

“Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.”

And then a second time when addressing the Samaritan woman regarding the ignorance of her people in the matter of  worship…” for salvation is of the Jews.” John 4.22

Yet, Jesus had something very profound and far reaching to reveal about Himself in declaring His own personal Mission Statement;

“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which is lost.Luke 19:10

Notice, contrary to popular Christian fundamentalist doctrine, Jesus did not say He was merely going to‘potentially save’ or ‘make it possible’ for some to ‘get saved’!

Jesus never laid down a ‘doctrine of salvation’, placing ‘salvation’ out of reach and attainable only through religious observance.

He was unwaveringly confident in Who He was, and knew Himself personally to be the exclusive and universal portal of entry into the Fathers favour , the unique source and sole mediator, able to procure within Himself, mankind’s salvation.

In announcing the Incarnation of the Son of God the heralding Angel declared;

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”

Declaring the end of hostility and the introduction of reconciliation between Divinity and humanity, also said;

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” Luke 2.11 and 14.

Speaking by the Holy Spirit the just and devout prophet Simeon confirmed“For mine eyes have seen Thy Salvation!  Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. Luke 2.30-32

“The true Light, which enlightens every man that cometh into the world.” had arrived, and the expectation was that  “And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” John 1.9 and Luke 3:6.

It indeed amazes me that many Christians today have  more confidence in the man made  ’doctrine of salvation’ of their denomination, and the efficacy of their own ‘faith’ as a means to ‘get saved’  than in the successful  execution and  accomplishment of stated mission of Jesus Christ to indeed ‘seek and save’ those who are lost!

Yet, ironically the despised Samaritan outcasts, accepted His own personal testimony and believed in what Jesus said He came to do!

”And said unto the woman, now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.” John 4:42

Jesus Christ is the Saviour of the entire world…this is an idea which time has come!

“Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel” (Luke 2:28–32)

‘Legalistic Christians and the ‘Spirit of Truth’….a rare combination? ..Or what?

The articles I write are generally not meant to be ‘religious band aids’ or to produce mere warm Christian feelings!

I sometimes need and enjoy a ‘band aid’ myself, and I also love getting my feelings warmed, but that’s not really the focus of my ministry. There are many whom the Lord uses wonderfully in that way.

On the contrary, the angle of my ministry approach is grown over the years to rather be transformational, shedding light on traditional religious blind spots in our thinking, and challenging those redundant paradigms in our Christian mindset that we have inherited from tradition and simply follow blindly.

"....I have the Spirit of Truth!"

The central axis of my thinking is the truth of Who Jesus Christ really is, and what the Trinity has accomplished in and through Him on behalf of mankind through the process from His Incarnation as the Son of God leading up to His Glorification as the Son of Man.

My opinions are sometimes controversial although always intended to be Christ-centred and glorifying, emphasizing the Love and the Grace of God the Father.

These views draw a variety of comments ranging from one religious extreme of the Christian spectrum to the other.

Many gracefully appreciative, some inquisitive, some confused, many constructive, and then some really very angry, critical, judgemental and condemning.

Some of these religiously offended folk even make reference to certain scriptures alluding to ‘hell fire and brimstone’ ‘mill stones around the neck’ and ‘eternal chains’!

I always find these legalistic ‘hell fire and brimstone’ pundits so amusing in the way they express their religious offences towards someone who according to Scripture ‘died with Christ’ and whose ‘life is hidden with Christ in God’!

It somehow confirms my theory that many of our fellow Christians know just enough about the Bible to make them devilish in their ignorance!

An interesting reoccurring feature that I’ve noticed about many of these hyper legalistic judges, is that when they are confronted, they often justify themselves by claiming that they have ‘The Spirit of Truth’!

Maybe is just me, but somehow, when someone has to actually ‘tell’ methat they only, as opposed to those who think differently, like myself,  have the Spirit of Truth, it just doesn’t seem to ring true with me.

Usually when someone is flowing in the Spirit of Truth, in fact the Spirit that testifies to the ‘Reality’ of Who Jesus Christ really is, and what the Trinity has done through Him for mankind, what they share produces faith, hope and love, and witnesses of Christ in an irresistible way!

I’ve noticed that there is indeed also a ‘religious spirit’ people sometimes speak from, and although they also quote the Bible, the tone of their speech is usually proud, angry, intolerant, and the message condemning and judgemental and bears no testimony of the grace of Jesus Christ nor the Love of the Father!

It seems like the ‘religious spirit’ is the inter-mingling of the human fleshly nature mixed with mere intellectual head knowledge of Bible Scripture’s and Christian doctrine, yet devoid of spiritual revelation and insight from the Holy Spirit!

The letter indeed kills and the Spirit produces life!

On the dismantling of your unconscious ‘personal mythology’ …… about God…… and yourself!

Every human being, including Christians and unbelievers alike, are to a greater or lesser degree unconsciously trapped a ‘personal mythology’ regarding God and themselves!

Myths are imaginary and unproven collective ideas, beliefs and fictitious stories, based on legends and tradition. These mostly untested concepts are invented to justify ourselves, and designed to explain and give meaning to the mysterious dimensions of life.

Most our ‘personal mythology’ consists of a mixed ‘fruit salad’ consisting of an intermingling and blending together into one mass of various ingredients.

Who am I?

These consists of fear filled superstitions, fables, erroneous beliefs, personal subjective experience, cultural influence, denominational conjecture and religious dogma based on the Bible and the opinions of men etc. etc.

For instance, for most of us our inherited opinion is that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, had to come Adam’s world, into the mess Adam made, and attempt to build a faith bridge back to God! 
 A bridge we have to somehow find during our lifetime and successfully cross, or alternatively God will dump us into ‘hell’, to be tormented eternally!

The eternal fact is that Adam came into Christ’s world!

The eternal fact is that we were saved in Christ even before we fell in Adam!

Untwisting and unravelling our familiar and deeply held, and cherished misconceptions, in order to dig through to the bedrock of ‘truth’ or ‘reality’, that actually came through Jesus Christ is not easy and often most painful.

Yet, not unlike a Tiger caught in a fatal trap, we sometimes have to chew off our own leg, in order to rescue our very existence from life’s traps!

A good place to commence in exposing our ‘personal mythology’ is to get a clear perspective on and to begin to recognise the distinction between‘Objective’ and ‘Subjective’ spiritual realities.

The following audio teaching’s could prove helpful.

‘The Objective and Subjective Spiritually Reality of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!’

http://www2.uhaveaudio.com/1291244607_32/mp3/g0/ql

Then to ask the question; “Who is Jesus Christ”, and what did the Triune God accomplished through Jesus for and on behalf mankind, and therefore of you personally”

‘Jesus Christ, the Master Key to unlocking the Mystery of the Bible.’

Session 1

http://www2.uhaveaudio.com/1291234889_32/mp3/g0/ql

Session 2

http://www2.uhaveaudio.com/1291927708_32/mp3/g0/ql

Session 3

http://www2.uhaveaudio.com/1291931261_32/mp3/g0/ql

To ask and answer the vital question, “Who is God?”

‘The Mythology of God in the Mind of the Believer – Re-discovering the Heart of the Father’

http://www2.uhaveaudio.com/1291858093_32/mp3/g0/ql