Jesus Unmasked: The Truth Will Shock You (22 page)

Direction, Not Perfection

Don’t hear that you are going to be perfect. You are not. Repentance is not about perfection, but a new direction. You will never be perfect on this side of the veil, but you will have new desires to die to self and live for Him.

Sanctification

When a man or woman repents and trusts Jesus, that person is once and for all seen as righteous. You are not just seen as forgiven, but you are seen as holy. Justification is a one-time declarative act from heaven where God says, “Totally forgiven, justified, and righteous.”

At salvation, you are forever justified and righteous, but then you begin the process of actually becoming holy. You are forever justified, but you are not completely sanctified until you get to heaven.

For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to
become conformed
to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;
and these whom He
predestined
, He also
called
; and these whom He called, He also
justified
; and these whom He justified, He also
glorified
(Rom. 8:29–30).

It’s a Work

Some people say that repentance is a work. No, it is not.

Imagine a man who was hit by a truck and left in the street to die. With his last ounce of strength he was able to use his cell phone to call 911. An ambulance appeared and resuscitated him. Would anyone say that he saved himself? No! His phone call did not save him — the paramedics saved him. The same thing is true with repentance.

Repentance does not save — Jesus saves. Repentance is merely the right response to the great news that there is someone who will rescue you from your peril.

Six Steps

Imagine that you and a friend were in Omaha and your pal says, “Hey, let’s drive to Florida. I’ll drive. I know the way.”

You hop in his car and start driving. Ten hours go by and you start to get concerned. As you drive by a bank, you notice the temperature is cooler than when you left Omaha. Strange, it should be getting warmer as you drive south.

Then you notice that you are not seeing palm trees. Instead, you are seeing more and more pine trees. Odd.

All of a sudden you see a sign that reads, “Canada: 84 miles.” That’s it, you know you are going in the wrong direction. What do you want your buddy to do?

Undoubtedly you would like him to do more than “change his mind.” You would want him to:

1. Agree with you, “We are headed in the wrong direction.”

2. You would not want him to agree with you and keep on driving. You would want him to stop.

3. You would want him to ask for your forgiveness.

4. You would not want to just sit there, you would want him to turn around.

5. You would not want him to just turn around, you would want him to start driving in the right direction.

6. You would not want him to stop until you get to your destination.

THAT is biblical repentance!

Have You Repented?

Have you seen the seriousness of your sin? Have you seen the sacrifice of the Savior who loves you? Have you turned from your sins, asked for His forgiveness and placed your trust in Jesus alone?

There are many who will cry out to Jesus on the day of judgment, “Lord, Lord.” And He will respond, “I never knew you” (Matt. 7:21–23). It is not enough to know Jesus; you must be known by Him, and He will know you and welcome you if, and only if, you come to Him now in repentance and faith.

Having heard the serious nature of entering a covenant and Jesus’ sobering demands on those who will follow after Him, are you certain you are in a covenant relationship with Jesus Christ?

> Perhaps you once uttered a simple “sinner’s prayer,” but have you repented?

> Perhaps you once walked an aisle to “accept Jesus,” but have you repented?

> Perhaps you “asked Jesus into your heart,” but have you repented?

> Perhaps you were “confirmed,” but have you repented?

> Perhaps you were baptized as a baby, but have you repented?

If you would have forgiveness and everlasting life, here are the terms of the contract: repentance and faith in Jesus.

There is no lawyer who can change the terms. You will not have an attorney when you stand before God to be judged. You will stand alone before God alone. Have you repented and trusted His Son? Are you in covenant with the King?

Yes, I Am

If you are safely in the new covenant with God, then you have a banquet to look forward to. You can look forward to an amazing celebratory feast.

When Jesus ate His last Passover meal, He promised that He would not drink from the last cup of the feast until He returned (Matt. 26:27–29). When He returns and judges the earth, Jesus will then dine with those He has saved.

When Jesus’ enemies are vanquished and death reigns no more, we will dine with Him in celebration (Rev. 19:9). You will never guess who will be the servants at this magnificent celebratory meal.

Will we have to serve ourselves? No. Will unsaved people serve us? Nope. Will it be the really bad people from history, like Hitler or Stalin or Genghis Khan? Nope. Will it be the angels or demons? No and no. Will the devil himself be the servant at the great feast? No.

Jesus Will Serve Us

The King of kings and Lord of lords, in typical humble fashion, will serve those who should be the servants. The Master of the palace will again humble Himself to wait on the ones He purchased with His own blood (Luke 12:35–37).

This is almost beyond our comprehension. Instead of insisting on being served, the Lord Almighty serves us. The King serves the servants. The owner serves the owned. The master serves His slaves. The Creator serves His creation. Unfathomable.

There is no other god who is so kind. There is no other god that is so humble. There is no other god that is so good. There is no other god.

You Are Not in the Covenant

If you have not died to yourself that you might be born again, what must you do? Let the Law “kill you” (Rom. 7:11). The Law of God was given to crush you and your pride so that God can make you alive again.

The laws of Moses were given to lead you to Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:24). The laws were intended to drive you to His feet and call out, “I can’t. I can’t keep your laws. I have broken your laws in thought, word, and deed. Please, save me from the wrath that is to come.”

How does the Law kill you and lead you to Jesus? Open it up and let it be a mirror that allows you to see yourself in truth. Let the Law reveal to you what you look like, not in your imagination, but to God.

When Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount, He was opening up the Law to His hearers. Let Him open up the law for you as you examine yourself in light of God’s perfect standard.

“You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘
You shall not commit murder
’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’
But I say
to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into
the fiery hell
” (Matt. 5:21–22).

Are you a murderer at heart? You are if you have ever been unjustly angry with anyone. Have you ever yelled at your kids? Have you ever said nasty things to your spouse? Have you ever flipped off another driver? Congrats. God sees you as a murderer.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘
You shall not commit adultery
’;
but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed
adultery with her in his heart
” (Matt. 5:27–28).

Ever ogled someone? Ever fantasized? Ever read a “romance” novel? Ever looked at porn? You are an adulterer at heart in the eyes of God. Nobody knows your thought life. Except God.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘
You shall love your neighbor
and hate your enemy.’
But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matt. 5:43–44).

The world loves love. The world is happy to tell you to love. After all, it is what the world needs now. But love is not a nice sentimental emotion. Love is a law. Love is a command.

Perhaps you think you have been a loving person, but have you loved your enemies? Have you loved them the way you love yourself? More than that, have you loved God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength?

[
Jesus said,] “
You shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart
, and with
all your soul
, and with
all your mind
.”
This is the great and foremost commandment.
The second is like it, “
You shall love your neighbor as yourself
” (Matt. 22:37–39).

Have you been fully devoted to loving everyone you meet? Have you sacrificed your life in the service of others? Have you worshiped God every second of every day?

Are you starting to feel the weight of the Law?

Jesus does not let up. In the Sermon on the Mount, He insists that only perfect people will go to heaven. In the beatitudes, He claims that only those who are perfectly humble, perfectly mourn for their sins, are perfectly gentle, who perfectly strive to be righteous, who are perfectly merciful and pure in heart will inherit the Kingdom of God (Matt. 5:3–11).

Perhaps you have heard atheists, or even some Christians, suggest that Jesus was just a good teacher who taught us to love one another. Hardly. Jesus was certainly a good teacher, but His words were hard. He not only demanded perfection in the inward places, He demanded perfection of our thought life or we would be cast into hell. Hardly the words of a “nice guy.” These are the words of a demanding and perfect God.

Jesus’ standard is an unattainable standard.
Do you see your need for a Savior? Do you see how far short you have fallen? Do you see your plight?

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us;
we beg you
on behalf of Christ,
be reconciled to God
.
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God
in Him
. . . .

He says,

“
At the acceptable time I listened to you
,

And on the day of salvation I helped you
.”

Behold,
now
is “
the acceptable time
,” behold,
now
is “
the day of salvation
” ((2 Cor 5:20–6:2).

You cannot save yourself. But He stands ready to forgive you.

All of the work has been done for you. The Lord offers to be your covenant partner and forgive you and offer you the kingdom.

Today is the day of salvation. Repent and believe in Jesus. Now.

Chapter 20 — Jesus Is the I AM

Abraham Lincoln versus Frederick Douglass: child’s play.

Richard Nixon versus John F. Kennedy: trivial

Tom Cruise versus Jack Nicholson: small potatoes.

The greatest debate of all time took place two thousand years ago in Jerusalem. The opponents: Jesus and the Pharisees. The subject: deity. Was Jesus really God in flesh?

Four Accounts

If you have ever wondered why we have four Gospel accounts of the life of Jesus, there are many reasons.

1. Each Gospel offers a slightly different perspective of the same events. If you have ever wondered why one account says “one man was healed” while another account says “two men were healed,” it is because each Gospel is talking about the same story from a different perspective and reporting different details. You see this on the news all the time. One station will say that two people were killed in a crash while another says that two people were killed and four injured. Is one of the reporters wrong? Nope, they are just reporting the story from a different perspective.

2. Multiple eyewitness accounts encourage us that the life of Jesus is not the mere hallucination of just one author.

3. Each Gospel is written to a different group of people.

>
Matthew is written to Jews.

>
Mark is written to Gentiles.

>
Luke was written to a Gentile leader.

>
John was written to the world.

4.
Each Gospel is written with a different emphasis.

>
Matthew is written to show that Jesus is King.

>
Mark is written to show Jesus as the suffering servant.

>
Luke is written to show that Jesus is the Son of Man.

>
John is written to show that Jesus is God.

Jesus did many other
miraculous signs
in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah,
the Son of God
, and that by believing
you may have life
in his name (John 20:30–31; NIV).

Ego Eimi

We have seen many different types and shadows and fuzzy pictures of Jesus. Each one of these types has been lesser than the anti-type, Jesus. John shows us one “type” in the Old Testament that is not less than Jesus. John used God as a picture of Jesus to prove that Jesus is indeed, God.

Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘
What is His name
?’ What shall I say to them?”

God said to Moses, “
I AM WHO I AM
”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘
I AM
has sent me to you.’ â€ť

God, furthermore, said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘The
Lord
, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’
This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations
” (Exod. 3:13–15).

The name that God gave to Moses identifies Him as the eternal, self-existent, never changing, “I AM.” The Hebrew word
YAHWEH
is used to identify Him as the One who was, is, and is to come (Exod. 3:14).

The Greek version of the Old Testament, called the Septuagint, uses the Greek words
ego eimi
(I am) for the Hebrew word
YAHWEH
. In English, we use the words, I AM.

The New Testament is written in Greek, and in the Gospel of John, we see Jesus refer to Himself as “I AM” no less than 21 times. We have already seen many of these “I AM” statements.

>
I am the door (John 10:9).

>
I am the living water (John 7:37–39).

>
I am the light of the world (John 8:12).

>
I am the way (John 14:6).

>
I am the bread of life (John 6:35).

Unfortunately, the English translation of the Greek Bible does not have the same impact as the original language. So here are a few “I AM” statements transliterated for you, that is, the word-for-word translation of the original Greek. The word order of Jesus’ “I AM” statements makes it clear that He was proclaiming Himself to be the Always Existing One. Notice how Jesus says, “I AM” at the end of the sentence to emphasize what He was trying to say.

1. Jesus was preaching in the temple in John 8:24.

English:
“I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins” (NIV).

Greek:
I say then to you that you will die in the sins of you; if for not you might trust that
Ego Eimi
.”

2. Jesus still doing open air at the temple in John 8:28.

English:
So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me” (NIV).

Greek:
Said then to them the Jesus, “When you might elevate the son of the man, then you will know that
Ego Eimi
.”

3. John 8:58: Jesus still preaching at the temple in John 8:58.

English:
“Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” (NIV).

Greek:
Said to them Jesus, “Amen, amen I say to you, before Abraham to become,
Ego Eimi
.”

Upon hearing Him say, “Before Abraham was,
EGO EIMI
,” the Jews were so infuriated that He equated Himself with God, they tried to stone Him (John 8:59). Jesus’ hearers were not confused that He was claiming to be God.

Even More

There are more examples of Jesus’ clear claim to deity in the Gospel of John.

4. Jesus walked on the water and the disciples were afraid in John 6:20.

English:
But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.”

Greek:
The One but says to them, “
Ego Eimi
. Not fear.”

5. Jesus at the Passover meal in John 13:19.

English:
“I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am who I am” (NIV).

Greek:
“From now I say to you before the to become, that you might trust when it might become because,
Ego Eimi
.”

6. Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane in John 18:4–5.

English:
Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?”

“Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied.

“I am he,” Jesus said (NIV).

Greek:
“Whom seek you?”

“They answered to him, “Jesus the Nazarene.”

He says to them, “
Ego Eimi
.”

You get the point. Twenty-one times Jesus equates Himself with God Himself.

Bonus for Jehovah’s Witnesses

Sadly, Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t study Greek. If they did, they would know that the Gospel of John makes it abundantly clear: Jesus is God.

Jehovah’s Witnesses like to say, “The first verse of John doesn’t use a definite article to prove that Jesus is THE God, but it simply says that Jesus is A God. Wrong.

John 1:1, New American Standard Bible:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:1, New World (Jehovah’s Witnesses) Translation:
In [the] beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god.

John 1:1, original Greek, word for word
:
In beginning was the word, and the word was toward the God, and
God was the Word
.

The Greek word order is emphatically clear: God was the Word. Jesus is the Word; therefore, Jesus is God.

Clearer Than a Type

Jesus clearly equates Himself with God. There is nothing vague about His claims.

Jesus was so clear on this, the Jews wanted to stone him (John 8:59) and they ultimately crucified Him for “claiming to be God” (Matt. 26:63–66).

Jesus is God. Jesus is the Truth. What are you going to do with that knowledge?

You Protest

Perhaps you are thinking, “Okay, so Jesus equated Himself with the God of the Old Testament, big deal! The God of the Old Testament never claimed to be the only true and living God.”

Are you sure?

Not only did God make exclusive claims of divinity in the first commandment (You shall have no other gods before Me), but He actually mocked other so-called deities. If you think God was never sarcastic, brace yourself for mocking satire from God.

Thus says the
Lord
,

“Do not learn the way of the nations,

And do not be terrified by the signs of the heavens

Although the nations are terrified by them;

For
the customs of the peoples are delusion
;

Because it is wood cut from the forest,

The work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool.

They decorate it with silver and with gold;

They fasten it with nails and with hammers

So that it will not totter
.

Like a scarecrow
in a cucumber field are they,

And they cannot speak;

They
must be carried
,

Because they cannot walk!

Do not fear them,

For they can do no harm,

Nor can they do any good.”

There is none like You
, O
Lord
;

You are great, and great is Your name in might.

Who would not fear You, O King of the nations?

Indeed it is Your due!

For among all the wise men of the nations

And in all their kingdoms,

There is none like You
.

But they are altogether
stupid and foolish

In their discipline of delusion — their idol is wood!

Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish,

And gold from Uphaz,

The work of a craftsman and of the hands of a goldsmith;

Violet and purple are their clothing;

They are all the work of skilled men.

But the
Lord
is the true God
;

He is the living God and the everlasting King.

At His wrath the earth quakes,

And the nations cannot endure His indignation.

Thus you shall say to them, “The gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.”

It is He who
made the earth
by His power,

Who
established the world
by His wisdom;

And by His understanding He has stretched out the heavens.

When He utters His voice, there is a tumult of waters in

the heavens,

And He causes the clouds to ascend from the end of

the earth;

He makes lightning for the rain,

And brings out the wind from His storehouses.

Every man is stupid, devoid of knowledge;

Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols;

For his
molten images are deceitful
,

And there is
no breath in them
.