He came. He tried. He died. He failed. Poor little jesus (this is not a typo -- little jesuses do not deserve a capital j).
Do the verbs in the opening paragraph describe the real Jesus, or the jesus proclaimed (probably unwittingly) by Mainstream Christianity? I am proclaiming the Biggest Jesus -- the Savior of the entire world -- because that's what the Bible and His Father call Him (1 John 4:14). Mainstream Christianity proclaims a savior of the world who won't actually save the world. Contradiction? I think so. But I don't want to be too hard on the contradicters, because I used to be one. I have repented of my contradictoriness (I just had to use that word since I saw it in the dictionary. Scrabble anyone?).
Jesus left heavenly places and came to earth to fulfill all of His Father's will, which includes the salvation of all people. 1 Timothy 2:4 tells us that God our Savior "will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth" (KJV). The word will in this verse comes from the Greek word thelo which "denotes the active resolution, the will urging on to action" [Baker Interlinear Greek-English New Testament; p.183 of New Testament Synonyms, George Ricker Berry, copyright 1981]. Is God sitting in heaven hoping and wishing for the salvation of the world? Is He rubbing a giant rabbit's foot? No! He's done something about it, and will continue until the task is fully accomplished. Jesus will not fail. But jesus will fail because TV and radio preachers say he will.
Jesus (the real One) says in Luke 14,
28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sits not down first, and counts the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? 29 Lest perhaps, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,30 Saying, "This man began to build, and was not able to finish."
Jesus is building a peaceful kingdom -- God's kingdom (Isaiah 9:6-7). He is the cornerstone of the the foundation. Does He have "sufficient to finish it?" Did God do a thorough job of counting the cost of saving the world before He embarked on such a foolhardy mission? Will the world mock the savior of the world as He tries to save all men but is not able to finish the job? Will they shake their heads saying, "Poor little jesus. He came. He tried. He died. He failed." No! He is sufficient. He counted the cost and will finish the job for the glory of His Father and the sake of all people.
God is truly the Almighty, and nothing can stop Him from completing all of His good, pleasing and perfect will.
Do the verbs in the opening paragraph describe the real Jesus, or the jesus proclaimed (probably unwittingly) by Mainstream Christianity? I am proclaiming the Biggest Jesus -- the Savior of the entire world -- because that's what the Bible and His Father call Him (1 John 4:14). Mainstream Christianity proclaims a savior of the world who won't actually save the world. Contradiction? I think so. But I don't want to be too hard on the contradicters, because I used to be one. I have repented of my contradictoriness (I just had to use that word since I saw it in the dictionary. Scrabble anyone?).
Jesus left heavenly places and came to earth to fulfill all of His Father's will, which includes the salvation of all people. 1 Timothy 2:4 tells us that God our Savior "will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth" (KJV). The word will in this verse comes from the Greek word thelo which "denotes the active resolution, the will urging on to action" [Baker Interlinear Greek-English New Testament; p.183 of New Testament Synonyms, George Ricker Berry, copyright 1981]. Is God sitting in heaven hoping and wishing for the salvation of the world? Is He rubbing a giant rabbit's foot? No! He's done something about it, and will continue until the task is fully accomplished. Jesus will not fail. But jesus will fail because TV and radio preachers say he will.
Jesus (the real One) says in Luke 14,
28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sits not down first, and counts the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? 29 Lest perhaps, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,30 Saying, "This man began to build, and was not able to finish."
Jesus is building a peaceful kingdom -- God's kingdom (Isaiah 9:6-7). He is the cornerstone of the the foundation. Does He have "sufficient to finish it?" Did God do a thorough job of counting the cost of saving the world before He embarked on such a foolhardy mission? Will the world mock the savior of the world as He tries to save all men but is not able to finish the job? Will they shake their heads saying, "Poor little jesus. He came. He tried. He died. He failed." No! He is sufficient. He counted the cost and will finish the job for the glory of His Father and the sake of all people.
God is truly the Almighty, and nothing can stop Him from completing all of His good, pleasing and perfect will.
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