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The Words of Eternal Life
by Greg Robbins Jesus Christ is the Messiah. He is the one that was to come. He is Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Who better knows the path to eternal life than Jesus? John 14:6 "Jesus said unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father, but by me." The way to the Father is Jesus. The truth about salvation, and every other subject as well, is Jesus. The life, that is eternal life, is also Jesus. When many of Jesus' disciples left him, because they couldn't receive his words about giving his flesh for them to eat, and giving his blood for them to drink; He asked the twelve if they also would leave him. Listen to what Peter said. John 6:66-69 "From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will you also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that you are that Christ, the Son of the living God." Peter recognized that only Jesus has the words of eternal life. I follow this precept as well. I consider myself a disciple of Jesus Christ, and do my very best to live as he did, and to obey his sayings and his commands. 1 John 2:3-6 "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that says, I know him, and keeps not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keeps his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that says he abides in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked." By this portion of scripture, I know that I know Jesus, IF I OBEY HIS COMMANDMENTS. I know by this portion of scripture, that if I say that I know Jesus, but I do not obey his commandments, I am a liar, and the truth is not in me. I know by this portion of scripture, that if I obey Jesus' words, then in me truly the love of God is perfected. I know by this portion of scripture, that if I say that I abide in Jesus, then I am also so to walk, even as he walked. So I know that I am to imitate Jesus. Whatever I see him do in the Bible, I am to do that also. Did you ever notice that the disciples of John the Baptist followed, listened to, learned from, imitated, and obeyed John the Baptist? They were his disciples. They did not follow, listen to, learn from, imitate, or obey Jesus. Why? they were not the disciples of Jesus, they were the disciples of John. Now Andrew started out being the disciple of John the Baptist, but when he heard him say, "Behold the lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world"; he stopped being John's disciple and he became Jesus' disciple. A disciple lives with Jesus, listens to his teaching, observes him, and does what he says. Many people want to know why I teach about what Jesus said all of the time. The answer is very simple. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I am convinced that only Jesus has the words of eternal life. I am not John the Baptist's disciple. I am not Paul's disciple. I am the disciple of Jesus Christ. My eternal salvation I place in the hands of Jesus Christ. His words, and obedience to those words, are what I trust in for eternal life. People sometimes have the silliest notions. They think that someone needs to follow the gospel preached by Paul to get saved. They never stop to think that the apostles; Mary the mother of Jesus; the brethren of Jesus; the 5,000 men, plus women and children on the day of Pentecost; the many thousands of believers besides that; Stephen and the other deacons; the believers murdered by Saul; the Samaritans that Philip preached to, in the great revival in Samaria; the first Gentile believers at Cornelius the Centurion's house; and many others as well; ALL THESE PEOPLE WERE SAVED WITHOUT ANY WORD, TEACHING, OR HELP WHATSOEVER FROM PAUL. They needed NOT A SINGLE WORD FROM PAUL TO RECEIVE ETERNAL SALVATION. I therefore am in very good company. I too, need not a single word from Paul's epistles to receive my salvation. Paul does not add one single word to what is required for anyone to be saved. So please don't think that I'm wrong to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. If you choose to be the disciple of Paul, that is your own choice. I certainly will not criticize you or condemn you. Please extend to me the same courtesy. Sometimes people today almost treat a disciple of Jesus as a heretic, or a teacher of false doctrine. That is a shame. I think the reason to be, that they don't know their Bible very well. All twelve apostles were disciples of Jesus, both before and after his resurrection. It was the gospel that Jesus Christ taught them that they preached and taught. They produced the greatest revival, with the greatest quantity and quality of miracles, that the world has ever known; by preaching that gospel. The epistles of James, 1 peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude and Revelation were all written by disciples of Jesus. The teaching contained in these epistles mirror exactly the teaching and preaching of Jesus Christ. They were all contemporaries of Paul. John wrote the Book of Revelation, 29 years after the death of Paul. There is not a shred of evidence that any of these men, ever ceased being the disciples of Jesus, and became Paul's disciples. So are you going to call all these men heretics? and, their writings heresy? Stop for a moment to consider and to analyze something. As a disciple of Jesus, Who do I follow and imitate? Jesus Christ. As a disciple of Jesus Christ, Whose words and doctrine do I teach and preach? Jesus Christ's. When I make disciples, Whose disciples do I make them to be? Jesus Christ's. Who is Jesus Christ? I AM that I AM; I and my Father are One; the Word of God; Emmanuel, God with us; God made flesh; the Son of God; the Son of man; The Alpha and the Omega; the beginning and the end; the first and the last; the bright and morning star; the Master; the Lord; the Savior of the world; and on and on I could go. So I ask you, Why would I want to stop being Jesus Christ's disciple to be the disciple of anyone else? Please contact me to prove me wrong, if indeed I am wrong. If being a disciple of Jesus Christ was good enough for the twelve apostles, Mary the mother of Jesus, The brethren of Jesus, and the entire early church; then it is good enough for me. I do not need anything else! I have found Jesus Christ and I love him dearly. I express my love to him by obeying his commands and serving him, just as he commanded me to. May God richly bless you. http://jesuswordsonly.org My books on Amazon/Kindle https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Gregory+Robbins Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |