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The Jesus They Never Told Me About

by Jack Earl  
12/18/2014 / Bible Studies

Brand name clothing is the in thing with the younger generation. The logo on your clothing is very important. I don't know who comes up with these brand names. Nor do I understand what they convey. One such brand has been around for a few years and I do sense some possible reason for its popularity. That brand is "No Fear". I can understand why some young person may want to boldly proclaim the "No Fear" logo on their T-shirt.

Which brings me around to the church. We have no fear of God. We emphasize His love and mercy. We remain silent on his judgment and discipline. We often fall to the temptations around us knowing that we can "confess our sins and he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9) We have a false definition of forgiveness. We fail to understand that forgiveness does not automatically erase the consequences of our sin or the discipline associated with it.

In Revelation 3:18-29, Jesus dictates a letter to the Apostle of John to send to the church in Thyatira. There is a problem in the church that Jesus wants to warn them about. Apparently some woman teacher, whom Jesus calls Jezebel, was leading the church members into sexual immorality. Jesus says, "I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead."

This seems rather severe for a loving and merciful Jesus. Especially the killing of innocent children who were not guilty of the immorality. This is not the Jesus that I heard about in church. Apparently, it was not the Jesus that the churches in Thyatira and the surrounding area knew either. Because Jesus then goes on to say, "Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds." (Rev. 2:21-23) This is the lessons that Jesus wanted His church to learn. It is the lesson that He still wants His church to learn.

This is not an attractive Jesus. If we begin revealing this Jesus in our church we will most likely lose our church members to other churches who are more tolerant and caring. Yet we are forced to choose between the Jesus that we package in such a way as to make him appealing, or the Jesus that is revealed to us in the Bible.

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline." (Proverbs 1:7)

Jack Earl is a retired Christian Bookstore manager, a graduate of Moody Bible Institute. He now lives in the Seirra Nevada Mountains in central California. He may be reached at [email protected]

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