Messiah Complex — you're not the messiah

On Sunday (23rd April) we heard that Jesus’ disciples are to have a ‘Messiah Complex’ — like Jesus, we have been chosen and sent to save the world. You may like to read John 20:19–23 again.

Yet we can easily carry this ‘Messiah Complex’ too far. We might begin to think that we personally are special, that we by ourselves are the only ones who can save the world. So, no, we are not to have a ‘Messiah Complex.’

(1) It is not us individually who have been sent, but us plural — God sends his church.

(2) We do not do any of the work, Christ does all the work. Like a broken pot, we carry Christ to others, but it is Christ who holds us together (read Psalm 32:10–12).

Reflection question:
What gifts do you bring to the body of the Christ, so that the church may speak and receive God’s forgiveness?

Messiah Complex — you have been chosen to save the world!

Last Sunday (23rd April) we heard that Jesus’ disciples are to have a ‘Messiah Complex’ — like Jesus, you have been chosen and sent to save the world. You may like to read John 20:19–23 again.

You save the world in two ways:
(1) by bearing witness to the risen Christ (like Peter in Acts 2:14,22–32), and
(2) by speaking and hearing God’s word of forgiveness.

Reflection questions:
How do you bear witness to the risen Christ?
To whom are you speaking God’s word of forgiveness?

What makes Jesus so special?

In our gospel reading on Sunday (14th May), we heard Jesus say, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:1–14).

Is Jesus really the life? What makes Jesus so special?

(1) No one else ever claimed to bring God to us. 
Jesus claimed that whoever had seen Him had actually seen God the Father, his daddy (John 14:9). And Jesus’ life, teaching, miracles, and fulfilment of prophecy backs up this claim.

(2) No one else has radically dealt with human wickedness.
Our world is broken and full of evil, including us! No other religion adequately deals with human wickedness. Confucius taught that human nature is essentially good, which is contrary to experience; Buddhism has no answer to human wickedness, just endless rules that help eliminate the self and all desire; Hinduism says that you pay for your misdeeds, again and again. Only Jesus says that God deals with human wickedness by paying for our sin himself. Read and meditate on 1 Peter 3:18.

(3) No one else has broken the final barrier — death.
Other religions offer little hope in the face of death: both Hinduism and Buddhism believe there is an afterlife, but it is nothing to look forward to — a person is endlessly reincarnated or reborn into a new body to pay for misdeeds from their previous incarnation; for Isalm there is also life after death, but there is little assurance you will reach paradise — it all dependent on the will of Allah. Only Jesus has defeated death himself, and he offers that life freely to you.

(4) No one else promises to live within his followers.
A follower of Jesus need not wait to come to God when they die, because Jesus promises to live inside his disciples now — by the power of the Holy Spirit. His Spirit helps you daily experience God’s forgiveness and mercy, guides and moulds you to be more like Jesus, and gives you power to bear witness to the Truth.

Jesus is special and utterly unique. Only he is the way, the truth, and the life.

If you are still seeking to test Jesus’ claims, the following books may help as you continue your search, or strengthen your faith further:

Michael Green, ‘But don’t all religions lead to God?’ — http://buff.ly/2pKrhHA
Geisler and Turek, ‘I don’t have enough faith to be an atheist’ — http://buff.ly/2pKMu47
Lee Strobel, ‘Case for faith’ — http://buff.ly/2pKJfK1

Is Jesus really the only way?

In our gospel reading on Sunday (14th May), we heard Jesus say, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:1–14).

Is Jesus really the only way? That sounds a bit exclusive! Surely there are multiple ways to come to God? Why can’t Jesus be more inclusive?

Again such thinking is ludicrous!

Most types of religion actually have very little to do with coming to God. For example:

• Occult religions are about appeasing and manipulating (evil) spirits.
• Imperial religions are about giving total allegiance to a king or queen that is seen as divine.
• Ascetic religions are about renouncing self (e.g. Buddhism, Hinduism).
• Prophetic religions are about a dynamic leader bringing a message (e.g. Islam and Mohammed).
• Revelatory religions are the only ones about personally knowing and coming to God (e.g. Judaism and Christianity).

Author Michael Green says it like this: “It really is ludicrous to suppose that all religions lead to God, when Buddhism does not believe there is any God at all, when Islam makes him so far removed, when Hinduism offers extinction after many reincarnations. … How can all religions lead to God when they have such different beliefs.” (Michael Green, 2002, ‘But don’t all religions lead to God?’ p. 22)

There may be lots of different pathways, but few actually lead to God. The others lead to a dead end, or don’t lead anywhere but loop around the maze in endless cycles. Jesus is the only way through the maze of life. This may sound arrogant and exclusive, but it is astounding and I for one believe it to be true.

If you are still seeking to test Jesus’ claims, the following books may help as you continue your search, or strengthen your faith further:

Michael Green, ‘But don’t all religions lead to God?’ — http://buff.ly/2rekcku
Geisler and Turek, ‘I don’t have enough faith to be an atheist’ — http://buff.ly/2reqkJo
Lee Strobel, ‘Case for faith’ — http://buff.ly/2rewLfN

Is Jesus really the truth?

In our gospel reading on Sunday (14th May), we heard Jesus say, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:1–14).

Is Jesus really the truth? That sounds a bit intolerant! Why can’t we just each believe our own thing? You believe whatever you want, I’ll believe something different, and we can both be right?!

What utter nonsense — truth is not relative!

• Truth is always absolute.
• Truth is discovered, not invented.
• Truth is transcultural — true for all people, in all places, at all times.
• Truth is unchanging, even though beliefs about truth change.

We can tolerate other beliefs (in fact we are called to do so in gentleness and respect, see 1 Peter 3:15), but don’t get confused: tolerating a belief does not make it true. Some things are true and some things are false.

Jesus claimed that he is the Truth — he claims that what he said and did is true. He claims that he came, died, and was raised for the forgiveness of your sin. Do you believe this to be true? There is no sitting on the fence allowed — it is either true or false. If you believe and confess this to be true, what does this mean for your life today?

If you are still seeking to test Jesus’ claims, the following books may help as you continue your search, or strengthen your faith further:

Michael Green, ‘But don’t all religions lead to God?’ — http://buff.ly/2reCt1k
Geisler and Turek, ‘I don’t have enough faith to be an atheist’ — http://buff.ly/2reCthQ
Lee Strobel, ‘Case for faith’ — http://buff.ly/2reBbmQ