Jesus said `Blessed are those who have not seen Me and have yet still believed`. Does this mean that we who are believers today will be blessed even more blessed than God`s prophets, disciples and even His servant Abraham and more than other people who have witnessed God`s amazing and undeniable miracles?
Will we be more blessed than them when we go to Heaven since we have not seen Jesus but have yet believed?
I don't think there are any implications in this verse with regard to who is more blessed between OT and NT saints. The verse is often quoted as a rebuke given by Jesus to Thomas but may not necessarily be so. It is not only Thomas who failed to believe in the resurrection until he saw the resurrected Jesus but even the other disciples failed to believe in the words of Mary until they saw Jesus with their own eyes.
People who come to faith in Christ after His ascension will do so without seeing Him with their eyes. They believe the gospel message preached to them by faith. In this sense they are blessed. At the same time there are others who have seen the resurrected Jesus prior to His ascension and came to faith in him. Neither of these groups of people are superior. Rather than seeing who is better among the two, the Lord is placing them in equal standing. There is no indication here of the Lord using any comparison.
It also has to be noted that the Bible does affirm a faith that is less dependent on signs. People cannot ask for signs in order to believe. True faith has to be in the written word of God and not on experiences. A person cannot demand Jesus to appear before Him in order to believe the gospel message. While there are instances today also of Jesus appearing before people in visions resulting in their conversion, it cannot be taken as the norm or should even be encouraged.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Friday, May 9, 2008
Divinity of Jesus
Question:
If Jesus is God, why did Jesus respond the way he did in Mark 10:18?
Answer:
The affirmation of Jesus’ deity is very clear in the Bible. Jesus did claim Himself to be divine and the New Testament writers rightly called Him God. The statement Jesus is making in Mark 10:18, "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone",
are not contradicting His divine claims.
The man (called as rich young ruler) addresses Jesus in Mark 10:17 as Good Teacher. He bends his knees before Jesus and enquires what he needs to do to inherit eternal life. While on the outset it appears he is on the right track we see from studying the passage that his intentions were not right and his priorities were misplaced. Both his assumptions were wrong – firstly he considered Jesus as a mere moral teacher, and secondly he thought salvation can be earned through good works. Jesus wanted to correct his two wrong assumptions. Jesus wanted the young man to realize His full identity. Jesus didn’t want him to merely see Him as a good teacher.
This statement of Jesus in Mark 10:18 actually is an affirmation that He is God. Jesus was making the person understand that God alone is good, and if he is calling Jesus as good then he also has to acknowledge Jesus as God. The young man however did not grasp this truth.
If Jesus is God, why did Jesus respond the way he did in Mark 10:18?
Answer:
The affirmation of Jesus’ deity is very clear in the Bible. Jesus did claim Himself to be divine and the New Testament writers rightly called Him God. The statement Jesus is making in Mark 10:18, "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone",
are not contradicting His divine claims.
The man (called as rich young ruler) addresses Jesus in Mark 10:17 as Good Teacher. He bends his knees before Jesus and enquires what he needs to do to inherit eternal life. While on the outset it appears he is on the right track we see from studying the passage that his intentions were not right and his priorities were misplaced. Both his assumptions were wrong – firstly he considered Jesus as a mere moral teacher, and secondly he thought salvation can be earned through good works. Jesus wanted to correct his two wrong assumptions. Jesus wanted the young man to realize His full identity. Jesus didn’t want him to merely see Him as a good teacher.
This statement of Jesus in Mark 10:18 actually is an affirmation that He is God. Jesus was making the person understand that God alone is good, and if he is calling Jesus as good then he also has to acknowledge Jesus as God. The young man however did not grasp this truth.
Repentance
What is the true meaning of "Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death." 2 Cor 7:10.? Is Godly sorrow for sin a requirement for salvation?
Repentance signifies that we are sorry for our sinful actions that we have done against God. We recognize that we have grieved Him by our wicked ways. When the Holy Spirit convicts us we realize the depth of our sin and see its ugliness in light of God’s holiness. This true sorrow for sin leads to a change of mind which is called repentance. Repentance in turn leads to salvation.
It is therefore appropriate to say that repentance is required for salvation. Godly sorrow results in repentance which opens the door for salvation. The godly sorrow which leads to repentance is a convicting work of the Spirit. In contrast to this is the sorrow of the world which produces death. This type of sorrow is a mere feeling of guilt that the devil can use to get us into a trap. This is what we see in the case of Judas Iscariot who ended up committing suicide because he betrayed the Lord (Acts 1:18). Whereas Peter wept bitterly after his denial (Mark 14:72) and this is an evidence of godly sorrow that leads to repentance.
Repentance signifies that we are sorry for our sinful actions that we have done against God. We recognize that we have grieved Him by our wicked ways. When the Holy Spirit convicts us we realize the depth of our sin and see its ugliness in light of God’s holiness. This true sorrow for sin leads to a change of mind which is called repentance. Repentance in turn leads to salvation.
It is therefore appropriate to say that repentance is required for salvation. Godly sorrow results in repentance which opens the door for salvation. The godly sorrow which leads to repentance is a convicting work of the Spirit. In contrast to this is the sorrow of the world which produces death. This type of sorrow is a mere feeling of guilt that the devil can use to get us into a trap. This is what we see in the case of Judas Iscariot who ended up committing suicide because he betrayed the Lord (Acts 1:18). Whereas Peter wept bitterly after his denial (Mark 14:72) and this is an evidence of godly sorrow that leads to repentance.
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