New Article in the Smyrna A.M. newspaper

Sunday morning I mentioned that the local newspaper was about to publish another article I'd written. Local papers often accept submissions from local writers, but the Smyrna AM paper is unique in that they actively solicited faith-based articles from local pastors and church leaders. They've published three previous pieces I wrote and yesterday this article was included.

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Who Is Jesus?
Jim McClarty

Jesus is not your homeboy. He’s not your co-pilot. And He’s not your boyfriend. Despite the marketing techniques that are in vogue today, which attempt to make Jesus more approachable by making Him more “cool,” the trend toward redefining our Savior may soon make Him indistinguishable from any other pop star or celebrity. And sadly, like most celebrities, He is too often viewed as an optional accessory to be used or ignored according to the whim of the consumer. And, as we all know, audiences are fickle.

What’s worse, notions of Jesus as God – one to be worshiped and obeyed – are markedly absent from most modern sermons and the “dumbing down” of Christ is reaching a sort of critical mass in the contemporary church. Soon, the Jesus of the Bible will disappear altogether.

Here’s a fact: You are not like God and God is not like you. He is different. He is “completely other.” As the prophet Isaiah records, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts. (Isa. 55:8-9)

In the attempt to fill pews and keep their coffers fat, the modern church has attempted to humanize Jesus in sub-biblical ways. They assume that His love is tantamount to human love, or that His jealousy and zeal are the same as ours. As a result, we have a generation of Christians who define their Christianity by their own feelings and thoughts, rather than by aligning their thinking with the dictates of Scripture. And that’s not just theologically clumsy. It’s lethal.

Jesus once asked His apostles, “Whom do men say that I, the son of man, am?” When they responded that some thought He was John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or some other prophet, Jesus asked them pointedly, “But who do you say that I am?” (Mat. 16:13-15)

That’s an excellent question – one that we all have to come to grips with at some point in life. Who do we say that Jesus is? Is He merely a man with some good social ideas? Is He another in a succession of Hebrew prophets? Or, is He the figment of someone’s fertile imagination foisted on all humankind as some sort of grand, cosmic joke?

Biblically, there’s only one right answer. Faced with that penetrating question, Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the son of the living God.” In response, Jesus made sure that only God received the credit for that realization, saying, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in Heaven.” (Mat. 16:16-17)

That means that the only correct answer to the question, “Who is Jesus?” is the answer God reveals – “He is my Son. He is Christ. He is Lord.”

Of course, all of that begs the question, “Who do YOU say He is?”

Be careful. Your answer matters.

Replying to YouTube users

One of the downsides of the Internet -- and to YouTube in particular -- is that it offers a public forum to everyone with an opinion ... even if they have no real knowledge of the subject on which they are opinionating. And Christianity is one of those areas that really inspires ignorant opinions and rants.

I usually don't reply to comments on YouTube, but once in a while it's just worth it. After finally getting the video "Faith Is Gift" posted, the first comments were positive and encouraging. That's to be expected, since the first people who would be aware of the video would be friends and GCA supporters. But a fellow named ClumseyRoot apparently stumbled on the video and just couldn't pass up the opportunity to throw a little bitterness at the Christians. What he didn't expect, apparently, was a Christian who would hold his feet to the proverbial fire. Here's the exchange -- (by the way, I'm SBGGCA, which stands for Salvation By Grace / Grace Christian Assembly)

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ClumsyRoot (3 hours ago)

Faith is egotism. Believing in something because you want it to be true is nothing more than a manifestation of self-centeredness and self-interest.

SBGGCA (1 hour ago)

ClumsyRoot, my first instinct was just to delete your comment. But, I'm going to let it stand because it makes the very point this video is advancing. Faith is not something humans can exercise at will. I looked at your homepage. It's filled with Darwinism and anti-Creation propaganda. Fair enough. But, had you understood this video you would know that I am not contending for "believing in something because you want it to be true." I'm saying quite the opposite.

I'm arguing that the language of the Bible precludes the ability to believe in Christ unless that faith is given to you. That's what the Bible quite literally says. You don't believe because you cannot believe. And that's the state of every natural human. I am not surprised that a Darwinist does not believe and would deride those who do. The Bible says you would. Thank you for confirming my argument.

ClumsyRoot

Please go with your first instinct and delete my comment. Are you familiar with a logical fallacy known as "begging the question"?

SBGGCA (32 minutes ago)

Sure I'm familiar with it. But, if you're implying that my argument is circular, I wonder if you're familiar with it. What I presented was simple exegesis of a Bible passage. I'm arguing for perspicuity. So I'm stating facts based on what it says. I did not start with a premise and force it into my conclusion. I let the words on the page speak. By the way, if you want your comment deleted, that's fine. But, asking follow up questions is not the way to get it done.

ClumsyRoot

Fine. Delete it and let's be done with this.

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I honored his request and deleted his comment. It's funny how his first comment was so confident in its assertions and he later wanted it removed. I guess it didn't hold up under scrutiny and he didn't like being challenged. So, it's gone now. But, I wanted to share it here on the blog because it's indicative of the sort of posturing and empty rhetoric that is typical of most anti-Christian folk. And they need to be held accountable for what they say. But when you do challenge them, they usually fold under the pressure.

Oh well. Another ill-formed opinion the world will have to live without.

Faith Is A Gift - Pastor Jim McClarty

Okay, let's try this again. Here is the video that I posted yesterday. But, I had to make a couple minor changes to it, so I took down and posted it again this morning.

Closing Romans (!!!)

Well, I've done it. I've finally finished transferring all of the cassettes and closed the book of Romans. The last five mp3's are now posted on the archive site, under the Romans heading.

You'll find it here

Oddly, as I listened through the closing weeks, I had the haunting feeling that it was ending too soon. Sure enough, the last cassette I had in the box (they were numbered and dated) wasn't the actual last message on the book. So, the series ends rather abruptly without addressing the very last verses of the book. I poured back over the pile of cassettes and searched the boxes where they'd been stored, but to no avail. So, you'll just have to read Paul's closing remarks yourself.

Anyway, I'm happy to have completed that project. Now I can move on to the other writing projects I've been hoping to get to. And there's a chance that I'll start recording some of my commentaries. There's always plenty to do.

Also, I know that I haven't been particularly timely in posting on this blog. But, between preaching twice a week, answering email, and even visiting Facebook occasionally, it's not like I haven't been communicating. This blog is just one of the many outlets I use.

Now go listen while I think of other stuff to bury myself with.