I am currently delving into a deeper understanding of the true meaning of the cross of Christ, how it relates to salvation and how it reveals God's heart.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Challenging Assumptions


Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. (John 5:24)

This verse has the capacity to expose and challenge a great deal of assumptions that Christians have about the meaning of some of the words used in religion. Depending on what you choose to believe about these words, your beliefs and assumptions about a great deal of other things will be strongly influenced by this text. And in turn, what you believe about other subjects will have a great bearing on how one perceives this text and the real message that Jesus is trying to convey.

I have highlighted some of the key words and phrases here that tend to be often misunderstood and that have challenged me for years to better comprehend and appreciate. I certainly do not claim to have all the answers right now, but neither will I deny that God has been leading me to explore and challenge my own assumptions and has used my study of His Word to redefine nearly all of the religious words and terms that are so easily tossed around without really stopping to see what they really mean.

In my opinion the person described here, as I wrote about previously, is the one that is also described in verse 21 as the one to whom Jesus wishes to give life. And this too brings us face to face with the very first assumption that we must be careful to examine. We tend to always think of the word life as describing our physical existence in the way in which we experience it in this fallen world. Or we might think of it in surreal terms when it comes to an eternal life that is has little or nothing to do with the kind of physical existence we now experience.

I believe that both of these approaches can be dangerous to assume. I believe that eternal life has far deeper meanings and takes on very different dimensions than the very limited sphere of existence that we presently know. But at the same time I don't believe that eternal life is totally disconnected from the kind of physical interactions and sensations and experiences that we currently are familiar with.

I don't believe it is necessary to have a full understanding of exactly what this term means fully. In fact, I believe that given our very limited mental and spiritual capacities to even comprehend reality as heaven experiences it, we cannot really know at this point. But we should be cognizant enough of the fact that there is far more to life than the physical experience that we now call life, and we should not become dogmatic and narrow in our views of what this term means as it is used in the Bible.

When the Bible talks about life and eternal life and even death, it very often is referring to a state of reality or condition different from most of our assumptions when we use those terms. When the disciples became confused after Jesus talked about death as a sleep, they were simply displaying the typical confusion that all of us share due to our severely limited perceptions of reality by growing up oblivious to the true reality that is normal outside of this world. Likewise, when Jesus talked about life and eternal life, many times He was referring to how heaven views these topics and using language from the other side of reality instead of using our confused language – which itself can often cause confusion if we fail to question our own assumptions about these terms like the disciples failed to do.

In my previous post I also noted the relationship between those who actually both hear and believe what Jesus is trying to convey to humanity about God. This too has a great deal of vital meaning and we need to really appreciate what these words truly mean if we want to be one of those to whom Jesus wishes to give life. It is not enough to just receive the physical kind of existence from God – we all have been given that in some measure, and once again everyone who has ever existed will receive it at least temporarily for the final period of judgment after the millenium. But just because people are given physical life even through the miraculous power of resurrection does not imply that they will have eternal life in any sense of the word.

This is connected to one of the most pernicious and pervasive errors of religion that has its deepest hold on many minds and hearts. To believe that sinners will be tortured forever in the flames of a physical burning hell as punishment for the sins they committed for a few years is one of the most damnable lies about God ever invented. This lie was crafted in the mind of God's worst enemy and reflects the character of Satan himself. Sadly it has taken root in nearly every religion on earth. But yet it is a lie nonetheless and it was first purported in the words of the serpent to Eve when he tempted her from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, “You will not really die.”

What we choose to believe about what God is like and how He views and treats sinners is at the very core of the controversy between Christ and Satan and permeates all of the lies about God that affects humanity in the our fallen state of sin. And it is this core issue of how we perceive God that Jesus came to address but that is still our greatest obstacle to understanding what reality really looks like. Unless we are willing to truly hear Jesus for ourselves, to immerse ourselves directly in His words and allow His Spirit to impress our hearts with the real truths behind those words deep inside, we will be in constant danger of continuing to live under deceptions of Satan that sound so plausible and that are so widely accepted by billions of people around us.

It is not enough to just hear the words of God. And it is not even enough to just believe superficially or even be able to quote at great length the words of Jesus and texts from the Bible to prove and vindicate our particular brand of religion. That is far from the kind of real belief that Jesus talked about when He was here on earth. The kind of belief that is referenced here and is indeed the main topic of this whole book of John, is a far deeper, richer, more encompassing kind of belief that is mainly rooted in the right brain emotional and heart consciousness and goes even deeper yet into the subconscious regions of our makeup.

But what most people label as belief is often just a very shallow type of belief that resides primarily in the intellectual arena of our mind. Or it may be a substitute for real belief that is founded on emotional highs that may be worked up during religious exercises that make us feel spiritual for a few hours. But neither of these kinds of belief is what the book of John is talking about as I have been seeing it in my study. I agree that it can involve both of these kinds of mental exercises, but if it does not go far deeper than that – in fact, if it does not originate from places far deeper than that in our psyche, then I am coming to realize that it may not in fact be the kind of saving belief that is necessary to prepare us to live with God for eternity.

But now I come to the most fascinating part of this verse and have already used up a great deal of time dwelling on the previous parts. I think I will defer exploring this last part for when I will have more time and space to really dig into it more thoroughly and look for exciting insights and life-transforming truths that I am sure to find. It is in the last sentence where Jesus talks about judgment and life and death and the many interesting links between all of these.

1 comment:

  1. Floyd -
    Will you please explain your understanding of the verses that say things like "their fire never goes out and their worm never dies.", etc. These are the verses that are usually understood to talk of eternal suffering, etc. It would be good to examine them directly and in context.
    The Spirit of God, of Jesus and of the Father, is faithful to reveal His heart to us as we may be able to understand Him. Only let Him continue to reveal Himself and lovingly draw us to a heart-knowledge of Him which fits with all we know of Him in His revealed Word. And I long for understanding of Him that I can witness to clearly, with understanding.

    It makes me think of the way Satan has passed off evolution onto some of the most brilliant secular (and even Christian) minds as logical and truthful - when it is neither of those at all. But it is a lie that is defended to the hilt. Only with persistent analysis and fearless defense has the Biblical definition and understanding of God's creative acts been sustained - by people gifted and inspired in their work by the Spirit of God. Otherwise, everyone would surely be under the sway of that lie.

    But I really would love a better understanding of where the Lord is taking us as humans, both those who are moving toward Him and those who are moving away from Him.

    Jesus said - "I tell you the truth - TODAY YOU will be with me in Paradise."

    Lord - defeat our enemy. Defeat fear with love. Rescue Your children from traps and crazy-making situations and clothe us with Your truth, through faith being able to see what the eyes of flesh miss totally. Save us, Lord Jesus. We love You.

    You can write to my home email if you want - josheri1@att.net
    Thanks,
    Josh Underhill
    BTW - we are moving to Chicago, Lord willing, in June.

    ReplyDelete

Thank-you for leaving a comment. Let me know how you feel about what you are reading. This is where I share my personal thoughts and feelings about whatever I am studying in the Word at this time and I relish your input.