If you really believe in Holy Scripture, then you know that our faith in Yeshua the Messiah as the Son of and way to the heavenly Father is the exclusive path to the kingdom of heaven. Bluntly put, there is absolutely no other way that anyone is going to receive eternal life outside of faith in Yeshua as Yahweh's Son. Yeshua put it this way:
"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up. That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." [John 3:14-15] In this Scriptural account Yeshua was speaking to the man Nicodemus, a ruler of the Judahites (John 3:1). Yeshua even referred to Nicodemus as a "master" of Israel, meaning that he was a teacher of the people of Israel; he knew about the Scriptures. I'm certain that Nicodemus knew of the episode in Numbers 21 concerning the fiery serpents that were sent to bite the people of Israel. When the Israelites became discouraged in the wilderness and complained about being taken away from Egypt and brought into the wilderness, Yahweh sent fiery serpents among the people and much of the people of Israel perished (Numbers 21:4-6). After a request from the people, Moses did pray to Yahweh for the removal of the serpents and Yahweh spoke to Moses and said, "Make thee a fiery serpent and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it shall live." (Numbers 21:8) Numbers 21:9 states that Moses did as Yahweh had commanded and those Israelites that obeyed Yahweh by looking upon the serpent lived. This was a condition that had to be obeyed in order for any Israelite who had been bitten to stay alive. It wasn't a might, it was a must. Those Israelites who refused to look at the serpent on the pole would perish, and this is what Yeshua is speaking of in John 3:14-15. Just as that serpent was lifted upon by Moses in the wilderness, in the same way the Son of man must be lifted up and beheld by the people. Whoever believes in the Son of man will not perish (like those in Israel who did not look at the serpent) but have life eternal. Once again, the two accounts work in the same way. Just as the Israelites had to look at the serpent to "escape" , so also must a person believe in Yeshua to not perish. The teaching of Scriptures is exclusive, not inclusive as many in modern Christendom are promoting. If you truly believe the Bible, then you should not make non-believers feel comfortable about their different faiths or non-faiths. You should be concerned about persuading them (2 Corinthians 5:11) to believe in the person and work of Yeshua the anointed one. Matthew Janzen
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I meet alot of people each week. The business I'm in probably leads me to an average of meeting 8 to 10 people each day. If I follow the Bible's admonition to witness about the truth to others (Isaiah 43:10-13; Acts 1:8; Luke 14:15-24), I must make it a point to speak to others about their eternal destiny, and this includes knowing Yeshua the Messiah, and knowing who He really is and what He really stands for.
One Scripture I use alot in teaching others about Yeshua is John 3:16. I choose this Scripture because it is very well known and often even non church goers can quote it in part and sometimes in whole. After either reading or quoting the verse I ask the people a few questions. "Who loved the world?" The reply: God. "Who did Yahweh (God) give?" The reply: His Son. "Must we believe in His Son according to this verse, in order to have eternal life?" The reply: Yes, that's what it says. This is typically how the conversation goes, and I think that if a conversation goes like this, you are on the right track. I would like to focus on one singular aspect of John 3:16 now and that is that Yahweh (whom the world generally calls God) gave His Son. Yahweh really did give us His Son. I have pressed this point with many people and up until I get into more detailed specifics people are always in agreement. Yet, when I ask the average church goer if "Jesus is God" they will almost automatically respond, "Yes," or "Absolutely!" Yet at the same time they will confess that "Jesus is the Son of God," or more properly, "Yeshua is the Son of Yahweh". So I then go back to John 3:16 showing them that the text does not say that "God gave God" or that "God gave Himself" but that "Yahweh gave His Son". It's quite plain. See, many people profess with their mouth that they believe Yeshua to be the Son of Yahweh, but their heart is far from such a belief. They rather stress the issue of what's commonly called the "Deity of Christ" believing that Yeshua's identity is "God". That's where the stress lies with most professing Christians. The stress is not placed on Yeshua being the Son of God, but rather God Himself. Is that the stress that Yeshua placed on His identity? I do not believe so. Yeshua asked His disciples a question about who He was. Matthew 16:13-18 records the episode for us. He basically stated, "Who do you say that I the Son of man am?" One of Yeshua's disciples was bold enough to answer the question and he (Peter) answered by saying "You are the Messiah the Son of the Living Mighty One (God)." Yeshua responded to Peter's answer by saying that flesh and blood did not reveal this to Peter, but rather, the Father in heaven. It was the Father in heaven, Yahweh, that revealed to Peter who Yeshua was. I'm going to say here that I do not for one second believe that the Father in heaven was wrong, inaccurate, or trying to pull the wool over the eyes of humanity. Yeshua really is the Son of Yahweh. Yeshua went on to say that the church would be built upon this foundation, and understanding this is critical. Peter's revelation, for it to be a foundation, had to be the most absolute revelation of who Yeshua was and is. In other words, this was not something partial; you do not build upon a partial foundation. The question had been asked by the Savior Himself, and the answer was given - the complete answer. Yeshua really was Yahweh's Son, not Yahweh. There is a distinct difference in saying: (1) Yahweh (2) Son of Yahweh Statement one includes one party, while statement two includes two parties. Yahweh really did give us His Son. John 3:16 really is telling the truth. You know, if you buy a new car and you want to know something about the engine you should flip the manual over to the section about the engine. Yes, you might learn something about the engine by reading about the car in general or by reading another section or two that's somewhat related. But the most complete and pertinent information you'll find about the engine is guess where? In the section about the engine of course. If we want to know who Yeshua is, wouldn't you think the best place to find out would be where He Himself actually asked people the question "Who am I?" Wouldn't you think that this would be the best place to go to find out who He really is or what His identity is? Especially in light of the fact that He applauded Peter for the answer given in Matthew 16? I hope and pray that people will really believe that Yeshua is the Son of Yahweh. Their eternal destiny depends upon it. Matthew Janzen I once heard a man give a speech in which he commented that in the early stages of his life the furthest subject from his mind was Christology. A person speaking this word to him may have caused his mind to jump to the study of crystals, or something other than what the word actually means.
Christology is the study of who "the Christ" really and truly is; His person and work. I've been accused at times of having a low Christology myself, but this accusation generally comes from people who have not made an honest attempt to ask me what I believe about the Messiah. It is true that I do not believe in the concept of the Trinity or in Trinitarian doctrine. I do not believe that the Almighty exists as one being in three distinct persons. I do not believe what many in the professing Christian world hold to: "Jesus is God." If that causes one to stop pursuing anything else I believe about Christ, I can only say that I feel this is because of what a person has been taught to believe, and not because of what a person believes based upon examination of Biblical text. What led me to write on this is a study I've been doing in Colossians recently, specifically Colossians 2. Within this chapter (as well as chapter 1) we find the preeminence of Christ and the centrality of Christ. We find Paul urging Christians in Colossae to not be deceived into thinking that their power, holiness, righteousness, etc. comes by other means than through Christ. I was reading through the text of Colossians 2 again the other morning and as I read, Colossians 2:9 stood out to me. It announces to us that in Christ dwelleth all the fulness of Divinity. This is an outstanding statement! How could the entirety of the Almighty dwell within humanity; I'm not sure, but that is what the Scripture says. This same strand appears in the earlier chapter of this epistle of Paul (Colossians 1:19) as well as in the words of John the Baptist when he said that the Spirit (of Yahweh) dwelt in the Messiah without measure (John 3:34). Truly, the Almighty was in the Messiah reconciling the world unto himself (1 Corinthians 5:17-21). Yahweh dwelt within Yeshua in a way in which no other had been indwelt before nor ever will be after; Yeshua really was the Son of Almighty Yahweh. Matthew Janzen |
AuthorBlog by Matthew Janzen. Lover of Yahweh, Yeshua, my wife and 5 children. All else is commentary. Archives
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