Sunday 21 June 2015

K118. What would Jesus want us to preach?

Some will say, "Jesus wants us to preach only grace. Pure grace; not a mixture." Another will say, "No, Jesus want us to preach commandments". But many argue, "No, Jesus wants us to preach Him because He is the One who can save .." So, can we just keep arguing and criticising others who do not preach like us ? Should we preach pure grace or radical grace? Or preach like a religious revolutionist?
I will tell them, Why do we preach only this or that, and criticise others? Why do we preach like a revolutionist when our revolution is all about rebellious arguments and philosophies against God's words and commandments? Do you know that there are too many things we must preach in Christ and we cannot afford to waste our time preaching against everyone who cannot believe radically like us? Do we know that Jesus said, Go ye and teach all that He had commanded us to teach.. ? It means ALL; not partial, radical, or revolutionary wisdom which may fade according to time:
Mat 28:19-20 KJV  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:  (20)  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Did Jesus tell us to preach only love or only faith?
I do not have time to talk about 'all things whatsoever Jesus have commanded us to preach or teach', but I just want to say briefly or summarize that He wants us to preach all things, including:
1. Love, and
2. Works.
One lawyer had probably tested Jesus and challenged Him that he could love God more than any men; but Jesus looked at him and said, Do you truly love thy neighbour? How can you love thy neighbour if you do not love or do like the Samaritan? Your love for God is still in vain if you would only love and DO NOT DO like the Samaritan.
How about:
1. faith, and
2. works ?
James had said that faith without works is dead. I believe that James had learnt from Jesus too.

God's words cannot be preached individually and separately
Now, for those who like to compare and ask, "Yes, we all have love, faith, and works; but which is the greatest?" I will tell them, Yes, you know the answer: Love is the greatest. But do you think that Jesus would want us to preach only love? No. Jesus would always want us to preach love, faith, and works. He wants us to preach everything because they are all connected and they are in the loop, cycle, or process of producing and strengthening each another. It is impossible:
1. to love without faith
2. to have faith without love
3. to work with no love
4, to work with no faith
5. to love with no works, or
6. to have faith without works
Hence, God's preachers will never dissect it and preach it separately or individually if they know that the following would be linked and connected in a loop or:
Cycle: Love  ->  faith  -> works
God's preachers who truly obey the commandment of Jesus may even expound further, to preach more things and many things, for example:
Cycle: God's words -> God's covenant -> God's laws -> God's commandments -> doctrine -> repentance -> grace -> love -> faith -> fruits -> miracles -> principles -> works -> judgement -> hell -> prophecies -> kingdom of God .. ..
I will ask the hyper grace people, Is that a 'mixture' or a 'mixed truth' ? No, if God's preachers know how to preach the words of God, God's laws and grace can never be a 'mixture'.
Like the chicken and eggs, God's laws and grace are both the gifts and creations of God. Like the 'chicken and eggs' problem, the question is not: Are they a mixture? The question may be: Which comes first - chicken or eggs? God's laws or grace? or God's grace or repentance?
Before creation, God may 'crack His head' thinking which should He create first - chicken or eggs; but after creation, God is not bothered which one comes first. Both are His creations in a loop now. Similarly, God's laws and grace are both His gifts in a loop now. Why should we be bothered by the questions: Which one comes first? Or Which should we preach first? Or Which is more important? Or Should we put the cart before the horse or after the horse? I will tell them, No, I am not bothered by the 'chicken and eggs' problem or the 'cart and horse' problem. I will put the horse and the cart side by side - what say you?

God's words cannot be reduced or eliminated; it can only be summarized (to include more for us to do and learn)
Some preachers may ask, "Why do you make it so complicated? Which is the greatest truth in the words of God?" Jesus will still answer them and tell them the same thing that he told the lawyer:
Mat 22:33-40 KJV  And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine.  (34)  But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together.  (35)  Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,  (36)  Master, which is the great commandment in the law?  (37)  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  (38)  This is the first and great commandment.  (39)  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.  (40)  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
The lawyer might want to preach the easiest or the simplest truth based on his beautiful 'minimalistic' law; but Jesus simply summarized the Ten Commandments adequately and amazingly to include all the laws and commandments of God. He made the lawyer speechless ! I believe the lawyer had learnt his lesson. He should not reduce God's commandments to something that he could boast about. However, have we learnt our lesson? I am afraid that many of us are still thinking and boasting like the lawyer. And we can only be humbled by the words of Jesus.

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