If Jesus were to walk into the U.S. today, He probably wouldn’t be welcome in many universities and probably wouldn’t be welcome in some churches. Jesus was never politically correct. He taught not only that there is absolute truth, but that He is the truth. He was exclusive. He taught that in spite of appearances, there are only two paths in life. There is the easy way through the wide gate that leads to destruction, the way that most people will choose. There is the hard way through the narrow gate that leads to life, the way that only few will find. And, He identifies Himself as that only way to life: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Jesus spoke more about hell than anyone else in the Bible. That’s not popular today. People don’t want to think that there will be any consequences for their sin, let alone that there will be eternal consequences.
Many people have created an idol that they call “Jesus.” They ignore or strip away what He taught, anything they find uncomfortable, anything they disagree with. What we think and what we feel are not authoritative. We can easily deceive ourselves and can easily be deceived by others. God’s Word is authoritative. If the Jesus “in your heart” is not the Jesus in the Bible, you have been deceived. Only in Christ is our sin cleansed; only in Christ can we have eternal peace with the Father.
Pastor Haney
