20, 10, 5 years ago if someone would have said, "Jesus saves," I would have probably heartily said, "Amen!" Thinking I was in the company of a fellow believer. The problem is that the landscape of language and word meanings often shifts like sand dunes in the wind. Jesus doesn't save, before you stone me listen to what I have to say.
Jesus doesn't save, the Jesus of the bible saves. There is a world of difference between the two. There now exists in peoples' minds a Jesus who is nothing more than a figment of their imagination.
As an example a young "Christian," lady was recently on a reality TV series called the "Bachelorette". She slept with several of the contestants and when confronted her response was, (a) Jesus loves me, and (b) don't judge me I am forgiven. The Jesus she follows is not the Jesus of the bible. She has made up a version of Jesus that lets her do whatever she wants, that is not the Jesus who saves. Jesus said:
Luke 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
Luke 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
Luke 14:27 Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
Part of that self denial involves being sexually pure, and only having sex inside of the confines of a biblical marriage:
Re 21:7 "He who overcomes shall inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.
Re 21:8 "But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."
Re 21:8 "But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."
We have a Jesus today who saves everybody and loves and approves of any/all lifestyles. That is not the Jesus of the bible. This is the first recording of Jesus' preaching:
Mt 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Mt 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
We live in a day and age where there is no hell, or if there is, it is a place where only a very few really bad people go there. That is not the Jesus of the bible, the Jesus who saves.John 8:24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.
Mt 7:13 "Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it.
Mt 7:14 "For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it.
Mt 7:14 "For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it.
One of my favorite Doobie Bros songs is "Jesus is just alright." Lyrics include statements like, "I don't care what they may say, I don't care what them may know, Jesus is just all right oh yeah." Another line which they added to the original song is: "Jesus is my friend." That seemingly indicates a real and genuine faith. However in an interview with Tom Johnston, lead vocalist, he made it very clear they were just muscians playing a gig:
"The funny thing about that, we weren't anti-religious. We weren't anything. We were just musicians out playing a gig.* He later in that same interview spoke of the Christians who came to his concerts and would get all excited when that song played and started throwing scriptures on the stage, listen carefully to his response to that:
"They would throw scriptures on the stage, that sort of thing. Little did they know they were trying to enlist the support of the wrong guys."*
While faith in Jesus is all one needs to be saved, that faith cannot stand on its own, it must be practically demonstrated in a persons life.
Mt 7:21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,'will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven."
Mt 7:21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,'will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven."
Doing the will of the Father is following the Jesus of the bible not your own made up version of Jesus.
In the NT book of James he illustrates the folly of simply saying you believe in Jesus:
James 2:19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.
James 2:20 But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?
James 2:19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.
James 2:20 But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?
Jesus does save, the Jesus of the bible that is, not the Jesus of popular culture.
Keep your fire burning.
*https://www.songfacts.com/facts/the-doobie-brothers/jesus-is-just-alright