Many people today are unwilling to define their terms. They’d rather play fast and loose with definitions and let each person decide their own meaning into the words they use. But, in order for language to work in a society, we need to have an understanding what a person means when they use a specific word.
A vegan doesn’t eat meat or other animal products. Using that word communicates something that has meaning to someone else. But, in today’s society, people allow the use of language without meaning. Thus, a vegan can be whatever you want it to be. I can claim to be a vegan who eats meat, and nobody is allowed to disagree even though it’s nonsensical. To use language this way diminishes any real definition and muddles communication.
Likewise, many today call themselves “Christian.” The very word means like Christ. But, in our culture, people can claim such a thing without actually following Christ. They can reject the teaching of Christ and still claim to follow him. They reject his Word and still claim to be like him.
At what point does your beliefs look so unlike Jesus that it’s dishonest to say you are a follower of his? Can someone truly claim to be a vegan who eats meat?
The Self-Revelation of Jesus
Understandably, people like aspects of Jesus’ teaching such as love, grace, and forgiveness. Other aspects, such as sin, judgment, and righteous living are not as popular. While claiming to follow Christ, many ignore the aspects they don’t like.
However, if Jesus is God and worthy of our praise and submission, we don’t get to choose which of his teaching we like and disregard the rest. We don’t get to make Jesus after our image. We can’t twist him to fit our mold. Even if we name our idol “Jesus,” it’s still idolatry.
The first step in creating a false Jesus is to disregard his Word. If we claim extra revelation outside of Scripture, we are able to fit our pre-conceived ideas of what Jesus should be like and reject the parts of Scripture we don’t like. We can claim to hear something from the Holy Spirit while disregarding the very book he wrote.
Jesus said Scripture can’t be broken (John 10:35). Jesus told the Pharisees in Mark 12: “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God?” We can’t pit Peter against Paul, Paul against Jesus, etc. because the Holy Spirit is the author of all Scripture. God breathed out his Word through the hand of men and kept it from any perversions.
Who Are You Following?
Thus, if we want to call ourselves Christians we must strive to be Christ-like. We submit to his teaching and show his character in our life, and it’s only by the Spirit’s power can we display such fruit. Of course, none of us will do this perfectly, so we need grace and forgiveness for when we fall short. But there is a vast difference between someone who tries to follow Jesus and falls short and one who outright rejects his teachings they don’t like. We can try to spiritualize it by saying we are listening to the Holy Spirit’s guidance, but he never contradicts himself and the Bible he wrote.
Which Jesus do you follow? The Jesus who has revealed himself to us through his word, or a version from your imagination who agrees with everything you believe?
Great article.