A Year of Grace

1 Corinthians 12:27 – All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it. ²⁸ Here are some of the parts God has appointed for the church:

first are apostles,
second are prophets,
third are teachers,
then those who do miracles,
those who have the gift of healing,
those who can help others,
those who have the gift of leadership,
those who speak in unknown languages.

²⁹ Are we all apostles? Are we all prophets? Are we all teachers? Do we all have the power to do miracles? ³⁰ Do we all have the gift of healing? Do we all have the ability to speak in unknown languages? Do we all have the ability to interpret unknown languages? Of course not! ³¹ So you should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts.

But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all.

Chapter 13:1 – If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. ³ If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing. (NLT)

When we read the Bible, chapter divisions can get in the way of properly understanding a passage.  Today’s passage is an excellent example.  If we treat chapter 13 as separate material, we miss the fullness of chapter 13.

Remember, the problem in the church in Corinth was divisions.  One of the largest divisions was spiritual gifts.  Those who were speaking in tongues were claiming that those who did not were not as spiritual as they.  In the closing verses of chapter 12, Paul gives a list of spiritual gifts (please note that this is not an exhaustive list of spiritual gifts).  Paul repeats the question with each gift – do we all possess this gift?  This was a rhetorical question. The answer was supposed to be obvious.  We do not all possess the same gifts.  So, this in itself should have addressed the issue of whether or not speaking in tongues was a requirement for being a spiritual person.  Sadly, this issue remains two thousand years later!

We must keep in mind that chapter 13 – the celebrated ‘love chapter’ – is in direct

response to those who claimed that they were superior because they spoke in tongues.  Look at verse 1: “If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” When Paul mentioned speaking the language of angels, he was referring to tongues.  If one could speak in tongues, but did not have love, they were just a clanging cymbal.  A clanging cymbal was what used to awaken the pagan gods as one entered into a pagan temple.  The Corinthians were well aware of this practice.  Paul is saying that that if they did not have love – and dividing themselves was not love – then they were as useless as a cymbal that was trying to awaken a non-existent god!  Powerful words!

Today, no matter what our gift, let us seek what is best of all – love.  In all our conversations, all our responses, all our thoughts, and all our actions, let us seek love. 

Posted by Ramón Torres

1 Corinthians 12:12 – The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. ¹³ Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.

¹⁴ Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. ¹⁵ If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything?

¹⁸ But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. ¹⁹ How strange a body would be if it had only one part! ²⁰ Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. ²¹ The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”

²² In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. ²³ And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, ²⁴ while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. ²⁵ This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. ²⁶ If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad. (NLT)

Today we have one of my favorite passages in the New Testament – the Body of Christ.  What a wonderful analogy for the Church.  Paul gives a list of body parts, telling the divided Corinthian church that just as they need every part of their bodies to be whole and complete, they need one another for the Church – the Body of Christ at work in the world – to be complete.  Just as we cannot divide our bodies and continue to function, the Church cannot be divided and function.

Think of your own church and all of its many functions: children’s ministries; youth ministries; teaching ministries; mission ministries; outreach ministries; and many more.  Just as one part of our body is really nothing in and of itself, the Church cannot function with just one ministry.

I use Church with a big ‘C’ because the Church – the Body of Christ – is really more than any one local church.  A local church may have great local missions, while another church has great foreign missions.  Another may have great youth ministry.  Paul was writing to one local church, but in reality all local churches are connected through the mystical union of the Holy Spirit.  Can one local church be all things to all people?  I am proud of the work that my own church takes part in, but there are people we cannot reach with what we do.  Another church across town may reach a demographic that my church could never reach.  These churches are all part of the Body.  The Body is not one ministry.  The Body is not one church.  To use a phrase in a different context, for Christ’s sake we must work together! 

For too long, Christians have divided themselves for a multitude of reasons.  Just as there are different gifts within a local church, there are different gifts in different churches.  

Today, thank God for your local church, but let us also thank God for the Church.   As you drive past various churches, offer a prayer for the work of that church.  Celebrate the people that are reached with the message of God’s grace in various churches.  We need one another.  Let us not be divided, but united through the Holy Spirit. 

Posted by Ramón Torres 

1 Corinthians 12:1 – Now, dear brothers and sisters, regarding your question about the special abilities the Spirit gives us. I don’t want you to misunderstand this. ² You know that when you were still pagans, you were led astray and swept along in worshiping speechless idols. ³ So I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God will curse Jesus, and no one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit.

⁴ There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. ⁵ There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. ⁶ God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.

⁷ A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. ⁸ To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. ⁹ The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. ¹⁰ He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. ¹¹ It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have. (NLT)

As we look at this passage, we must recall that the major problem that the Church in Corinth was facing was divisions amongst the members.  They had divided because of education, economic status, and because of thw Christian leaders whom they followed.  As we discover here in chapter twelve, they were also dividing because of spiritual gifts.  The section that is begun here continues through Chapter fourteen.

Verses one through three seem strange to our modern ears.  What was going on in those worship services?  They were quite different from what we are familiar with, to be sure!  Most of the Corinthian Christians had been pagans before converting, and in the pagan rituals many worshippers would be moved into a state of spiritual ecstasy.  This is what Paul is referring to in verse two when he says that they were ‘swept along’ in their worship.  Who would have been saying that ‘Jesus be cursed?’  We really cannot say, but Paul makes it clear that such speech is not from God, and it was certainly not the Spirit of God that put those words in anyone’s mouth.

I find it interesting that in verses four through six, Paul uses the words Spirit, Lord, and God interchangeably.  While we do not find the word ‘Trinity’ in the New Testament, we can clearly see the doctrine of the Holy Trinity.  God the Spirit is the source of spiritual gifts.  With these spiritual gifts we serve Jesus, our Lord.  God works differently in each of us, but it is the same God, even though we are different.

We should note that the list of spiritual gifts mentioned in this passage is not an exhaustive list.  There are other passages that give us other gifts.  The gifts that Paul mentions in these verses were the gifts that the Christians in Corinth were using to divide themselves.  Paul will go into further detail later in this chapter about the purpose of spiritual gifts, but for today suffice it to say that since it is the same God who gives different people differing gifts, then God does not want these differing gifts to divide God’s people.

In our own churches we all have people with differing gifts and interests.  Some are gifted to work with the homeless, while others are gifted to work with foreign mission projects.  Some are gifted to work with children, while others with music.  Sadly, even within what appears to be healthy churches there are divisions amongst Christians because of their differing interests.

Today, let us recognize that we are all part of one Body – the Church.  Let us celebrate our differing gifts and interests, which are given to us so that we may work together for the good of the Church.  

Posted by Ramón Torres

Matthew 9:1 – Jesus climbed into a boat and went back across the lake to his own town. ² Some people brought to him a paralyzed man on a mat. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Be encouraged, my child! Your sins are forgiven.”

³ But some of the teachers of religious law said to themselves, “That’s blasphemy! Does he think he’s God?”

⁴ Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you have such evil thoughts in your hearts? ⁵ Is it easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’? ⁶ So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!”

⁷ And the man jumped up and went home! ⁸ Fear swept through the crowd as they saw this happen. And they praised God for sending a man with such great authority. (NLT) 

Many years ago there was a Mel Brooks comedy by the name of High Anxiety.  My sister and I would often quote a line from that movie in a joking way.  We would say, “There are a lot of sick people in the world.  Sick, sick people.”  Indeed, there are a lot of sick people in the world, in fact, we’re all sick!  We all suffer from a sickness in our souls called sin.

While on this earth, Jesus cared for people in many ways.  He taught about God and grace, he fed multitudes, and he healed.  Ultimately, Jesus came to heal, but it wasn’t physical healing that was his top priority, it was the healing we all need from sin sickness.  The ancient Jews were well aware that sin prevented them from enjoying a close relationship with God, therefore when Jesus encountered this suffering man, he granted him what his soul needed most, forgiveness.  The religious teachers did not believe that Jesus was of God, and they accused him of blasphemy.  Knowing their thoughts, Jesus basically says, “All right, if that’s not what you want I’ll go ahead and cure his physical infirmities.”

In verse nine the people praise God for Jesus, but I’m not sure as to exactly why they were praising God.  Were they praising God for the healing of physical infirmity, or for the forgiveness of sins?  I do believe that miraculous healings occur, and have witnessed it myself, but I think this text begs us to question ourselves: Are we be more willing to praise God for physical healing than we are the forgiveness of our sins?  Everyone who was healed of physical infirmities in the Bible has long since died of other causes.  Likewise, all who are healed physically in our time will also one day die a physical death.  There is a healing, however, that enables us to live eternally with God.  This is why we worship.  This is why we praise God. 

Today, let us take some time to praise God for the miraculous gift of the healing of our souls.  That’s not just Good Stuff, that’s God Stuff!

Posted by Ramón Torres

Matthew 8:28 – When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. ²⁹ “What do you want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?”

³⁰ Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. ³¹ The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”

³² He said to them, “Go!” So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water. ³³ Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. ³⁴ Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region. (NIV)

While the gospel writer doesn’t mention it, I’m sure it must have been a dark and stormy night, or at least a heavy fog laid over the graveyard! We have some real drama in this passage, so let’s dive into it.  We have demon possessed men coming out from the tombs.  This sets up a battle between evil and good.  Jews would never hang around a graveyard.  The dead, and the graves that held them, were unclean.  Right from the start we have some unclean and possessed people confronting Jesus.

Next, there was a large herd of pigs – more uncleanliness for the Jews.  The demons immediately recognize the power of Jesus.  They recognize his ultimate authority.  Knowing that they stand no chance against the power of God, they ask Jesus to send them into the herd of pigs, which Jesus does.  The pigs then run off a cliff and drown in the water.  Everything that was evil in this passage is destroyed by just a word from Jesus. 

This story tells us two important things.  First, we learn that no one needs to remain under the power of evil.  With just a word, Jesus can send anything and everything that is evil running!  We live our lives battling sin, and the power to overcome is not within us.  Jesus, however, has that power, and Jesus is quick to share that power with us.  We need only seek Jesus.   

Secondly, let us note that the entire town went out to meet Jesus, pleading with him to leave.  Yes, their livelihood was destroyed, but that is not the point for us.  The point for us is that there will be opposition to the things of God.  If we think that we can live for Jesus without opposition, we are mistaken!  We will be opposed by evil when we stand for Jesus.  We must be always ready to call on Jesus to help us in our weakness.

Today, let us seek from Jesus the power to overcome sin.  Then, let us seek even more of Jesus when evil stands in our way. 

Posted by Ramón Torres

Luke 7:36 – One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to have dinner with him, so Jesus went to his home and sat down to eat. ³⁷ When a certain immoral woman from that city heard he was eating there, she brought a beautiful alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume. ³⁸ Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them.   ³⁹ When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner!”

⁴⁰ Then Jesus answered his thoughts. “Simon,” he said to the Pharisee, “I have something to say to you.” “Go ahead, Teacher,” Simon replied.   ⁴¹ Then Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two people—500 pieces of silver to one and 50 pieces to the other. ⁴² But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?”   ⁴³ Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt.”

“That’s right,” Jesus said. ⁴⁴ Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn’t offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. ⁴⁵ You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. ⁴⁶ You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume.

⁴⁷ “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.” ⁴⁸ Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.”   ⁴⁹ The men at the table said among themselves, “Who is this man, that he goes around forgiving sins?”  ⁵⁰ And Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (NLT)

Scandalous behavior!  Yes, that’s what we have in this passage, downright scandalous behavior – at least in the eyes of one of the religious leaders of Jesus’ day.  While there have been many theories, we really don’t know who this woman was, or even what her sins were.  I’m glad we don’t, for then we would be tempted to act scandalously ourselves and judge her.  As the story reads, all we know is that she was immoral.  In the context of that day, this could have referred to a host of sins. 

What we do know is that she came to wash and anoint the feet of Jesus.  This seems strange to our modern sensibilities, but in ancient times it was common for a slave to wash the feet of a traveler when they entered into a home.  This woman offered to Jesus the most menial of duties, and she offered freely.  Simon, the religious leader, took exception to her actions and spoke to Jesus about her behavior.  The answer Jesus gives challenges me:  “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.”

This begs the question – just how much have we been forgiven?  The answer, of course, is much!  We have been offered forgiveness for all the sins we have ever committed, and for all the sins we will ever commit.  Should we not show much love to Jesus for our forgiveness?  How do we show our love for Jesus?  Jesus teaches us in Matthew 25:40 that when we show our love to anyone, we show love to Jesus – “I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!”

Today, let us show our love for Jesus by showing our love to all!

Posted by Ramón Torres

Luke 7:11 – Soon afterward Jesus went with his disciples to the village of Nain, and a large crowd followed him. ¹² A funeral procession was coming out as he approached the village gate. The young man who had died was a widow’s only son, and a large crowd from the village was with her. ¹³ When the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion. “Don’t cry!” he said. ¹⁴ Then he walked over to the coffin and touched it, and the bearers stopped. “Young man,” he said, “I tell you, get up.” ¹⁵ Then the dead boy sat up and began to talk! And Jesus gave him back to his mother.

¹⁶ Great fear swept the crowd, and they praised God, saying, “A mighty prophet has risen among us,” and “God has visited his people today.” ¹⁷ And the news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding countryside. (NLT)

In this passage Jesus is entering the village of Nain, while at the same time a funeral procession is leaving the village.  The Jews always buried their dead outside of the town limits.  We are told that the young man that had died was the widow’s only son.  In those days, a woman’s best chance of survival was to have a husband or a grown son who could provide for her.  There were no employment opportunities for women, and no pensions or social security.  Without a son or a husband, this woman was in a bad way, and this is why Jesus was moved with compassion when he saw her. While a compassionate Jesus is a great picture for us to hold dear, what I find striking is what Jesus says to the deceased: “Young man, I tell you, get up.”

In many ways this speaks to the relationship that we have with Jesus.  Consider what the Apostle Paul says in Romans 6:11 – “count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”  And in 2 Corinthians 3:6 – “The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life.”

If we truly want to follow Jesus, we must die to the world, and live for Christ.  However, we don’t die to the world to simply remain dead, we die to the world to be truly alive!  We die to the world to receive the Spirit of the new covenant.  When we die to the world, Jesus says, “I tell you, get up!”  Having life in Christ is a call to action.  It is a call to live as Jesus lived.  It is a call to love as Jesus loved.

Today, let us get up and live!

Posted by Ramón Torres

Matthew 8:18 – When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he instructed his disciples to cross to the other side of the lake.  ¹⁹ Then one of the teachers of religious law said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”   ²⁰ But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.”   ²¹ Another of his disciples said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.”  ²² But Jesus told him, “Follow me now. Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead.”

²³ Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples. ²⁴ Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. ²⁵ The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”  ²⁶ Jesus responded, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm.  ²⁷ The disciples were amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked. “Even the winds and waves obey him!” (NLT)

In today’s passage we have two stories back to back.  I am always amazed at the brilliance of the Gospel writers, and the way they often used seemingly unrelated stories to connect to one another.  In the first story, we find several people giving Jesus excuses as to why they cannot follow Jesus at that moment.  In verse twenty-one a man tells Jesus that he must return home to bury his father.  In those day this was a saying that meant one had to care for an elderly parent.  On the surface, Jesus’ answer seems harsh.  Older translations simply have Jesus responding with, “Let the dead bury their own dead”.  More modern translations add ‘spiritually dead’.  The word is νεκρός, which often meant spiritually dead, but generally meant ‘lifeless’.  I don’t believe Jesus was being harsh.  I believed that he knew the man’s answer to be what it was – an excuse for not changing his life to follow Jesus. 

In the second story, Jesus calms a storm.  The disciples asked, “Who is this man?”  This question connects the two stories.  We must each ask ourselves who is this Jesus?  Is this man so important that we need to change our very lives?  Is this man so important that we change our schedules, even our daily activities? Even seemingly good things can become an excuse for not following Jesus.  Even seemingly good things can prevent us from the fullness of discipleship to which Jesus calls.  However, we can be ‘lifeless’ and ‘spiritually dead’ even as we go about doing what appear to be good things. 

Today, let us answer the question – who is this Jesus?  Let us examine our daily activities.  Are there things that are preventing us from truly following Jesus?  Are we spiritually alive?  Will we follow? 

Posted by Ramón Torres

Luke 5:1 – One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God. ² He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. ³ Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there.

⁴ When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.”

⁵ “Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” ⁶ And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! ⁷ A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.

⁸ When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m too much of a sinner to be around you.”⁹ For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him. ¹⁰ His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed.

Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!” ¹¹ And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus. (NLT)

I love this story!  I love the interaction between Jesus and Simon Peter.  Let’s consider Simon Peter, often just ‘Peter’ in the New Testament.  Peter was a fisherman.  He was a hard-working man, a ‘salt of the earth’ kind of guy.  He most likely hung out with some pretty salty folk, as well.  Up to this point, he had probably seen a bit of Jesus as Jesus taught and healed around Peter’s hometown of Capernaum.  Jesus even went to Peter’s home and healed Peter’s mother-in-law.  At this time, however, Peter was not yet called into Jesus’ inner circle, and I believe it would have been beyond Peter’s wildest dreams to even consider that Jesus would call him to be Jesus’ disciple.

Jesus does, however, call Peter, and Peter answers the call!  As a disciple, did Peter always ‘get it’?  Of course not!  We read in the gospels of a number of accounts where Peter doesn’t quite understand what Jesus is about, but Peter hangs in there.  Peter would even end up denying he even knew Jesus, but Jesus never gave up on Peter, and Peter goes on to be one of the great founders of the Christian faith.  Peter even preached a sermon that was so powerful that thousands become believers in one day! (Acts 2).  We even read that Peter went on to have a ministry of healing and even raises a woman from the dead! (Acts 9)  All of this from the humble beginnings of a salty fisherman! 

I’ve had people tell me that they believed in Jesus but were not ready to be baptized because they were not yet good enough.  Friends, left on our own, who is?  In the passage above, Peter leaves his old life behind and follows Jesus.  Jesus asks the same of us.  Are we good enough on our own?  No, and we never will be, but Jesus calls us and never gives up on us.  That’s the Good in the Good News! 

Today, let us strive to leave behind what we need to leave behind.  Let us strive to follow Jesus, knowing that when our actions deny Jesus, Jesus offers to us the same grace that he offered to Peter.  As with Peter, Jesus will never give up on us.  That’s Good Stuff! 

Posted by Ramón Torres

Matthew 7:22 – On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ ²³ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’

²⁴ “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. ²⁵ Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. ²⁶ But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. ²⁷ When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

²⁸ When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, ²⁹ for he taught with real authority—quite unlike their teachers of religious law. (NLT) 

I sometimes find Jesus’ teachings striking not for what he says, but who he says it too.  Consider this passage, Jesus is not telling us that all those heathen sinners out there better straighten up, he’s telling us that all those folks who claim to know Jesus better straighten up.  Yes, this passage is just for all us good church folk!

This passage begins with Jesus telling us that not everyone who claims to know Jesus really know him. There is a big difference in knowing about Jesus and knowing Jesus.  James tells us we may say that we have faith because we believe in God, then he tells us that even the demons believe (James 2:19).  Believing in Jesus is not the same as faith in Jesus.  Faith in Jesus changes things about us.  Faith in Jesus changes the world through us.

Jesus then tells us the parable of the house built on the solid foundation and the house built on the sand.  Those Christians who follow Jesus’ teaching are on the solid foundation, while those Christians who don’t follow Jesus’ teachings are on the sand.  The interesting thing about these verses is the word we translate as follow or obey.  The Greek word is ποιέω, which literally means to produce something, or to bear fruit. The word that we translate as foolish (μωρός), was also the word for godless.

If we follow Jesus’ teachings, we will be producing fruit. Likewise, if we know of Jesus but do not have the faith to follow Jesus’ teachings, we are godless!  A powerful and challenging teaching.

Today, let us inspect some fruit!  Let us ask ourselves what are we producing? Let us strive to be more than a believer in Jesus, and endeavor to have the faith to truly change what needs to be changed.

Posted by Ramón Torres