SFL - Taking up the slack for Jesus

[Faith]

I get a daily devotional in my email from the UCC denomination. Today's scripture was John 12:47-50, where Jesus says he did not come to condemn the world, and that he does not condemn those who ignore his commandments.

It occurred to me that a lot of Christians (not just Fundies) feel like Jesus is laying down on the job here, that the world needs condemning and somebody's got to do it. So they take up the slack for Jesus.

[dthatcher]

There is a textual variant here:
TR and Majority Text read: "if anyone...does not believe" [NKJV/WEB]
Critical Text reads: "If anyone...does not keep them(obey)" [NASB/NET]

Which reading you go with has a definite effect on how you interpret this verse.

[greg]

(07-09-2011 07:50 AM)Faith Wrote:  I get a daily devotional in my email from the UCC denomination. Today's scripture was John 12:47-50, where Jesus says he did not come to condemn the world, and that he does not condemn those who ignore his commandments.

It occurred to me that a lot of Christians (not just Fundies) feel like Jesus is laying down on the job here, that the world needs condemning and somebody's got to do it. So they take up the slack for Jesus.

There is just no way that one teaching the scripture expositorily could stop here and simply say that this passage is merely teaching that Jesus did not come to condemn the world, the actual thrust or main point of this passage is a warning of the judgement to come. The last half of v-48 Jesus says "that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day."

[greg]

(07-09-2011 11:59 AM)greg Wrote:  

(07-09-2011 07:50 AM)Faith Wrote:  I get a daily devotional in my email from the UCC denomination. Today's scripture was John 12:47-50, where Jesus says he did not come to condemn the world, and that he does not condemn those who ignore his commandments.

It occurred to me that a lot of Christians (not just Fundies) feel like Jesus is laying down on the job here, that the world needs condemning and somebody's got to do it. So they take up the slack for Jesus.

There is just no way that one teaching the scripture expositorily could stop here and simply say that this passage is merely teaching that Jesus did not come to condemn the world, the actual thrust or main point of this passage is a warning of the judgement to come. The last half of v-48 Jesus says "that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day."

Just as I hit post it occurred to me that your point is probably the fact of fundies or anyone else running around here on planet earth condemning folks, when in fact Jesus did not even do that, but will soon.

I'm alittle slow today, so yes I agree with you, how about that!

[Faith]

I'm glad (and a little surprised) you saw the point I was making.

I disagree that the main point of the passage is to warn of judgment. I see the main point in Jesus' promise in v. 50 of "real life forever" if we pay attention to and follow his commandments. My Jesus doesn't have a baseball bat hidden behind his back.

[pastor's wife]

All of creation is groaning until it is healed and restored, and the judgment of Christ is needed for that in the end.

I like how Lewis described it in "The Last Battle":

Quote:The creatures came rushing on, their eyes brighter and brighter as they drew nearer and nearer to the standing Stars. But as they came right up to Aslan one or the other of two things happened to each of them. They all looked straight in his face, I don't think they had any choice about that. And when some looked, the expression of their faces changed terribly -- it was fear and hatred: except that, on the faces of Talking Beasts, the fear and hatred lasted only for a fraction of a second. You could see that they suddenly ceased to be Talking Beasts. They were just ordinary animals. And all the creatures who looked at Aslan in that way swerved to their right, his left, and disappeared into his huge black shadow which (as you have heard) streamed away to the left of the doorway. The children never saw them again. I don't know what became of them. But the other looked in the face of Aslan and loved him, though some of them were very frightened at the same time. And all these came in at the Door, in on Aslan's right. There were some queer specimens among them. Eustace even recognized one of those very Dwarfs who had helped to shoot the Horses. But he had not time to wonder about that sort of thing (and anyway it was no business of his) for a great joy put everything else out of his head."

[captain_solo]

Everyone knows that slacks have nothing to do with Jesus, he never wore slacks, so neither should any gid-fearing wimmenz

blashpemy!