"THE OTHER PART OF JESUS"

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Jesus is gentle. Jesus is meek. Jesus is compassionate. Those things are the core of most messages being delivered from pulpits today. Now while those things are without question a part of Who Christ is, there is another part of Jesus that most pulpits tend to avoid because, well lets face it, most churches are more concerned with making certain that no one is “offended” than they are with making certain that someone is saved.

 

So what is this “other part of Jesus” that so many preachers today avoid? It is His strength, His judgment, His demand for accountability, and His uncompromising will. Just simply open your Bible to the New Testament and what you will find is a masculine, fearless, and bold Jesus. You will NOT find the feminine flowery Jesus that preachers today present. You will not find a Jesus Who will give you all the worldly desires of your heart if you will just “plant a seed.” Nor will you find a Jesus of “salvation by works.” What you WILL find are the white rough knuckles of the carpenter’s hands as He walks through the great colonnade with its majestic Corinthian pillars one hundred feet high and into the court of the Gentiles. His eyes are burning with intensity. His lips are drawn into a thin line as He grabs some binding cords and knots them into a whip. And then with the full fury of His wrath and a few long strides He crosses the court, upsetting the tables of the money-changers as their money boxes go crashing and spilling onto the floor, and with a mighty voice He shouts “IT IS WRITTEN, MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED THE HOUSE OF PRAYER, BUT YOU HAVE MADE IT A DEN OF THIEVES.” This, ladies and gentlemen, is still the Jesus of today. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the One Who calls us to obedience and action. This is the real Jesus Who is not a creed, or a religion, or a weak-kneed politically correct placating self-improvement guru. He is a person, the Lord Jesus Christ, the very Son of God in Whom and through Whom exists the ONLY way to Heaven. This is the real Jesus Who condemns sin and upsets the apple carts of man’s self-righteousness. Yes it is the exact opposite of the kind of Jesus our world wants. It wants the meek and mild Jesus. Why? Because following Jesus means to follow Him in fullness of heart, with strength, courage, and boldness. It means giving up our own selfish wants and desires. It means being hated and persecuted for His Name's Sake. Faithfully following and living for Christ is not something for the timid.

 

And so the church has become more than willing to conform and embrace the world by painting Jesus as someone Who does not have a particularly strong opinion on sin, thus making sin more acceptable, less worrisome, and widening its playing field. Indeed it is ironic that the church itself has made the Father's House "A Den Of Thieves" as it robs Heaven of precious souls by selling out for worldly popularity and full offering plates.

 

In Christ Jesus,
Mark Shutts