Hello
Jesus said an extraordinary and wonderful thing “For God, all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).
For God, all things are possible. Yet many of us seem to think that some things are impossible for God. We think God can only work through people like us. We think he can only work through our denomination, or he can only work through the evangelical movement, or the protestant movement, or he can only work through people who believe the same doctrines we do.
For God all things are possible. So it is not impossible that our loving, heavenly Father would be working in the hearts and minds of people who are not like us. In fact, I am certain that our loving Father is working in the hearts and minds of all his human children, no matter what religion they belong to and even if they belong to no religion. If we read the parable of the lost sheep or the lost son (Luke 15), we learn that our loving Father longs to be reunited with his lost children and actively works to bring that about. The shepherd goes out looking for the lost sheep. The father runs to meet his son and hugs him. So is our Father actively working in all hearts and minds? Of course he is.
Jesus said:
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
Did he say we have to believe certain things about him in order to come to the Father? No. He didn’t. Did he say we have to attend a Christian church? No. Of course he didn’t. Let’s look at some other things he said.
“…so also the Son gives life to whomever he wishes. The Father judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son. “ (John 5:21-22)
“Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.” (John 17:1-2)
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (Matthew 28:18)
“All things have been handed over to me by my Father.” (Luke 10:22)
Jesus said that he, and he alone, decides our eternal future. But if he doesn’t make his decisions based on what we believe or what church we attend, how does he make up his mind? What does he expect from us? What are we to do?
Jesus also said:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21)
Jesus wants us to do the will of God. Jesus did not just say this once. He said it many times.
“For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” (Matthew 12:50; Mark 3:35: Luke 8:21)
“Blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” (Luke 11:28)
“You are my friends if you do what I command you.” (John 15:14)
“If you hold to my teaching, you are truly my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)
“If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.” (John 13:17)
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” (Matthew 7:24-27; Luke 6:47-49)
Jesus wants us to do the will of God. What is the will of God that we should be doing? Love God and love others. (Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:28-31; Luke 10:25-28).
So, can people do the will of God if they don’t believe certain things about Jesus? Yes. Of course they can.
Let’s look at one of Jesus’ other teachings – the one about the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25:31-46). It’s too long to reproduce here but Jesus makes it clear that the ones who will be saved are those who look after the needy in their communities. In other words, it is those who love others who will be saved. Jesus says that these people are righteous. They are right with God. Every human being on our planet knows this. Deep in our hearts every human being on our planet knows that a good person is one that looks after others and a bad person is one who is selfish. One of the really interesting things about this teaching is that the people who were looking after others didn’t realize they were serving Jesus, but he makes it clear that they were serving him and they would receive their reward (Matthew 25:34).
May our loving Father bless us and strengthen us as we walk with him.
Jesus is Lord.
Peter O
Related Articles
“What does Jesus want his followers to do?”
“How do I know what God wants me to do?”
“What did Jesus say about being saved?”
“Loving God – the Good Parent”
“What did Jesus say about sin?”
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Wow, thank you for showing us this, it makes sense now.
Just came across your site and appreciate your uncomplicated and biblical approach to what it means to be a Christian. I was especially encouraged by your sections on salvation. I did read in one comment you do not teach the trinity. I am confused what you mean by this. Do you not believe Jesus is Lord (God)?
I will look forward to following you in the future, and will encourage friends to do the same.
Hello Craig
Here are my carefully prayed-over thoughts in answer to your question as to why I do not preach the Trinity. I’m sure you will read them prayerfully. I want our loving heavenly Father to guide you into his truth, not mine. I am a fallible human being and, therefore, make mistakes and get things wrong sometimes. All I am doing is taking part in a conversation.
Incidentally, sincere thanks for asking the question. It is always good to be faced with a question that makes me go back to scripture, and the Greek, and really work out why I think the things I think.
Your comment indicates that you appreciated the articles on the website. You will probably be aware my mission statement is “Encouraging Christians to follow the teachings of Jesus”. I sincerely and absolutely believe this is what our loving Father wants me to do, and I trust and pray that I do it under his guidance. An important part of this, however, is encouraging Christians to put human teachings to one side as they focus on the teachings of Jesus. The doctrine of the Trinity is a human teaching.
My main concern with the doctrine is that it claims that the Holy Spirit is part of the Godhead and equal to the Father and Son. I do not find this in Jesus’ teachings or, indeed, anywhere in our Bible. I find that Jesus’ teachings about the Spirit indicate that he is subject to, and under the authority of, both the Father and the Son.
Jesus said that he and the Father are the same being (John 10:30; John 12:45; John 14:9). And the religious leaders of Jesus’ time had no doubt that Jesus was making himself equal to God by calling God “Father” (John 5:18). So, although Jesus was subservient to the Father during his time on earth, he claimed to be one with the Father and, after his resurrection, claimed to have been given all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:19). There is no passage that I am aware of that suggests that the Holy Spirit has such authority. On several occasions Jesus talked about the Holy Spirit being sent, or given, by the Father or the Son. It seems to me that these passages indicate that the Father and the Son have authority over the Spirit. If they have authority over the Spirit, the Spirit is not equal to them.
“If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13)
“For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit.” (John 3:34)
“If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever– the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” (John 14:15-17)
“But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. (John 14:26)
“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father– the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father– he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning. (John 15:26-27)
“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.” (John 16:13-15)
The Holy Spirit is sent by the Father; therefore, he is under the Father’s authority. The Holy Spirit is sent in the name of the Son; therefore, he is under the Son’s authority. The Holy Spirit speaks only what he hears from Jesus, therefore the Spirit does not speak on his own authority but under the authority of the Son.
Of course, I cannot finish these thoughts without addressing Jesus’ words in Matthew 28:19:
“Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”.
This is going to be a bit technical, but I’m sure you will understand what I am saying. Those of us who have studied scripture at Seminary are brought face to face with some passages that don’t seem to fit, for various reasons, and scholars have debated whether they were part of the original document or whether they may have been added later. I think the words “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” may be one of those passages for the following reasons:
· There is no record anywhere in the New Testament of anyone being baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. All accounts of baptism either say the people were baptized in the name of Jesus, or they just say the people were baptized without any indication of whether they were baptized in a particular name. It is particularly noteworthy that Peter, in his speech at Pentecost, tells his listeners to be baptized in the name of Jesus (Acts 2:38). It is likely, from the account in Acts, that this speech occurred only 10 days after the ascension, so it is unlikely that he would have forgotten Jesus’ instruction about baptism so quickly – especially as it is unlikely that he would have heard those words “in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit” before.
· The phrase “In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit” was not used at the time of Jesus. It does not occur anywhere else in the New Testament. It does not occur in any of the writings of the early church until the doctrine of the Trinity was established more than 300 years after Jesus’ ascension.
· The Church leader, Eusebius, writing in the early part of the fourth century quotes the beginning of this passage (and the manuscripts of Matthew’s gospel that he would be quoting from would be older than any we have today). Unfortunately, he does not quote the whole passage, just the beginning, but he quotes Jesus saying “in my name”, not “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”. Here is what Eusebius wrote:
But they (the apostles) travelled into every land, teaching their message in the power of Christ, who had told them, “Go and make disciples of all nations in my name.” Eusebius “The Church History”, Book 3:5.
Craig. This is complicated stuff and I do not claim to have any more authority than any other fallible human being. I hope I have demonstrated that the relationship between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit is not clear in scripture. My own view is that we do not know how that relationship works and, therefore, we do not need to know. One day, we will understand all these things. Until then, I think we just have to accept that we do not understand them and get on with the work our loving Father has for us to do: loving him, and loving each other.
Happy to discuss further, of course.
I pray that our loving Father will bless you and strengthen you as you serve him.
Jesus is Lord.
Thanks again
Your brother in Christ.
Peter