Since the Pharisees did not possess the faith of Abraham, they were not true sons of Abraham, nor were they heirs of the covenant, unless they repented of their sins and confessed Jesus Christ as Lord, trusting in Him alone, believing that He died on the cross for their sins.
The Pharisees were near to Christ by proximity, and yet far off from Him in their rejection, which serves as a warning to the cults and modern evangelicalism. The Pharisees of old, like the modern evangelical today, was only consumed with “protecting” the glory of God as long as it was amalgamated with profit. It had become lucrative to counterfeit the truth, while appearing to protect it. Jesus was ‘bad for business’ and rightfully identified them as sons of Satan. Therefore, their whole system needed to be destroyed, which meant that they had to bow the knee in saving allegiance to Christ. Abraham, without the Incarnation of Christ before him, worshipped God for what God would accomplish in Christ, whereas the Pharisees, stood before the Incarnate Christ and cursed the Messiah....
In conclusion, this writer has sought to demonstrate that John 8 is explicit with the consummative and absolutely, essential testimony of the Christian, that is the proclamation that Jesus Christ is God. It is essential, not in the sense that there are “lesser” truths that need to be doctrinally sorted as priorities. It is essential in the sense that the Deity of Christ threads and weaves the unity of sound doctrine together and inseparably constrains every doctrine to the person and perfections of God, which all work together in maximum capacity bearing witness to the very person of God. Therefore, to categorize the truth claims of Scripture, in such a way to suggest that the deity of Christ is a non-essential doctrine is blatant heresy. All such persons must repent or die in their sins. To claim that the deity of Christ is essential, and yet to prioritize or minimize doctrine, reducing doctrine to essentials and non-essentials under the banner of unity in the person of Christ is to also sin against the Triune God. God is One in Being, One Essence, One nature, in three distinct Persons, that is God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, yet One God, not three separate gods. Christ’s teachings are united to His person in perfect Trinitarian fellowship, just as the divine Trinity is unified in purpose, being, and function. Consequently, confession of the Deity of Christ is the absolute will of the Father! Jesus Christ is God, the second Person of the divine Trinity, and by testimony of the Holy Spirit, every knee will bow and confess that He is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
~Doron Gladden, Biblical Christ Research Institute; Biblical Christ Church
No comments:
Post a Comment