I, Barabbas

I so enjoy teaching Sunday School. Even more so, I enjoy teaching
pre-teen and teenagers about the wonder and love of Jesus Christ. To see a young person put together the facts that point to their need to be totally reliant on Christ and his crucifixion. I have found it both a gift and privilege to introduce the gospel message in an in depth and studious way to the mentioned age group where I attend church. For a year now, every Wednesday night these children have been asked what does the word gospel mean and what is the gospel message. At the same time, we have been studying the book of Mark, which if you want to study the gospel with kids I would always suggest the fast-paced book of Mark. It is both quick moving and action packed, moving from event to event in a seamless and fast way. I feel fully confident in saying that not only I have grown from this study, but these beautiful and God-fearing young children have come to a deeper and more appreciative idea of Christ Jesus. Their understanding of Him has grown from a childish to an adult and evidence based understanding.


There have been several moments during this study in which the understanding of Christ's love was evident upon these children's faces. This look is normally one of overbearing understanding and glee. Imagine a smile with head nodding mixed with a look of deep thought. This is the look that thrills my soul to see and I believe is the look of the gospel of Christ doing it's promised work. No sparkle, no gimmick, simply the inspired words of the gospel authors.


One such moment happened just last week. Our study has brought us to the 15th chapter of Mark's gospel and Christ's time spent with the Roman governor Pilate. The story brings us to the time in which Pilate, realizing that Christ is unlike any man he has ever encountered, gives the crowd a choice. Choice one, release this man Christ whose charges are based solely on hearsay that he blasphemed and wants to destroy the Jewish temple. Choice two, release one Barabbas, a criminal accused of the charge of murder, taking the life of another person. Of course, the kids in our class know how the story works out. They are aware of the cries of "crucify Him, crucify Him." They are aware of the injustice of how Barabbas, a lowly murderer, is released so that an innocent man could die.


Yet, when asked who in the room was like Barabbas, only myself and a deacon who attends our class raised our hands. When asked what makes them different than Barabbas, the responses were that he killed someone and they have not or would not ever commit such a crime, such a sin. Only when it was shown to them that just as Barabbas was release so Christ could be crucified, they have been released through their belief in Christ for their sins as well. Just as Christ gladly accepted the cross of crucifixion so Barabbas could live, so has He for them as well. I was shocked to see their faces of shock when reminded that because of their sins past, present, and future that they deserve hell. That because Christ and His Father are aware of our ineptitude to live sinless, Christ set us free rather than face death and eternal torment.


To see these children connect their own sins and lives to Barabbas and to see first hand in an example of what Christ did for them was exhilarating. To see their wheels turning and the connection of the gospel to their hearts and minds was beautiful. Thank God for His Holy Word, for His Son Jesus Christ, and for His Gospel. Good news = that despite our sins, Christ has set us free while our sins scream out "crucify him, crucify him."

Al Mohler - Why Moralism is Not the Gospel

Take time to read the post that is linked below. Too busy to read it, click the link and click listen at the top of the posting. Al Mohler hits this right on the head and this needs to be spread QUICKLY. The church is losing to morality. Please read this, here's a quick quote:

"We sin against Christ and we misrepresent the Gospel when we suggest to sinners that what God demands of them is moral improvement in accordance with the Law. Moralism makes sense to sinners, for it is but an expansion of what we have been taught from our earliest days. But moralism is not the Gospel, and it will not save. The only gospel that saves is the Gospel of Christ. As Paul reminded the Galatians, "But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons." [Gal. 4:4-5]

Here's the link: Al Mohler - Why Moralism is Not the Gospel - And Why so Many Christian Think it Is.

Is the Gospel Message "Change the World?"

Has it really come to this point? One of two things have happened. Either the church and it's teachers have so let down their guard of the gospel message that Christians are no longer hearing the true gospel message, or the Chrisitans from these churches are either too blind or faithless to realize the lone thing that the gospel message tells Christians to do. Are we so vain that we think that our great God would leave "world-changing" up to mere humans? Here's a thought, let's leave the "world-changing" up to God Almighty. I am pretty sure He is more than capable.

I write this having encountered a Christian movement over the weekend whose justification for their actions is that they believe that through their actions they are going to "change the world." While that is a noble cause that deserves to be commended, what I found in some of these individuals is a level of judgment and dispicable behavior toward those who don't buy into their idea that their actions are going to change the world. When I pointed out that their backing for their relativly new belief system is not in line with scripture and dwells primarily in Old Covenant teaching, their arguments quicky dwindled and mixed into their diminishing pride I was confronted with a level of arrogance that was both new and odd to me.

So, over the weekend I have silently thought and dwelled in Scripture to find if Christ's gospel message, that which He gave His very Life for, was to "go change the world." I of course know the Great Commission (Matthew 28;18-20) but there is a school of Preterist thought out there who believes that the Great Commission was already fulfilled by those apostles to whom Christ was directly addressing. All that being said though, many who would hold that this passage is meant for those of us today can't get past the verb "GO" issued by Jesus Christ and instead change it to "STAY RIGHT HERE," or, in the worse case scenario, make sure you equip someone else to do it later. Not very world changing.

I could write for days on this topic but will stop here. We as Christians are not instructed to "go change the world," and if taken to the root, that is not the mission of many who claim that as their goal. Driven by either socio-political fears, socio-economic worries, or in the worse case scenario, out right fear, people manipulate the gospel to fit whatever cause it is their current non-gospel matching beliefs need. Sadly, when pressed, these indivduals rely solely on law to back their positions and the gospel and faith in a graceful and crucified Savior is diminished to a sidenote. We are instructed over and over by Christ and in the epistles to do one thing in order to please God - teach the gospel. How did the message change from teach repentance and forgivness of sins to "we gotta change the world?" I have my assumptions but will sit on those for this time. There is nothing Christian about changing the world. Can Christians change the world? Yes, if we get our fears, motives, and dogmas out of the way and allow Christ's gospel message to flow from us. The two greatest commandments as pointed out by Christ are love God, love neighbor. How do you intend to "change the world," when you have yet to even knock on your neighbors door to ask if they know the gospel? Let's leave the world changing up to God. Perhaps we will see more of it if we trust in what the gospel can do and stop trying to force God's hand by our own works.

KEEP My Commandments

How often do we forget the price that Christ paid for us? How often do we forget that in all actuality, Christ did not spend His time burdening man with laws and statutes but rather He spent His time traveling, healing and teaching love. As I stop and look around the Christian landscape today, both close to me and in distance places, I no longer see Christ in His church but rather I see Moses.

One of the arguments I have recently heard to justify attempting to live and teach a life of legalism came from John 14. In this chapter, Christ makes the comment to His faithful follower Philip "If you love Me, you will keep my commandments (15)." That is what the apostle John saw, heard, and recorded for us. So, there we have it. Christ tells us that in order to show Him we love Him, we must keep His commandments. It is because of this verse that if you look through many Christian's Bibles today, you will find every scripture of law from Genesis to Revelation highlighted, underlined, or posted on their refrigerator. Strangely enough, in these Bibles, the portions that have the red lettering do not have that many highlights. I will allow you to deduct the meaning of that for yourself.

A closer look at the scripture though reveals something interesting. Christ's statement to Philip was not a commandment to follow every law set forth. Did/does Christ's father demand perfect obedience to the law? Yes. Hence the need for a Savior. So what was this Savior's point then?

I contend that people who read this passage as a commandment to strictly adhere to the law are misguided and even worse, victims of flawed, if not irresponsible teaching. I support that statement by pointing to the Greek language that John was first written in. The verb "keep" in John 14:15 is the Greek "Tereo." Both Thayer's and Strong's define this word as meaning to attend to carefully, to take care of, or to guard and believe it is akin to the verb "Theoreo" which means to be a spectator of or to look at or more simply, to see.

So Christ is saying in this verse, see and take care of my commandments. He then makes this point again in v. 21 when he uses the verb "Tereo" in discussing keeping his commandments. Christ was asking Philip to guard his few commandments from what? False doctrine?

To look deeper into John 14, Christ says in verse 15 that if we love Him we will see, guard His commandments and then HE (not we) will ask God to give another Helper (counselor, advocate) to assist us. What does this Helper do?? It leads us to a deeper knowledge/understanding of the commandments? For what??? To be able to guard/keep them??? Why?? v 26 says so that we can better remember them??? For what??? To save souls/fulfill the great commission. We are led to and assisted by the Holy Spirit to guard God's word and pass it on unadulterated so that more souls can be won. Not of our own doing, but wholly of God's. That is the power of God's word. We read and are taught it and we are convicted by the Holy Spirit to have a love for Christ that makes us want to dive deeper into His word at which point we are given the assistance of the Holy Spirit to understand it more so that we can be led to produce fruit through TEACHING THE WORD alone. Christ's law = keep my teachings pure. Instead, we have allowed it to be taken hostage by people who want to use it to make law. Apostasy defined.

Read it, be given understanding, keep it pure, teach it. All this is done through us, not by us. Not my opinion, that is the teaching of Christ.

Quickly think about 2 John 1. Look at what John is rejoicing in (v 4). The fact that they are guarding the word from false doctrine and abiding with one another in love (a fruit of the prior). How do we know this, because John tells us so when he states 'For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward. 9Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. 10If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, 11for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.

He is happy that they have kept (guarded, taken care of) the true gospel message. That message being the gospel message of Christ. Note, this isn't a one time warning against such and is actually a common theme in the Epistles (Rom. 16:17; Gal. 1:8; Gal. 1:9; 2 Thess. 3:6; 2 Thess. 3:14 to name a few). John goes as far in 3 John to commend their remaining solid in the word and not allowing the Gentiles to add to their teaching. Teach the word, not the law. Guard Christ's words and teachings in their purest forms. I challenge you to make a list of the "commandments" that Christ made. You will find they are few. Perhaps that's the way he wanted it...