ideas from the edge – How Does Jesus Say We
Are Saved?
I
was reflecting yesterday on the contrast between 2 incidents of Jesus giving
direction to some individuals.
To
Nicodemus in John 3 we see him talking about the need to be born again.
To
the Rich Young Ruler (in all 3 synoptic gospels) we see the RYR being told to
sell his possessions & give to the poor.
The
first of these (being born again) has become a theme/formula/metaphor picked up
by evangelicals & applied to everyone …. ie it is used to demonstrate that
everyone needs to be born again
In
contrast, the command to the RYR is seen as being specifically for him, and not
generally applicable to everyone today …. (some suggest that the RYR obviously
had a problem with money, as he went away sad)
BUT
… interestingly (or strangely), John 3 places the incidence of Nicoedmus being
told about being the ‘born from above’ very early on in Jesus’ ministry ….. yet
this is the ONLY place in the Bible where we see this mentioned … it is
conspicuously absent from the synoptic gospels, Acts (including the evangelistic
sermons), Paul’s writings & the rest of the NT.
Why
is it not visible anywhere else? Why have Paul & other NT writers / preachers
not picked up on this concept & used it / developed it?
AND
why in contrast has it become a major focus for evangelicals in recent times
(the past couple of hundred years)?
I
was reflecting on this … then came across a new blog entry from Mike Clawson
asking a similar question …. His blog content is below, followed by a couple of
comments from people on his blog & a brief response from me at the end.
What
do you think?
If
you want to comment, email me or post a comment on my blog (http://www.edgenet.org.nz/2007/08/how-does-jesus-say-we-are-saved.html
)
....
happy reading.
Blessings
David Allis
‘ideas from the edge’
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How Does Jesus Say We Are Saved?
http://emergingpensees.blogspot.com/2007/08/how-does-jesus-say-we-are-saved.html
Mike
Clawson writes in his blog about an assignment given by a professor to freshman
classes ..
“He says, "There are four different things Jesus tells people about what they
must do to be saved:
1. To Nicodemus he says "You must be born again". (John 3:3)
2. To the Rich Young Ruler he says "Sell everything you have and give it to the
poor." (Luke 18:22)
3. To Zacchaeus he says "Sell half of everything you have, and pay back those
you've cheated as well." (Luke 19:8-10)
4. To the paralyzed man he says "Because of the faith of your friends your sins
are forgiven." (Mark 2:5)
The professor then tells his students: "Write a paper explaining why Jesus gave
four very different answers to the question 'What must I do to be saved?' And
why does only one of them (sort of - depending on what you think "born again"
means) match up with the typical evangelical answer?"
Great question! How would you answer?”
Responses
From Miko
I
would say he actually gives at least nine different answers (or ten, if you want
to split John 3:3-18 in two). Off the top of my head, (here are the ones not
mentioned above – I have added the verse detail – DA))
-
Matthew 5:17-20; (If you reject even the least important
command in the Law and teach others to do the same, you will be the least
important person in the kingdom of heaven. But if you obey and teach others its
commands, you will have an important place in the kingdom. You must obey God's
commands better than the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law obey them. If you
don't, I promise you that you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.)
-
Matthew 18:1-3; (Jesus called a child over and had the
child stand near him. Then he said: I promise you this. If you don't change and
become like a child, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.)
-
Luke 10:25-28; (An expert in the Law of Moses stood up and
asked Jesus a question to see what he would say. "Teacher," he asked, "what must
I do to have eternal life?" Jesus answered, "What is written in the Scriptures?
How do you understand them?" The man replied, "The Scriptures say, 'Love the
Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind.' They also say,
'Love your neighbors as much as you love yourself.' " Jesus said, "You have
given the right answer. If you do this, you will have eternal life.")
-
Luke 14:26-33; (You cannot be my disciple, unless you love
me more than you love your father and mother, your wife and children, and your
brothers and sisters. You cannot come with me unless you love me more than you
love your own life. You cannot be my disciple unless you carry your own cross
and come with me.)
-
Luke 18:18-22; (An important man asked Jesus, "Good
Teacher, what must I do to have eternal life?" Jesus said, "Why do you call me
good? Only God is good. You know the commandments: 'Be faithful in marriage. Do
not murder. Do not steal. Do not tell lies about others. Respect your father and
mother.' ") (note this is followed by the direction given to the RYR
above)
-
John 6:45-59. (Jesus answered: I tell you for certain that
you won't live unless you eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man.
But if you do eat my flesh and drink my blood, you will have eternal life, and
I will raise you to life on the last day.)
(DA
Note – Matthew 25 should also be considered with these – the sorting out of
sheep & goats at a judgment time based on care for the poor & needy)
From M James
[Before I respond to this question I need to clear two things up:
First, I believe that to properly understand the Bible, you need to first
understand the history and culture that was prevalent when it was written. Also,
I would say you need to understand a little bit about how Greek, Hebrew and
Aramaic was written and spoken. (For instance: I do not believe the "hell"
mentioned in the Bible was written or meant to be a "literal hell". In most
cases it is referring to an absence of God.)
Secondly, I believe that there are parts of the Bible, specifically the New
Testament, that are a later interpolation.]
I
would respectfully disagree with the first poster and say that Jesus is not
giving one way to salvation, being born again, and then elucidating on that
ideal.
There is an underlying theme in the works and stories of Jesus, that he was sent
to Earth to show people the correct way to live their life. I do no think that
being "born again" literally means getting down on your knees and saying the
phrase "I accept Jesus Christ as my personal saviour", as the evangelicals will
have you believe.
I
think in every instance you mentioned, Jesus is asking the questioner to look at
their own life, and the decisions they make and change themselves for the
betterment of the people around them. Live your life in a way that glorifies God
and his works. What were his works? Creating man, and creating this world.
By
caring for his creation, instead of uttering some mystical catchphrase that
gives you a magical passport to the pearly gates, that is truly the way to find
favor with God.
As
an aside, I think the end of Jesus' story - the empty tomb - was also the most
powerful of it. After showing the people how they could find favor with God, I
believe he was also telling them not to idolize himself. That's why the tomb was
empty. So the people would focus on the lessons he taught, not hold his dead
body up as some sort of empty husk to be worshipped. Unfortunately, that didn't
happen.
I
can understand why the church doesn't agree with what I said above. It's hard to
pack pews and get donations when all you have to do to gain God's favor is just
be a good person and take care of his creation.
From myself
Good
question. I was reflecting on this yesterday ... particularly the contrast
between the suggestion to Nicodemus re being born again, in contrast to the Rich
Young Ruler.
Interestingly, the location of John ch3 indicates that Jesus is supposed to have
told Nicodemus about being born again very early on in Jesus' ministry. Yet,
this concept of being born again isn't mentioned in the synoptic gospels, in the
sermons (or anywhere else) in Acts, and nowhere in Paul's writings or the rest
of the NT ... John 3 is the only reference to it. Yet evangelicals make a HUGE
deal of it. This is STRANGE.
Maybe a little light is shed on it by realising that the gospel called John was
written very late cf other NT books ... probably written around AD90 or later.
My
conclusion ... we have narrowed down on a formula which has little biblical
basis, and is too narrow / simple / prescriptive about how individuals should
respond to God.
David Allis