Jesus delivered some profound truths during His teachings to the masses. People eagerly gathered to hear this radical preacher, whether on the side of a mountain or from a rowboat. His message diverged significantly from the teachings of their Jewish leaders in the temple.
However, the book of John reveals a pivotal moment when Jesus’ teaching deeply challenged His followers. It wasn’t a matter of comprehension; they understood Jesus perfectly. Instead, it was the difficulty of accepting His message. In John 6:53-54, Jesus proclaimed, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”
This radical statement caused many to abandon Jesus, not just a few. Imagine that same scene today: Jesus posting such a statement on social media platforms and seeing millions of His followers instantly unfollow or block Him. In other words, Jesus gets canceled.
Here are three profound truths gleaned from this text:
Absolute Truth #1: No one mistakenly worships the wrong God.
In other words, genuine worship of Jesus requires that His true disciples deliberately choose to follow Him no matter what.
Jesus’ complex message tested the belief, sincerity, and depth of His followers’ faith. Were they merely attracted by what Jesus could do for them, or did they possess unwavering faith in what He told them about Himself?
The Bible tells us that many disciples deserted Jesus because they found what He told them hard to accept. In Jesus’ time, true disciples mirrored their Rabbi or teacher’s character and remained steadfast no matter what. The fact that so many of His followers turned away from Him led Jesus to turn to the remaining twelve disciples and ask, “You don’t want to leave, too, do you?” Simon Peter, renowned for his brashness and boldness, replied, “Lord, to whom shall we go?”
Along with Peter, the remaining disciples who decided to stay with Jesus exemplified their deliberate commitment to Him and saw His Teachings as The Absolute Truth. In the same manner, unwavering faith today, requires us as believers to continue to make a conscious decision to follow and believe in Jesus, even when His teachings are challenging and sometimes seem a little out of the box.
Absolute Truth #2: All religions are mutually exclusive.
As Christians, we must believe that salvation is found exclusively in Jesus Christ alone. In John 6:69, Apostle Peter said, “We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.” This means we have an exclusive faith, completely believing that Jesus is God and salvation is not found in any other name. As Christ followers, we don’t dabble in other religions. We don’t seek The Absolute Truth in any anything other than the Bible — the Word of God. We are careful about who we listen to and follow. Fully surrendering to Jesus as our Lord and Savior in this way will help to define our daily decisions, shape our spiritual journey overtime, and determine our eternal destiny — whether Heaven or hell.
Absolute Truth #3: Competence should ground our conviction.
As followers of Christ, our relationship with Jesus should deepen as we study God’s Word and rely on the Holy Spirit for further insight, wisdom, and guidance. In John 14:26, Jesus emphasizes the Holy Spirit’s role in illuminating our faith and understanding. He says, “But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, who the Father has sent in my name will teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever, I have said unto you.” By fully immersing ourselves in Scripture, we allow the Holy Spirit to empower us, so we have an unwavering faith as we believe and stand on Jesus' Absolute Truth.
Difference Maker Takeaways:
· Some Biblical truths may be hard to accept, but they are not beyond our understanding.
· The Holy Spirit utilizes the Word of God to nurture and strengthen our faith, enabling us to grow and mature as Christians.
· What we choose to believe in matters more than how strongly we believe.
Our commitment to Jesus demands much more than mere sincerity. Sincerity doesn’t not make a wrong belief right, nor compensate for erroneous beliefs. While sincerity is admirable, it cannot rectify mistaken beliefs.
As Difference Makers, we can look to the Holy Spirit to help us follow Jesus without wavering, so we don’t have a superficial faith cloaked in sincerity alone. When we do, we will become more competent and confident in our faith, as we seek to live a life pleasing to the Lord all day, every day.
Make sure you watch Pastor Rhedrick's sermon, "Is Sincerity all that Matters?" See the video below.