The Minister: Our Lord is not our bro, the Big guy, our buddy, or our pal. No, He is God who bore our sins upon Himself. Why? He did this in order to redeem His bride. The Father gave us to Him and He did the work that only He could do to purchase us. All who believe are washed clean through regeneration, given a heart of flesh instead of a heart of stone. This new nature has faith that is alive. It believes God and can obey Him. It is Christ who is both God and Man who loved us even before we loved Him. Look at your salvation my brethren. Who accomplished that? Was it you by being religious or was it His work from beginning to end? Have you been taking for granted His love and sacrifice on your behalf? Let us all mediate on our Lord as Deity and why this is essential to our salvation. Give Him the glory due Him. Worship Him in Spirit and Truth. He is our most excellent Saviour whom we will meet face to face soon. Oh, to hear, “Well done good and faithful servant!” He loves us beyond our understanding my brethren. Let us devote our entire lives to serving and obeying Him.
The Crackerhead: We would do well to refrain from making statements like, “Our Lord is not our bro, the Big guy, our buddy, or our pal.” For it is true that many have been led to take it way too far, but to say what you have posted here is to promote an image of Christ Jesus as being detached and impersonal, which opposes the very close and personal relationship that He wants to accomplish in and through us. For it truly is as it is written: "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another.” [John 15:12-17 ESV]
The Minister: Where do you draw the line man? I mean, you can’t have it both ways. He is the friend of those who know Him, but we must not trifle with either Him or His glory either. The nickname stuff goes way too far. To do that is to diminish His Deity and to take for granted the Grace all who believe have received.
Another Minister: Do you think that by calling our Lord, the big guy upstairs, bro, buddy that they are just really ashamed to just call Him who He is? God the Father and Lord Jesus Christ.
The Minister: That could be.
The Crackerhead: I suppose I was being a little too hyper-sensitive. For I know what you mean, and what that other minister said is oh so painfully true in most cases.
You see, I was raised-up to believe in an angry God, who was quite eager to punish me for even the slightest transgression, but now that He has become real to me, I have come to know and understand that He is nothing at all like I was taught. In fact, our Heavenly Father has a delightful sense-of-humor, and when Christ Jesus told Peter “Get behind me, Satan!” [Matthew 16:23], this was done with a twinkle in His eye—like one good friend giving another an exaggerated hard-time in order to get their point across.
Subsequently, I now want to more perfect in all of my ways more than I ever did before, but the motivation has changed. For instead of being afraid of punishment, I now want to be pleasing in His eyes because of not wanting to be a disappointment to the One who loves me more than can be put into words.
Yes, there will come a day when His wrath will be poured-out upon the wicked, but we would do well not to focus too much upon that. For the one who only wants to do what they have been taught is the right thing to do out of fear of what might happen to them if they do not does not truly know our Heavenly Father. For it truly is as it is written: There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. [1 John 4:18 ESV]
The Minister: and when Christ Jesus told Peter “Get behind me, Satan!” [Matthew 16:23], this was done with a twinkle in His eye—like one good friend giving another an exaggerated hard-time in order to get their point across.
No, my friend, this was a rebuke because Peter was focused on Christ as the deliverer of Israel from its oppressors instead of Christ’s actual mission of redeeming His people from the bondage and curse of sin. That analogy you used is reading way too much into the text. Jesus rebuked Peter because that created a temptation for Christ to alter His mission.
God is merciful and desires for us all to come to forgiveness in salvation through Christ alone. However, those who DO NOT BELIEVE are condemned already. [John 3:18]
The Crackerhead: This is a good example of what has changed since our Heavenly Father became real unto me. For I no longer have to lean on my own understanding, nor that of others. For what I now know to be true of that exchange between Christ Jesus and Peter comes straight from His Holy Spirit.
No, this is not to say that I cannot be woefully deceived at times. For the devil and his demons are allowed to mess with our heads, and they know more about what is contained in our Heavenly Father’s Holy Scriptures than any of us can even start to naturally comprehend.
Nonetheless, times of deception are temporary, and I would think that most would want to believe that I am not deceived about the matter at hand. For if He was so quick to deal with Peter so harshly—who from amongst us does not warrant His utter contempt?
Yes, it can be argued that we are under grace, but this is beside the point. After all, was not Peter also under His grace at the time?
The Minister: Peter was sealed. This rebuke didn’t affect that at all. This was Jesus making it clear to him to get His focus off of his own plans and expectations and get them on to God’s will. I am sure that God rebukes me at least once a day and probably more. That does not affect my salvation, but it sure humbles me and gets me moving in the right direction.
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You are most welcome, and thanks for being so considerate, my dear Glenn!!! Be assured that I realize what a risk you took posting such a serious piece, and I hope your readers appreciate just how much you care.
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