Jesus God Or Just Good by Apostle Emmanuel Iren: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

Serious with the word

Someone described the church in this generation as 7 kilometers wide but half an inch thick. A lot of programs, a lot of drama, little depth.

Pick anybody at random from any church and ask them to explain the gospel or lead someone to Christ. Not many know how.

You can go to church 30 years and still not know the Bible, and we see no problem in it.

As a member of this church, being serious with doctrine and the word of God must be your number one priority, forever. Excellence is not the selling point.

What we put forth is the gospel of Christ.

The final authority of the scriptures. For all people of faith, the word of God is the ultimate lens to judge matters of truth, faith and doctrine.

You can't be a Christian and say your truth, my truth John 14:6

We don't care about your opinion or your experiences Romans 3:4

The dividing line: who is Jesus to you?

There are things that, if you don't believe them, we know you are not discipled. Someone may believe some things in the Bible and not others.

As long as they believe in Jesus as savior, that his death was efficacious, and that he rose again, they are saved. They might be babes, but they are saved.

But there is one thing that is a dividing line. If you don't believe it, you are not a Christian: who is Jesus to you?

A lot of people agree that he is good. That does not mean they agree that he is God.

Do you believe he died for your sins, and that his death was not just a heroic act but efficacious for the blotting out of the sins of all believers?

That he rose the third day, and everyone who places faith in him will never die? If you don't believe this, you are not a believer.

You can believe Jesus heals and not believe Jesus is Lord. The people in John 6 came because he could provide. They wanted more loaves.

The moment it came to theology, Jesus as the bread from heaven, they were not interested John 6:35

You can be interested in what Jesus can give and not be interested in who Jesus is.

Who do men say that I am?

Matthew 16:13 to Matthew 16:15

It matters what you think and say about Jesus. Notice nobody said anything bad. John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, one of the prophets. All nice things but not true.

Some said John the Baptist. John and Jesus lived in the same era, were related, and were in the water at the same time. How could anyone think Jesus is John the Baptist?

That is another dimension of the Trinity.

It is as if Jesus knew prophetically that we would come to an era where many things would be said about Jesus that aren't true, and said with conviction.

What others say about Jesus

Islam arose centuries after Jesus and has a different historical opinion: that Jesus didn't die. Even pagan records say he died. Whether sincere or not, they are rewriting history.

But they have honorable things to say. He was born of a virgin, a great prophet, performed miracles, and he is Al-Masih, the Messiah. They honor him and call him Issa.

What does he save people from? They won't tell you or they don't know.

Hindus believe he was a holy man, a guru, an avatar. Buddhists saw a wise teacher, compassionate, with humility and selflessness.

Gandhi, who was not a believer, saw the selflessness of Jesus and applied it to political revolution: I don't have to pick up weapons, I can deprive myself of food and force a whole nation to listen.

When you look at Jesus you can pick political concepts, philosophical ideas, moral principles, culturally helpful tips. But Jesus asked: but who do you say that I am?

One, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, said: you are the Christ, the Son of God.

When you study Jesus you may learn things that move your business forward or improve society and moral standards. That is not why he came. He has told you why he came John 10:10

Whatever else you believe about Jesus, if you have not placed your faith in him for eternal life, you have missed the point.

To be a true believer you must believe that without him you are nothing, that we are all spiritually dead, and that he offers eternal life Ephesians 2:1

I believe in Jesus. What do you believe exactly?

James 2:19

Believing in one God is not enough. Even demons believe. At the name of Jesus they scamper.

For what you believe to be efficacious for saving your soul, there must be specificity.

God took on flesh, took your place, died your death, and everyone who believes in his resurrection will not perish but have everlasting life.

Not just I believe in God. Who is God? What did he do? What is his name? Romans 10:9 to Romans 10:10

3 false substitutes for saving faith

• Admiration without allegiance
• Morality without regeneration
• Philosophy without repentance

You will have well-meaning, respectable people like Jordan Peterson, with a lot of good concepts. But look at how he redefines the Bible and listen to his hermeneutics.

Where the Bible says Jesus died for our sins, he sees a deeper metaphor, an archetype of how good conquers evil: by surrendering yourself and paying the ultimate sacrifice.

He might be a closet Christian, but his hermeneutics is not what the Bible teaches.

You get deep philosophical ideas, but not God who took on flesh and died for you.

What Jesus asked 2,000 years ago he is still asking today. Your response is the difference between life and death.

Jesus Barabbas

The story of Jesus and Barabbas carries prophetic symbolism we don't see. Our modern translations simply say he was a robber John 18:40

Look at the NIV: he had taken part in an uprising. The NLT: a revolutionary.

Context: the Jews were colonized by the Roman Empire. They were subjugated and paying heavy taxes. They wanted economic freedom and political independence.

Barabbas was one of the revolutionaries fighting for it, and in the process he might have killed people.

So they thought: I like Jesus. He heals the sick, raises the dead. But on the scale of preference, someone who can move the nation forward, who is fighting for our freedom. Give us Barabbas.

Some of you, before this sermon, would have chosen Barabbas.

Look at a translation that used ancient manuscripts. It gives Barabbas's full name: Jesus Barabbas. They were both named Jesus. On that day they were choosing between Jesus and Jesus Matthew 27:16 to Matthew 27:17

Some people, unbeknownst to them, have chosen a version of Jesus that is pragmatic and about political revolution. They want to come to church and hear only how the nation can move forward.

Any message that is not pragmatic, not always speaking truth to power, is not what they want. Take Jesus and give us Barabbas.

You can be a committed Christian making that error.

The church and justice

As a believer you must not be silent about the plight of the vulnerable. You have a civic responsibility. You cannot be a believer and close your eyes to the plight of the poor.

But the core responsibility of the church is not politics. The church's emphasis is the message that brings salvation.

When it crosses into matters of justice, the church will speak out and stand against it. But stop trying to politicize the church. We don't have to speak about everything.

You can become a nationalist to the degree that you see no point in the church except that it helps the economy grow.

Some say: why are you praying when the economy is like this? What is the correlation? Why can't people serve their God in peace?

Some said a church that buys new property should rather build factories and create jobs. They tried to make Jesus king and he escaped John 6:15

You pay taxes to the government, you don't hold them accountable, then you tell a church you don't attend how to use donations given for church.

Paul's resolve among the Corinthians was to know nothing but Christ and him crucified 1 Corinthians 2:2

Don't put pastors in trouble. The same people who say speak out set traps for you. If they arrest you, you won't see them. Jesus knew men.

The Jews seek a sign, the Greeks seek wisdom

1 Corinthians 1:22 to 1 Corinthians 1:24

The Jews wanted signs: if you are the Son of God, show signs. They were impressed by five loaves feeding 5,000. But Moses did it for 40 years. Do it again.

Some people here are like that. It is only what Jesus can do for you: this year, this Sunday breakthrough, this miracle.

In 20 years of church membership you have not sat down to ask what the Bible says about who Jesus is, what his death and resurrection mean to you.

Ask you to explain the deity of Christ and you can't. But give me 15 scriptures on prosperity and you start shooting like a machine gun.

The Greeks seek wisdom: they always want to apply everything. How does this translate to economic impact? Every Sunday should be a finance seminar or a marriage seminar.

Even in a serious church the highest attendance is in February, when the topic is marriage.

If you are not careful, you will start adjusting your programs to respond to what people want. Not Paul. We preach Christ crucified.

If you choose to be serious as a church, there are some people who will not come, and that's okay. Some people won't see the point of anything you do.

No matter what you do they will criticize it.

To those who are called, we see the power of God in raising Jesus from the dead, dead 3 days and raised, never to die again. We see the wisdom of God in the gospel.

You are not wasting time when you spend time praying and fellowshipping with God. Don't let anybody deceive you.

Study the hypocrisy: a crowd attends a concert in a stadium and nothing is wrong with that. The next week a church gathers in the same stadium and they say you are fooling yourselves praying.

Admiration is not regeneration

Albert Einstein said he received instruction in both the Bible and the Talmud, and that though a Jew, he was enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene. Inspiring, but not born again.

Gandhi said he likes Christ but does not like Christians. It is like telling a man: I like you but I hate your wife and your children, and thinking it is a compliment.

A statement: this bringer of glad tidings died as he had lived, to show how one must live. He did not resist his executioners, did not defend his rights before the court.

He invited the worst, besought it, endured it and loved it, all to show us how to live.

You would think the person is a believer. It was Friedrich Nietzsche, who also wrote that God is dead.

So again: admiration is not regeneration.

Even when they say nice things, you are Jeremiah, you are one of the prophets, that is not enough. Who do you say that I am?

One full of the Spirit said: you are the Christ, God's anointed substitute to die for us, so that we place our faith in you for salvation and justification.

That is why today you see many morally sound, well-behaved people who are not born again.

Zeal without knowledge

Paul's heartbreak Romans 10:1 to Romans 10:3

It is possible to be zealous for God and not be saved. This is the bane of every other religion in the world.

All the religions tell you what to do. Christianity tells you what Christ has done.

It is not about activity Romans 10:6 to Romans 10:9

He tells you what to believe: that God raised him from the dead. You must believe that. This is the dividing line.

Illustration: the video to Muslims

I made a video to reach Muslims and answer their questions about Christianity, explaining the deity of Christ. So-called Christians were contradicting me in the comments, saying Jesus is not God. You frustrate evangelistic efforts.

A brand executive in an Islamic bank shared ideas in a boardroom on how to become number one among Islamic banks in their state. They shut him down.

They don't compete with the other Islamic bank. Meanwhile churches compete with churches, trying to outdo the next one.

The Trinity is not a later invention

You will hear that the Trinity was invented by the church at the Council of Nicaea. It is a lie. Fact check what I'm saying.

Some say the word Trinity is not in the Bible. Neither are omniscient and omnipotent. If we come up with terms to describe something true in the word of God, it is not an invention.

It is a description.

Deuteronomy 6:4

Some think it contradicts the Trinity. It actually proves it

The Hebrew word translated one is echad. It describes compound unity, like two becoming one flesh Genesis 2:24

Echad is like a bunch of bananas. So there is one God: one what and three who's.

Proverbs 30:4

The question of his name and his son's name. The doctrine of the sonship of Jesus was not a later invention.

Thrones, plural. The Ancient of Days was seated Daniel 7:9

Then another figure appears, one like the son of man Daniel 7:13 to Daniel 7:14

The word of the Lord: someone you see

We think of the word of the Lord as something auditory. But Abraham encountered the word of the Lord in a vision Genesis 15:1

It was not just something he heard. It was someone he saw. The word spoke to him and brought him outside Genesis 15:4 to Genesis 15:5

1 Samuel 3:1 to 1 Samuel 3:10

The word of the Lord was rare in those days. No widespread revelations. People were not seeing the person called the word of the Lord.

Samuel mistook the call twice. Verse 7 tells why. In verse 10 the Lord came and stood and called.

So the word of the Lord was not just something he heard. It was someone he encountered.

The patriarchs of faith encountered a person who was the word of the Lord and who was God. Now John: the Word is God, and the Word became flesh John 1:1, John 1:14

The Word was a person Abraham actually encountered. So when Jesus told the Pharisees Abraham rejoiced to see his day, they thought he was joking. You are in your 30s and you know Abraham?

He told them he existed before Abraham John 8:56 to John 8:58

They had met. The Trinity was not a new revelation that began in the New Testament.

It is okay for people outside not to know the word of God enough. But you must know it enough to defend it.

Your response

Jesus is asking you today: who do you say that I am? Your response is the difference between eternal life and eternal damnation.

Salvation is by heart belief and mouth confession that God raised him from the dead Romans 10:9

The church is the pillar and ground of truth 1 Timothy 3:15

Invitation

If you are here and have not placed your faith in Jesus for salvation, this is your moment. The writer of Hebrews says today Hebrews 3:15

Don't say tomorrow. Don't say in 5 years.

Pastor Shalah's father died when he was a child. He never went to church and was never really a Christian, but for some reason he had a strong pull to accept Jesus.

He got born again, started going to church, and died not up to two weeks after that.

You don't know what God is doing when he impresses on your heart and gives you that invitation.

Today is a day of salvation 2 Corinthians 6:2

It doesn't matter where you've been or what you've done. His blood is sufficient to blot all your sins and cleanse you of all unrighteousness.

• Lord Jesus, my savior, my redeemer
• Thank you for dying for my sins, for washing all my sins away with your blood
• Thank you for forgiving my sins
• I confess with my mouth that you are my savior. Because of you, I'm forgiven
• I receive you as Lord over my life and I receive your Holy Spirit into my heart
• I am born again
• Every hold of the devil is broken. You have delivered me from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of your dear Son
• Thank you for saving me
• I receive capacity to live for you the rest of my life
• In Jesus' mighty name

Colossians 1:13