WWJD? The Watchman and Elijah
And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.
(Matthew 16:1-3) ESV
Discern the sign of the times. The climate is changing, we’re experiencing global warming. Hell is expanding. Believing in Jesus Christ is the only way to avoid it.
We (that’s me and the Holy spirit) once saw a Lexus owned by a church deacon with a vanity plate which said: WWJD? WHAT WOULD JESUS DO? It’s a juxtaposition which aptly sums up the state of confusion in which we find contemporary Christianity: Jesus wouldn’t own a Lexus, or even a horse for that matter. He walked everywhere. Jesus would tell you to sell the Lexus and give the money to the poor. If you really need a car you’ll be fine with an old Toyota.
We all have the same evidence. Our choice of paradigm determines what we think it’s evidence of.
– Matty’s Razor
So what would Jesus do? Among other things Jesus summarized the law, the ten commandments and their derivatives, into two.
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
(Matthew 22:37-40) KJV
As if that wasn’t clear enough he also said:
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
(John 13:34) KJV
Continuing the issue from yesterday: is it Christian to warn people about hell? What is a Christian? A Christian is a follower of Jesus Christ. Not just a follower, but someone who loves Jesus Christ because of what Jesus did: he sacrificed himself on the cross at Calvary to set us free from sin and death.
If ye love me, keep my commandments.
(John 14:15) KJV
What does someone who loves Jesus Christ do? According to Jesus, we demonstrate our love for him by keeping his commandments. Above we see Jesus giving us the commandment to love one another, and also showing that this commandment is only superseded by one other: love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind. We can sum all this up into one short phrase:
If you love me, love one another
– Jesus (paraphrased)
So instead of asking, is it Christian to warn people about hell? Why don’t we ask this question: Is it loving to warn people about hell?
WWJD? The Watchman and Elijah – Navigation
Section | Title | Scripture |
1 | WWJD? The Watchman and Elijah | Matthew 16:1-3 |
The Watchman | Ezekiel 33:1-6 | |
Elijah | Mark 9:11-13 | |
Hypothesis 42 | Matthew 12:33 | |
The Voice of One | Isaiah 40:3 | |
2 | It Could Only be Love | Luke 16:22-23, 27-31 |
Salvation | Romans 10:9-10 |
Salvation
- Call upon the name of Jesus Christ,
- believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,
- confess your sin.
Read through the Bible in a year
Reading plan | September 27 | |
Linear | Jonah 2-4 | |
Chronological | Nehemiah 6-7 |