There are many things that prevent us from worshipping Jesus. There are hindrances and affections that compete with our love for our Lord. The disciples were tested whether they truly love the Lord and each other. On the night that Jesus was betrayed, Jesus gave them a new commandment. But first, let us study the situation when Jesus spoke these immortal words “Love One Another” Here are four points we can learn from this section of scripture.
1) Love Of Money Prevents Us From Glorifying Christ (John 13:18-32)
31 So, when he (Judas) had gone out, Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him. 32 "If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and glorify Him immediately.
We all know Judas the betrayer. The reason why he betrayed Jesus that he loved money more than God. As soon as he departed from the table, Jesus said “NOW THE SON OF MAN (Himself) IS GLORIFIED AND GOD IS GLORIFIED IN HIM! The word “Glorified” was spoken 5 times! Jesus said you cannot serve two masters (Matt 6:24)
Matt 6:24 (NIV)
"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money
Once Judas left (metaphorically speaking, once the love of money leaves), Jesus is glorified instantly! Where is your love then? In money or God?
2) Religiosity Prevents Us From Coming To The Presence Of Christ (John 13:33)
"Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, 'Where I am going, you cannot come,'
According to Benjamin H. Freedman, a Jewish Historian, Researcher & Scholar (From "Common Sense", p. 2-1-53 and 5-1-59 ) the term “Jew” doesn’t refer to all Israel or Israelites” It refers to the religious crown in Jesus’ time known as the Pharisees. The religious sect in Judea, in the time of Jesus, to which self-styled "Jews" today refer to as "Jews", were known as "Pharisees". "Judaism" today and "Pharisaism" in the time of Jesus are the same.
Jesus abhorred and denounced "Pharisaism"; hence the words, "Woe unto you Scribes and Pharisees, Hypocrites, Ye Serpents, Ye Generation of Vipers".
Below is an article explaining some misconceptions about the word "Jew":
Benjamin H. Freedman was one of the most intriguing and amazing individuals of the 20th century. Born in 1890, he was a successful Jewish businessman of New York City at one time principal owner of the Woodbury Soap Company. He broke with organized Jewry after the Judeo-Communist victory of 1945, and spent the remainder of his life and the great preponderance of his considerable fortune, at least 2.5 million dollars, exposing the Jewish tyranny which has enveloped the United States. (http://benjaminhfreedman.blogspot.com/)
The term "Jew' originated in the late eighteenth century as an abbreviation of the term Judean and refers to a resident of Judea without regard to race or religion. People now refered to as "Jews", were known as "Pharisees". "Judaism" today and "Pharisaism" in the time of Jesus are the same.(http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article1963.htm)
John 7:32-39 (NKJV)
The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him. 33 Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me. 34 You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come." 35 Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him? Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? 36 What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?"
Jesus told the Jews (Pharisees) that they cannot follow Him. Religiosity prevents us from obeying Jesus.
But to the rest of Israel (those who are sincere in obeying God), Jesus declared:
37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
To worship Jesus we need the Holy Spirit. Jesus can only be glorified if we drink the living waters of the Holy Spirit. Religion cannot cause us to worship Him in Spirit and in truth. Where is your love then? In religion or in Jesus?
3) Loving One Another Cause Us To Come Into The Presence Of Christ (John 13:33b-35)
…so now I say to you. 34 "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
After telling that religiosity prevents us from following Him, Jesus now tells us the opposite of religion. It is now a loving relation with Him and with each other. This will mark us as true disciples and not just religious fanatics. This set them apart from the Pharisees who wished Jesus and the disciples killed. Now we can follow Him wherever He goes.
4) Denying Christ Prevents Us From Coming To Christ (John 13:36-38)
36 Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, where are You going?" Jesus answered him, "Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward." 37 Peter said to Him, "Lord, why can I not follow You now? I will lay down my life for Your sake." 38 Jesus answered him, "Will you lay down your life for My sake? Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times.
Jesus told Peter that he cannot follow the Lord at this moment because Jesus knew Peter would deny Him three times.
After Peter was restored that then the words of Jesus “but you shall follow Me afterward” was fulfilled. To love the Lord is to ‘NOT” deny Him. Below is an article from Truth In Scripture that tells us in what ways can we deny Christ:
How We Deny Christ or Forsake God (http://truthinscripture.com/2009/07/10/how-we-deny-jesus-christ/)
1. Unbelievers: Anyone who does not truly believe in Christ clearly denies Christ from the get go. Their denial and forsaking of God is overt, direct, explicit and will lead them straight to Hell on Judgment Day.
Romans 1:20-22 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools
The wise of this world are fools to God. Do not be deceived, God will not be mocked. Doing good deeds and being a nice person won’t cut it, Jesus is the only way to the Father. Sadly the majority of professing Christians have contributed to the emboldening of non-believers. They see many “believers” living in sin and acting no different from the rest of the world and conclude this religion is a farce.
False Religions: Millions believe in the God of Abraham but are really unbelievers as it relates to Christ. I worry about many that do good works, seek to live Holy lives but expressly DENY Christ and who He is and what He has done to save us. Organizations such as the Jehovah Witnesses’ and the Mormons, but there are many others, expressly deny the Deity of Christ and Almighty God. Jesus is the only way. Nobody comes to the Father except thru Him.
2. Believers: Many say they believe in Jesus but their action belie what they proclaim with their mouth.
I wrote an extensive post on Hypocrite Christians recently that by accessed by clicking the hyperlink. Professing believers DENY Christ in many way; primarily by their continued practice and living with sin. They will be in for a rude awakening unless they repent and come to knowledge of the truth and contend for their faith earnestly. Let’s look a little deeper into three categorizations of how we Deny Christ.
Practice Sin: Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. We are told that if we are truly Born Again we cannot practice sin. Those that twist Paul’s teachings and believe they can keep on sinning deny the power of Christ to transform lives and overcome the power of sin. Jesus came to set us free and if we have been set free, we are free indeed. Does this verse from Paul describe you? If so, you are denying Christ my friend.
2 Tim 3:1-5 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness (i.e. they are religious) but DENYING its power (living in continued unrepentant sin). And from such people turn away!
Jesus did not come to forgive our sins. Yes He forgives them with conditions of course, but His true purpose in coming was to save us from sin and He did that by giving us the means to overcome sin. We are indeed saved by Grace and His gift, but that gift requires us to fully receive it and that includes being Born Again and following Him and obeying His commandments.
Many claim to be Christians yet deny Christ by their works. Paul spoke to Titus about this issue.
Titus 1:15-16 To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled. 16 They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.
Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for their phony faith. He recalled a passage from Isaiah that I have quoted often in Mark 7:7-8. This defines the apostasy that is so rampant in the man-made church system of today. You tell a lie enough times, people start to believe it. I love this following verse from 1 John.
1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. Do you really love God? Then obey His commandments, otherwise you are worshipping with your lips yet your heart is far from God. You worship Christ in vain, denying His power to transform you and help you overcome temptation and you are following doctrines invented by men.
False Teaching: James tells us that we should think twice before becoming a teacher because teachers will be held to a higher account by God. To those the Lord calls, He says He will equip. Many teachers have been called by God but deny Christ by holding on to sin and teaching precepts taught by men. They teach God’s people in error saying their sin matters not, one cannot stop sinning anyway, so why worry about it, live your live and take pleasure in your sin. That is not the truth. Here is what Peter said about them and their denial.
2 Peter 2:1 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.
The truth is there is no temptation that we cannot overcome. God has provided a way out of each one if we follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We can indeed do all things thru Christ who strengthens us. All things are possible with God. Jude also spoke about false teachers and the pattern was the same, they come in perverting the grace of God and a false accommodation of our continued sin.
Jude 4 - For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.
While I believe we should find a church home and have regular fellowship with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, the vast majority of Christian Pastors and teachers are not Born Again as they live in continued practiced sin and worse teach their congregants a perverted gospel based almost exclusively on twisted teachings of the Apostle Paul. Peter warned this would happen and this prophecy has been fulfilled my friends.
2 Peter 3:14-17 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; 15 and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation — as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, 16 as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people —twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.
Nobody is twisting Paul’s teachings to say we need to stop sinning and walk in the Spirit as that is what Paul taught. All the perversion is that our sin matters not, the same thing Jude said and Paul himself.
Romans 2:12-13 All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.
Ephesians 5:8 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not be partakers with them.
Inaction and Partiality: Have you ever been in a conversation that was about evil or ungodly things yet stayed silent? What about getting involved in dirty and other inappropriate jokes? Walked past homeless people begging for money or attention but purposefully avoid eye contact? I have and did for most of my life. Many of these inactions deny Christ especially where the Holy Spirit tells us to leave the scene, rebuke the evildoers or encourage the homeless people. God tells us to DO SOMETHING yet we decide to DO our will instead. Rebellion is denying the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
If we do not deny ourselves, we deny Christ. Our in-action tells the world that He is not our Lord and that we are Lord of our own lives and seek to do our will, not His. Following Jesus is a choice, one we must make every day.
Luke 9:23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.
Jesus gave the Apostles and us by translation a new command. Love one Another. Just like our professed love for God, a real love for others will be demonstrated by action and deeds. If we don’t make our faith actionable, we deny our Sovereign Lord. Consider the admonishment James gave the early church.
James 2:14-17 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
We have an increasing problem in this country with old folks being abandoned by their families. Additionally, the ranks of the homeless are rising fast and I have met many homeless people who have gotten no help from their families and have not spoken to them in years. Sure they bear some responsibility, but we are called to take care of our God-given families in the time of need. Look at the shocking words from Paul that should call these deniers of Christ to attention.
1 Tim 5:8 If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. What happens to unbelievers on judgment day? I think you know. We deny our faith and our Lord by our inaction where God calls us to act. True Christians are the workers in His fields.
Lastly regarding inaction as a denial of Christ, remember the message Jesus will give the goats on judgment day.
Matthew 25:42-46 Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me. Because of their inaction and disobedience to His Commandments and rebellion against His Spirit; He goes on to say to them, depart from Me into the eternal fire.
CONCLUSION: WHERE IS THE LOVE?
To prove our love and worship to Jesus let us therefore…
1) Love God and not money
2) Have a loving relationship with Christ and not religion
3) Love one another as He as loved us
4) Never deny Jesus if you wish to follow Him
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