IGNORING CHRIST ~ The UN-SHEATHED SWORD

IGNORING CHRIST, the UN-SHEATHED SWORD

NO-ONE  is ABLE to IGNORE HIM+,

HE+ Told us.

.

And I+,

if I+ be lifted up from the earth,

will draw all men* unto ME+.

John 12:32

* Men* is in italics; it is added to the text.

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No-one --- not one person, not one human being, young or old, cultured or tribal --- is able to IGNORE The LORD JESUS CHRIST. 

The instant HE+ is lifted up before anyone’s and everyone’s eyes, HE+ draws all their eyes upon HIMSELF+.  The spiritual eyes of the heart are indeed DRAWN to JESUS; it is not given to man to IGNORE the SON+ of GOD. 

Man does NOT have that choice.

And I+, 

if I+ be lifted up from the earth, 

will draw all men unto ME+.

Whenever HE+ is presented , there is immediately a CHOICE made in the inner man:

either for JESUS or against HIM+,

either towards JESUS or away from HIM+.

Oftentimes, the spiritual reaction is hidden; the spiritual part of man ponders HIM+ even though the person is seemingly indifferent or cold towards JESUS.

BUT . . . in truth,

nobody can REMAIN indifferent to The LORD JESUS CHRIST. 

The minute, the instant, HE+ is presented, there WILL MOST DEFINITELY BE a reaction. . .  either good or bad . . . towards The LORD JESUS CHRIST or away from HIM+.

Furthermore, the demons cannot ignore The LORD JESUS CHRIST !

 They immediately recognize HIM+ as the KING+ of kings and LORD+ of lords.  Scripture tells us that demons immediately try to negotiate with HIM+ . . . because they recognize HIS+ AUTHORITY and POWER over them !

And they [ the legion of demons] besought HIM+ that HE+ would not command them to go out into the deep [ abyss]. Luke 8:31

Because HE+ is ALL Truth, the demons know they cannot deceive HIM+; The LORD JESUS sees exactly who they are and whom they serve . . . and HE+ has already conquered the one they serve.  James tells us that the devils also believe . . . and tremble. James 2:19

And I+, if I+ be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto ME+.

HOW, then, is CHRIST lifted up from the earth ?

Here is a case for more literal Greek rendering of this verse. 

 And I+,

 if I+ be lifted up FROM OUT OF THE EARTH,

I+ will draw all unto ME+.

Now then, the full literal meaning of “ek” is from out of some place. 

So, could The LORD be talking about HIS+ RESURRECTION

from OUT OF THE HEART OF THE EARTH 

in His+ Word to us here ?

The Greek verb “draw” [ eLkusO , verb-indicative-future-active] indicates a STRONG, FORCEFUL tugging or dragging, as a leading someone by force into a court of law. 

Literally, it means an UN-SHEATHING of a SWORD ! [ See page 144, root ELKO, Timothy Friberg’s Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament, Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI, 2000.

In other words,

it is a FORCEFUL DRAWING FORTH of the sword

OUT OF its sheath, in order to do instant battle !

Our LORD JESUS CHRIST came UN-STOPPABLE out of the heart of the earth at His+ Glorious RESURRECTION. HE+ had conquered Death and satan and was no longer constrained --- “straitened” --- by His+ flesh.

But I+ have a baptism to be baptized with;

and how am I+ straitened till it be accomplished!

Luke 12:50

UN-SHEATHED now, HE+ is READY to do devastating battle with ALL the devils of this world. 

HE+ had undergone His+ Baptism by BLOOD. Now “HE+” – the unconstrained CHRIST -- was un-sheathed from His+ earth-bound sheath, His+ human body, at His+ Resurrection.

HE+ HIMSELF+ was

 -- and indeed still IS –

the DIVINE WEAPON unsheathed.

At His+ Resurrection, The LORD JESUS CHRIST was revealed in all His+ power and glory in His+ triumph over death, hell, and the grave.  HE+ triumphed over the satan’s death-grip of humanity  . . . and NOTHING could stop HIM+. 

For “this commandment I+ have received from My+ FATHER,” HE+ told us about laying down His+ Life, in John 10:18.

No man taketh it from ME+, but I+ lay it down of MYSELF+.

I+ have power to lay it down, and I+ have power to take it again.

This commandment have I+ received of My+ FATHER.

No person is too sinful, no person is too deaf, no person is too blind to be DRAWN by the UN-SHEATHED SWORD+ of The LORD. Every single person “hears” the Invitation to come to CHRIST if he is presented the Cross and RESURRECTION.

Not all choose to COME to CHRIST, but every single person RESPONDS . . . one way or another.

The problem is TWO-FOLD. First, with the Hearer.

He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.

 Proverbs 29:1

When the Cross is lifted up, when The LORD JESUS is lifted up, when His+ Glorious, Triumphant RESURRECTION is presented . . . and the response of the inner man of the heart   is HARDNESS against CHRIST, then that person stands in great danger of being destroyed SUDDENLY.

 THAT is what Scripture says.

He MAY be given other opportunities to change his response, but if he willfully persists in hardening his heart, he will pay for his own sins through all eternity. He has CHOSEN that payment method. 

The SECOND problem is with us, the presenters

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Are we PRECISELY presenting the Gospel of Salvation message ? CHRIST JESUS came into the world . . . . to do what ?  

Scripture teaches us: TO SAVE SINNERS.  

1 Timothy 1:15.

CHRIST JESUS did NOT come to “understand” why we turn to sin to console our wounded hearts nor did HE+ come to tolerate our sinful ways “because we are so hurt.” 

HE+ knows all about our wounds and our hurts and will heal the broken-hearted when we stop rebelling.

SIN WOUNDS.  Every person on the face of this earth is “wounded” and “hurt.”  SIN brings wounds, both to the sinner and to those around him. 

CHRIST JESUS came to SAVE us from our own sins. That is why HE+ endured the Cross. That was the ONLY way HE+ could Save us from satan’s rightful ownership of Self-serving, sin-laded creatures. 

If we OMIT the SALVATION-from-your-Sins message, we are preaching another Gospel. We are not lifting up the Cross nor our LORD. We must NOT hide that every single person HAS SINS.

We must NOT HIDE that every person MUST REPENT of his sins because we have  fear of  “offending” the hearer.

The LORD JESUS, our Example, went directly to the CORE of the sin-issue whenever HE+ spoke to people, collectively or individually. HE+ told the woman at the well to “go, call her husband”, knowing it would evoke her INNER conviction of sin. 

We do not “accept” CHRIST; HE+ accepts us  . . . after we repent. We only repent when CONVICTION falls upon us for our sins.

Our LORD and SAVIOR+ never once  asked anyone to “accept” HIM+. Rather, the Apostle exhorts us to become acceptable to GOD. Romans 12:1, 14:18, Ephesians 5:10.

Let us follow His+ example to bring conviction of sin when we present the Gospel of Salvation. 

Secondly, we must be DILIGENT when we are lifting up The LORD to establish to each hearer that JESUS is the ONLY way to The FATHER, the ONLY way to Heaven. 

JESUS saith unto him,

I+, I+ AM  THE Way, THE Truth, and THE Life:

no man cometh unto THE FATHER, but by ME+.

John 14:6

We cannot sympathetically “agree” that every man has his own religion and that there is “something good” in each culture’s RELIGION.

If we do that, we are preaching another Gospel and are anathema. 

If we do that, we are NOT lifting up The LORD JESUS CHRIST before men nor His+ Truth. 

If we do that, we are causing CONFUSION to the hearer.

[ Yes, we all know the penalty for causing confusion in the LORD’S camp. Leviticus 20:12]

 

[ We note that the woman at the well wanted to discuss her culture’s religion, but The LORD JESUS directly straightened out that error. HE+ told her:  

Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship THE FATHER in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship HIM. 

GOD is SPIRIT: and they that worship HIM must worship HIM in spirit and in truth. John 4:22-24.]  

HE+ did NOT let error stand because spiritual error causes spiritual confusion. HE+ never placated wrong spiritual beliefs.

HIS+ GLORIOUS RESURRECTION 

Thirdly, when we are lifting up CHRIST , we must adamantly proclaim The RESURRECTION of JESUS CHRIST. 

Scripture tells us HE+ was seen of over 500 witnesses at one time ! No other religion has a LIVING LORD Whom+ Death cannot touch. No other religion has this Resurrection to offer to its followers.

If we OMIT sharing the RESURRECTION of CHRIST with hearers, we have omitted the POWER of GOD and the POWER of HIS Obedient SON+ to conquer death and satan’s grip over humanity.

We have short-changed and diminished the Gospel message. We have not lifted up the RESURRECTION of HIM+ coming “from OUT of the heart of the earth.”  We have weakened the Gospel and thus, weakened our outreach to our hearers.

And I+,

if I+ be lifted up from out of the earth,

I+ will draw all men unto ME+.

John 12:32

This HE+ said, signifying what death HE+ should die.

John 12:33

+  +  +

LET US PRAY: 

O LORD CHRIST, I have not done as well as I thought. I have muddled the Salvation message .

.

I have invited people to CHRIST without sharing the full Salvation message. I have asked them to “accept” CHRIST with no Scriptural basis for this; instead, I have followed the traditions of men. 

I have side-stepped addressing SIN, trying not to offend people. I offended YOU+ instead. I have protected myself from their reactions.

Forgive me, O LORD. Grant me a clear eye, focused firmly on Your+ Word about Your+ judgment of sin.  

I have made others feel like it is understandable to work out their wounds and hurts by sinful means because GOD “understands.”  In my mis-placed sympathy, I have not firmly issued the only route of healing given to mankind that is through repentance. 

I have invited others to a loving JESUS, but not to a RIGHTEOUS and HOLY CHRIST Who+ will not tolerate sin. 

 Forgive me, O LORD. I see now that my ways are not YOUR+ ways. Show me how to amend my ways. 

I have placated others’ religious beliefs, even when in grave error, so as not to offend them. Instead, I have offended The TRUTH as I tolerated wrong beliefs. 

Forgive me, O LORD, for not following YOUR+ example when I shared the Salvation message, for my thoughts are not YOUR+ Holy thoughts. All man’s religious systems fall short of the Truth in CHRIST. Help me not to grant ANY semblance of acceptance of them.

And LORD, I have neglected sharing YOUR+ Power-filled, Wonderful Resurrection ! YOU+ alone conquered death and the satan. YOU+ alone offer to YOUR+ followers that same Resurrection power. 

Forgive me, O LORD, for my clumsy, awkward sharing. Truly, I have been more mindful of doing an EXACT job at my worksite than I have been to share the precise Gospel message, which is given to save men’s souls.

Convict ME mightily, O LORD, that I may precisely share the Salvation message from now on, that my works be not burned up on Judgment Day.

 

Help me to grow into a mature Christian ambassador who brings the EXACT, Life-Giving SALVATION message to seekers and non-seekers alike, to the docile and to the rude, to the wounded and to those who cover their wounds. 

 

Strengthen me to pay the price of Rejection for CHRIST and offend if I must, in order to present the TRUE and LIVING CHRIST. YOU+ , O LORD, are the ONLY way given among men to be Saved. 

Thank YOU+, O LORD CHRIST, for saving my life from destruction, both now and for all eternity.   Amen.