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Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Today's Frontline Devotion January 16, 2005 You’re Going to Hell |
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FRONTLINE DEVOTION FOR SUNDAY, JANUARY 16, 2005 by Fritz
Foltz
John
1: 29-51
A few years back our High School Group found themselves living together with a
very fundamentalist group during Work Camp. This group felt it was their duty to
ask our kids, “Are you saved?” When ours responded by speaking of baptism
and confirmation, they were told these were not biblical. The other group
claimed being saved involved a personal decision for Christ that could be dated
for every individual person. They felt a proof text for this was Jesus appearing
at the Sea of Galilee to call Peter who immediately left his job and family to
follow him. If members of our group could not point to a similar incident, an
exact time when such a decision was made, they would go to hell. Our kids came
back with two reactions. Some were terribly offended that someone would tell
them they were going to hell, and others took it as a badge of merit. None were
brought closer to Christ by the confrontation.
Hopefully all those using this devotional recognize that the interpretation
offered by the group for what it means to be saved is not really biblical at
all, Even in the couple of biblical passages speaking of being born again the
reference is clearly to water baptism.
Besides that the Bible never claims there is only one way to be a follower of
Jesus. Today’s passage makes that quite clear. It offers another version of
how Peter became an apostle. In this one the process is much more natural and
gradual. The passage also describes how three others began following Jesus,
offering a variety of ways.
Peter seems to be a follower of John the Baptist who switched over to Jesus. He
made this move after his brother, Andrew, invited him to come and see the new
guy who had impressed him. Peter liked what he saw and joined up. Jesus himself
asks Philip to join him. Philip invites his friend, Nathanael.
All of their decisions were made easier, because John the Baptist himself
recognized Jesus had more to offer. It didn’t hurt that they also found Jesus
understood who they were, emphasizing their positive qualities. Peter had to be
pleased he described him as a rock and Philip to be appreciated as a person of
integrity.
Besides this, all through John’s gospel the natural development is emphasized.
In almost every chapter people begin seeing an ordinary person and gradually
move through a series of steps to seeing God himself. This passage begins with
Andrew first speaking of Jesus as a rabbi or teacher and later calling him the
messiah. By the end of the passage Nathanael calls him the Son of God. The
reader is reminded this will develop even further when the apostles like John
will recognize he is the Lamb of God, the one God uses to save the world. He
comes to rescue people from hell. How strange then that some of his followers
chose in our time to accuse others, “The rest of you are going to hell”.
Our job is to attract people to Christ, to invite them to “come and see”. We
are to refrain from judging. That does not mean we cannot recognize good and bad
ways of living. It does mean we never try to do God’s job, taking it upon
ourselves to tell someone else, “You’re going to hell”.
Let us pray: Grant us your spirit, Father, that our lives might attract rather
than repel others to Jesus. Grant us the courage of our convictions, but also
enable us always to see the strengths of others. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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All are welcome to join and share in our Devotional Ministry on the "Frontlines" of the world. Frontline Devotions are sent via email daily. Sign up by clicking on the box to the left. Pastor Dave welcomes feedback. Contact him at pastordave@goodshepherdonline.org. |
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