Knowing Our Savior

By J.V. Lewis

The original Christians were called "Christians" in a derogatory way by those who were not Christ's followers. But because Christ's followers didn't object to being called Christians, the name stuck. In many places and times, being identified as a Christian has cost the ultimate price. The question we must ask is, Do we really know our Savior well enough to know that we can trust him with our lives? Do we know him well enough to know that if we are in a situation where serious punishment, maybe even death, is certain that we can trust him and say, "So be it?" Do we really believe that Jesus is the resurrection that he claims to be? Do we believe that, in him, even when we die, it is only the physical body? How well do we know the Savior we are following? The better we know him, the more we come to love, trust, and enjoy his friendship! Jesus knows everything there is to know about you, and he yearns for you to know as much as you can about him! Knowing him means having a real friendship like never before!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 19, 2017
• ISBN: 9781640285897

Book preview

302250-ebook.jpg

Knowing

Our Savior!

J.V. Lewis

ISBN 978-1-64028-588-0 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64028-589-7 (Digital)

Copyright © 2017 by J.V. Lewis

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

296 Chestnut Street

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Foreword

By Ted Johnston

Publications Editor for Grace Communion International in the U.S.

Adjunct faculty member at Grace Communion Seminary.

The title J.V. Lewis selected for his book, Knowing Our Savior, is an apt one, for though he covers many topics, its organizing framework is Jesus—who he is, what he has done for all humanity, how he has included us in his relationship with the Father, by the Spirit, and how he is now bidding us to follow him.

What we find in J.V.’s book is the account of a man who has discovered/re-discovered Jesus—a man who is passionate about Jesus, the Living Word of God, revealed to us in the Bible, the written word of God. And so he dives into Scripture and there shows us Jesus, the Son of God who through the Incarnation is also the son of man.

J.V.’s journey through Scripture is wide-ranging as he explores some of the primary doctrines of the Christian faith. In doing so, he seeks always to be Christ-centered. For him, doctrine is far more than mere head knowledge—it’s about a living relationship, through the Spirit, with the living Christ, who takes us to the Father.

Throughout his book, you sense J.V.’s passion for Christ. As he notes, that passion was ignited fairly late in life. Yes, he had known something about Jesus over the course of most of his life, but knowing about Jesus is far different that truly knowing (and thus experiencing) Jesus as the living person he is.

There is an interesting back-story here that J.V. only touches on briefly. It’s a story of a journey of an entire denomination of which we both have been members since our youth. As J.V. notes, he began his association when that denomination when it bore the name Radio Church of God. Sometime later it was renamed Worldwide Church of God (WCG). It was the denomination founded by Herbert W. Armstrong (HWA) in the late 1930s as a radio ministry that in time became a church.

HWA’s distinctive teachings (those he promoted passionately and widely on radio, then TV, and always in print), were, at best, questionable, and many would rightly say, heretical. His principal emphasis was on predictive prophecy with Jesus being the strong man who would return to earth to punish all evil and reward a small remnant of faithful followers. He defined those followers as people who adhered to his system of rules that were a compilation of various Old Testament laws (ones HWA saw as binding on Christians) with an emphasis on Israel’s seventh day Sabbath, annual holy days, and laws of clean and uncleans meats, among others. In this system, Jesus was acknowledged as Savior, but salvation largely had to be earned through what was, essentially a system of old covenant legalism very similar to what Paul condemns in the book of Galatians.

By God’s grace, WCG as a denomination (including many of its members) was delivered from the bondage and darkness of legalism into the glorious freedom and light of the grace of God in Jesus Christ. As a result, the denomination’s name was changed to Grace Communion International (GCI). The journey of deliverance, though glorious, was at times very painful—true and lasting repentance usually is. In this case it was not only personal repentance, but corporate repentance as the Holy Spirit worked among us to conform our minds to the truth that is revealed in the person and work of Jesus.

In his book, J.V. recounts various aspects of his personal journey of repentance that brought into his heart and mind new, transforming understanding of who Jesus Christ truly is for us and with us. He mentions how ne now embraces concepts that were never even thought of in the old WCG—things like the vicarious humanity of Jesus (which pertains to who Jesus is, in his humanity, as our representative and substitute). He also mentions the present reality of the kingdom of God—something the old WCG, in its embrace of radical dispensationalism, would have vociferously denied, seeing the kingdom as something only in the future. J.V. also mentions the nature of our life in Christ, which is defined not by obedience to old covenant rules, but by participation, through the Spirit, in Jesus’ ongoing human life. This is the obedience of faith (obedience brought about by and grounded in the faith of Jesus himself). Following Jesus is about this life in the Spirit.

I commend to you J.V.’s book. Though not a lettered Bible scholar, he is a passionate follower of Jesus and student of Holy Scripture (read in the light of Jesus). Perhaps you will not agree with all of his doctrinal positions and explanations, but I pray you will hear his plea to respond to Jesus’ call to us all to follow him, by the Spirit, in accordance with Scripture. I also pray you will begin (and continue) your study of Scripture centered on Jesus, the Living Word of God May God bless you as you travel your own journey of repentance and faith.

Introduction

All scripture quotations, unless noted otherwise, are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

I have recently become more excited about knowing our Savior, and since I love to write, I have decided to write this book. I have really enjoyed writing it and hope to extend that joy to all who read it.

I have known about Jesus as far back as I can remember, but the more we learn about him, the more reasons we find to love him. We have a wonderful Savior! Another reason for writing this book is something was recently brought to my attention that caused me to see Jesus in a way I hadn’t before. As long as we continue to grow in his grace and knowledge, that’s bound to happen. But what was brought to my attention changed the way I relate to him. Of course, that didn’t change him; his love for me hasn’t changed. It couldn’t be any greater than it was already.

There is no way I claim to know all there is to know about him because he is without beginning or end. In fact, he tells us that he is the Beginning and the End. So how can a mere human know all there is to know? And yet he does not hide himself. Instead, he loves to reveal himself.

As I was writing this book, I included many word for word scriptures, so many in fact, that it was above the limit of what was allowed without violating copyright laws or getting permission from the publishers. Therefore, I removed most of the scriptures and paraphrased them. I encourage the readers to check what I paraphrased to be positive that the scriptures’ intent hasn’t been altered.

Like I said, Jesus loves to reveal himself to us. In the gospel of Matthew, we are told to search, and we will find him.

In chapter 7 beginning with verse 7, Jesus tells us to ask and we will be given, to search and we will find. To knock and the door will be opened for us because everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door is opened.

Jesus then asks if there is anyone among us who would give a stone to our child when the child asks for bread. Or if we would give a snake to a child who asks for a fish. If we, who are inclined to be evil, know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more is our heavenly Father willing to give good gifts to those of us who ask him? (See Matthew 7:7-11)

In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets. (See Matthew 7:12)

Jesus said, If your child asks for bread … In the scripture where he identifies himself as the Bread of Life, he told those who were with him that their ancestors ate manna that came down from heaven when they were in the wilderness, but they got hungry again. But Jesus himself came down from heaven as the Bread of Life, and whoever eats of him will never hunger or thirst. What better bread could we ask for than he who is the Bread of Life?

I hope you will find this book to be beneficial, uplifting, and a blessing. As I said, I have thoroughly enjoyed writing it, and I hope it will enhance your experience as you enjoy the pleasure of having a more meaningful ongoing relationship with our Lord and Savior.

1

Peter’s Exhortation

At the end of Peter’s second letter, he admonishes us to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He didn’t say to try to come up with some superior doctrine, to memorize more scriptures, or try to be more religious, and he didn’t suggest a lot of dos and don’ts. It is all about Jesus! We are to grow in the grace and the knowledge of him.

Peter was Jesus’s disciple who denied him three times but was reinstated and became an apostle and a strong witness to the fact of Jesus being the Messiah. Peter wrote his second letter to the ones he called, Those who have received a faith as precious as ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ, and begins the last chapter, chapter 3, reminding us to remember the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the commandment of our Lord and Savior spoken through what he called your apostles.

We have already read what Jesus’s commandment is in Matthew 7:12: In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.

Peter said to remember the commandment of the Lord and Savior; he didn’t say commandments (plural). Jesus’s commandment is to love our neighbors as ourselves, and he said this is the law and the prophets.

Next, Peter tells us that the first thing we should know is that in the last days, scoffers will come, scoffing and indulging their own lust and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? Ever since our ancestors died, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation! But the way God counts time is not the same way we do, and rather than thinking Jesus has delayed his coming, we should take advantage of the time he is giving us to repent. He says with God, one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like one day.

Jesus’s Second Coming is something that many generations have anticipated to occur in their lifetime, even as I have. But we are told that no one knows the day or the hour, and yet the prophecy still stands, even a direct promise from Jesus himself. And the holy prophets didn’t speak of their own accord but God gave them what to prophecy as they were led by the Holy Spirit. They were holy prophets because God made them holy as only he can. Peter called himself and the other apostles your apostles. They are listed elsewhere among the gifts Jesus has provided for his church.

Peter said, First of all, you must understand this, that in the last days, scoffers will come, scoffing and indulging their own lust and saying, ‘Where is the promise of his coming?’ By saying, first of all, he wants to make sure that we understand it is of primary importance.

If we listen to the narrators of nature shows, we can easily pick up from what they say, as far as they are concerned, God is not even in the equation. They are all about evolution.

We are definitely living in the last days and have been ever since Jesus came and initiated this messianic age by instituting the New Covenant. There are scriptures that indicate that some of the apostles expected Christ to return in their generation, but that obviously wasn’t God’s plan.

Peter then went into detail about how people deliberately ignore the fact that God spoke his creation into existence. He made us aware that whereas the age in which Noah lived was ended with water, our present age has been reserved for fire and being held back until the right time for the godless to be destroyed.

The time will come unexpectedly and unannounced, and we would do well not to set our affections on the things of this world since our permanent home is awaiting us in the new heavens and the new earth. Knowing this is not our permanent home, Peter asked what kind of persons we should be, knowing that everything that has been done here on earth will be disclosed. He urges us to use this time to approach Jesus with a repentant attitude and take advantage of the salvation that he offers.

After Peter told us how God counts time differently than we do, he told us that God is not slow about his promises as people count slowness. He warned us that the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be made known. He asked us, since we understand that all these things are to be dissolved in this way, what sort of people should we be in leading lives of holiness and godliness? He reminds us that we are waiting for, and hastening the coming of the day of God, when the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire!

But according to his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. He went on to say that Paul also wrote about the same things according to the wisdom God has given him, but those who are ignorant and unstable find them difficult to understand, so they twist and distort them. And they do it to their own destruction. Peter said they twist and distort the other scriptures in the same way.

So we would do well to check up on what people write or say. What they say might indeed be in the Bible, but is it being applied correctly? It is necessary that we know the context of the scriptures in which things are written. We all need teachers to help us understand, but they can only teach according to their own understanding. That is why we need to check out everything for ourselves to see if what is being taught is correct according to what our apostles teach.

Peter told us to be forewarned and beware so we are not carried away with the error of the lawless and lose our own stability. Some people may think we, who live by grace through faith, are the lawless of whom Peter was warning. Their error is based on looking at the law of the Old Covenant instead of the law of faith as explained by the apostles. We are obedient according to God’s New Covenant. I’ll have more to say about that later on.

As we come to the end of Peter’s second letter, we find his concluding exhortation. He told us while we are waiting for these things to happen, as they surely will, to strive to be at peace with God.

2

The Seven Churches

I have only a little advice for folks who are just beginning to read and get familiar with their Bibles. There are many numbers of places to begin, and there is a lot of advice