WORD FROM THE CENTER: MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2023

Welcome to “Word from The Center” MONDAY, a devotional word from the Center of our faith, Jesus Christ, with reflections from His Word. I’m Gregory Seltz. Today’s verse is Matthew 17:1-8, where the Bible says,   

And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah. “He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

THERE’S ONLY JESUS!

One the things that gets Christians in trouble sometimes is the bible teaching that Jesus is the ONLY savior of the world. During the previous administration, the President appointed a Christian, Russell Vought, to be the deputy director of the White House Office of Management and Budget. And the fact that he is/was a Christian….It got him in big trouble. Todd Starnes said,

Sen. Sanders deemed Vought unsuitable for office because he believes that salvation is found

alone through Jesus Christ. He said someone with that kind of a religious belief system is

“really not someone who this country is supposed to be about.”^[1]

Really? Has it come to this? Now, being a believer in Jesus as the world’s Savior “disqualifies a person from being a good, public leader for all?” It was really unbelievable to hear a leader in the Senate of America castigate a person whose apparent crime is believing in a Savior who said, “Give to Caesar what is Caesars, give to God was is God’s (Matthew 22:21) differentiating the scope and the roles of the Church and the State.” It’s hard to see an American senator scold a person who believes in a Savior who says, “My Kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36).” Lost in that moment was the truth that it is the biblical worldview that fundamentally differentiates the public authority, boundaries, and purpose of the Church and the State unlike any other. Lost in that moment was the truth that biblical principles undergird an American polity that has created and sustained the personal liberties of more people from more places from more faiths than any other country or culture in all the world. But we shouldn’t be surprised.

Jesus himself teaches his disciples, “A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. (John 15:20).”

There is a reason that Jesus is at the same time adored and scorned. It’s because it is sinners like you and me who need a savior like Him. There is a reason that faith in Jesus Christ is at the same time controversial and comforting. It’s because Jesus is the only one then and now of whom the Father said, “This is my beloved son, listen to Him” who can also tell us “have no fear.” It’s true that faith in Jesus is different from other religions. When it comes down to it, faith in Jesus is really not a religion or merely a moral way of life, it is a proclamation of freedom, forgiveness, and eternal life that comes from the person and work of Jesus alone as a gift.

So, in view of Matthew 17, if there is another Savior capable of fulfilling the words of the Law and the Prophets, let me know. If there is another Savior capable of living our life perfectly, dying our death sacrificially, and rising from the dead for the sake of everyone’s eternal life, I’d like to hear who that might be. If there is another way of living that holds both the work of this world and the salvation work of Jesus for the world to come in perfect tension for the sake of each, I’d like to know what that is.

Since there is no one truly like Him, we will joyfully proclaim the uniqueness of Jesus for the sake of all. We will even proclaim the uniqueness of the Christian worldview that undergirds the civil freedom and liberty of all people better than any other worldview out there. And we will happily share the joys of knowing Jesus as savior with anyone and everyone no matter who or where they come from. Why? Because there’s always good news FOR ALL when we trust in Jesus Christ alone above all things.

PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for being the only Savior who could save me and the whole world. And thank you for doing it, for all of us who didn’t deserve it at all. AMEN.

^[1] https://nikeinsights.famguardian.org/bernie-sanders-censors-christians-from-public-service/