Doctrine of Jesus Less God Insults Only the Christian; Doctrine with Jesus as God Affronts All the Rest of the World

What is a doctrine? Men often think of it as a teaching or a dogma. But doctrines are much more than mere ideas and principles. They are a lifestyle. We are what we believe. Though never perfect in our beliefs doctrine is the inner core of self that establishes our ways and habits.

Everyone has a doctrine, even those who claim no religion at all. For some, the doctrine is that of Selfishness: Me comes first; Me comes last; There is no other before Me. There are no written teachings for a Me doctrine. It is just a matter of life. It is always spoken and taught in first person.

Other folks have a doctrine of Freedom: you do what you want; I do what I want; so long as we do not clash, all is well. This is another unwritten doctrine, but you will often hear the believers discussing its fine points and exceptions.

The religious world has creeds of the more standard nature. They teach and agree that Jesus is not God. These beliefs offend only Christians. A solitary doctrine, the Christian faith, teaches that Jesus is God. This truth outrages the rest of the world for it proclaims their wisdom to be foolishness.

On a note of astonishment, doctrine with Jesus as God seldom offends the Me group or the Freedom group. They simply refuse to react to it.

Ah, but the religious world. Look if you will into the book of Acts when the apostle Paul spoke in the synagogue before the Jews:

"And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks. And when Silas and Timothy were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. And when they opposed themselves and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles," (Acts 18:4-6).

Notice in this reading how that Paul "reasoned" and "persuaded" the Jews. Surely he took them through scripture and explained about the Christ and from where He would come. Perhaps he spoke of a child being born, of Rachel weeping for her children, of a prophet from Bethlehem, and of Elijah coming to turn the hearts of fathers and children. He may even have mentioned a voice crying in the wilderness. Surely he spoke of a bruised head and of a suffering servant. And last of all, perhaps he reminded them of the raising of a brass serpent.

And scripture says that they were "persuaded". They believed. They understood that Paul was teaching about the promised Messiah. And Paul's doctrine was sound for I am convinced that he brought them to the point of seeing scripture in the light of truth.

But when Silas and Timothy arrived, Paul spoke more bluntly. Jesus, he said and testified, was Christ.

These men then, their doctrine affronted, denied their own perception and opposed all that they knew to be true. It is not difficult to comprehend that Jesus is God. But it is extremely difficult to submit to that truth.

What about you? Do you understand that the bible is truth, that Jesus Christ came as God in human flesh, that he died for our sins, that he was buried, and that he rose again on the third day so that you might be freed from the doctrines of men. Free to know life. Free to live and serve the creator of all that has been, is, or ever will be.

Now is the time to accept. Not tomorrow, or next week, or some time later, not even in a few minutes. Do it now, this moment, even as the Spirit leads. All who will not call upon the name of Jesus from a pure heart shall suffer The Death.

Revelation 20:14-15 (KJV)
¹⁴ And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
¹⁵ And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.