Any Message from God Must Be Founded Firmly Upon His Word

Christ's Message to American Christians

by Roger Hertzler

Any so-called message from God must be firmly founded upon His Word, the Bible. It is His Word alone that can give any authority at all to the message I am about to share.

As we examine God's Word from cover to cover, we find that every part of it points in some way to the person of Jesus Christ. The Old Testament points forward to Him, the Gospels reveal Him, and the rest of the New Testament points back to Him. Even the other two persons of the Trinity point to Christ.

Jesus said of the Holy Spirit that "He shall testify of Me" and "He shall glorify Me". God the Father said about Jesus "This is My beloved Son: hear Him." And Hebrews 1:1, 2 tells us that whereas God in former times had spoken through prophets, He has "in these last days spoken to us by His Son."

So if it is true that all of the Divine revelation points us to Jesus, then where is it that Jesus points us?

We get our answer to this question by simply reading through the words of Christ as recorded in Scripture. Here we find Him directing us over and over again to one central theme: the commands that He gave us. Listen to these words of Jesus from the Gospel of John.

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death (John 8:51). If ye love me, keep my commandments (John 14:15). He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me (John 14:21). If a man love me, he will keep my words (John 14:23). He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Fathers which sent me (John 14:24).

"If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love (John 15:10). Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you" (John 15:14). At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, right after giving us a long list of revolutionary commands and teachings, Jesus says these words:

"Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

"And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it" (Matthew 7:24-27).

We in the American church have tried to explain away the Sermon on the Mount and other commands of Christ by saying that they are part of the Old Testament Law (and thus anyone who repeats what Jesus said about obedience is guilty of legalism). Or we've said that His commands were given only to reveal our own sinfulness, and even with the power of God they are impossible to obey. Or we've argued that literal obedience to them is not necessary now, but rather postponed until some future period of time. Yet Christ's plea to those who use this type of reasoning is:

"Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? (Luke 6:46). Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into he kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity" (Matthew 7:21-23).

Some have speculated that Christ's cross was the dividing line between the Scriptures that apply to us and those that do not. Thus, we can basically ignore everything revealed prior to Christ's death, including the vast majority of His commands. Yet Jesus said to His disciples after His resurrection, "Go ye therefore, and teach...teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:19, 20).

Then, in the remainder of the New Testament, Christ's followers repeatedly affirmed the importance of obeying His commands. Listen to these words: "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him (1 John 2:3, 4). In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: (2 Thessalonians 1:8). If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing... (1 Timothy 6:3, 4).

"By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous (1 John 5:2, 3). Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city" (Revelation 22:14).

Yet here in America we Christians, even conservative Christians, have largely ignored the commands given to us by Christ. Whether through heresy, carelessness, or pure rebellion, we have put much of Christ's teaching into a place where it might as well have not been said. As far as the world around us can tell, Christ must have commanded His followers absolutely nothing about certain subjects: subjects which in actuality were discussed by Him extensively.

Through our actions, we Christians have caused the name of Christ to be blasphemed among the heathen. We have ceased to be the true salt and light that God has called us to be. Through our compromises, we have lost our preserving influence in this society, and iniquity has truly come in like a flood. And now, with the last moments of time ticking quickly away, God is calling us one more time to genuine repentance: repentance from sin and toward God.

When we speak of America's need to repent, we could mention numerous horrible sins into which this country has fallen headlong, sins such as abortion, homosexuality, drunkenness, and witchcraft. We could also discuss the many false philosophies that have swept this nation, philosophies such as Darwinism, Mormonism, liberalism, and humanism. Yet because this is a message to believers, we're not going to take the time and space to do that. Though these plagues have been destroying the souls of multitudes, I thank God that there are still many Christians who are boldly speaking out against them.

But there are three major areas of disobedience that virtually no one seems to be mentioning, three specific subjects about which Christ taught extensively but which Christians today are teaching virtually nothing. Three issues about which God is saying to the church of today, "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."

When John the Baptist came preaching repentance and warning of the coming wrath, his audience responded in brokenness by asking, "What shall we do then?" Just as John gave specific answers in response to this question, so I also hope to give specific answers about how true repentance will look for American Christians.

To the unrepentant, these answers will seem downright ludicrous. To the semi-repentant, they will appear burdensome and impossible. But to the truly contrite ones, to those who tremble at the Word of the Lord, I trust that this call to radical repentance will be received as a blessed gift from God to sinners who deserve nothing but His wrath.