Skip to main content

One God and One Mediator


          For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time. And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle—I am telling the truth, I am not lying—and a true and faithful teacher of the Gentiles. (I Timothy 2:5-7)

          Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

          It doesn’t matter whether you’re conservative or liberal, you’ve gotta agree that…
          “The science is settled…”
          ______ is divisive. We need to come together.
          “We can’t all believe your way.”
          “All truth is relative.”
          I’ve heard the quotes and paraphrases above. Sometimes they’ve been said to me. Often, the people who have said them have come from one philosophical perspective, but not always. In one sense, they believe that their beliefs are irrefutable. That’s not unusual. It may even be wise. Would you really believe something you suspected wasn’t true?
          One problem is that two of the statements contradict the rest. Three statements assert a specific objective reality. Two reject any objective reality. If we can’t all believe a specific way, then it does matter what philosophy we espouse, and we don’t have to agree that… If we can’t all believe “your” way, then we cannot come together because we will be divided in the matters where we can’t believe the same things. If the science is settled, all truth can’t be relative, and if all truth is relative, science can’t be settled.
          Another problem with these statements is that they are unidirectional. What we’ve “gotta agree,” and the matters on which science is settled, and the means of our coming together are always the positions held by the world. The things we can’t all believe “your” way about, and the truth that is all relative – the reality that is rejected is the reality that the Bible teaches.
         Today’s passage includes one of those rejected ideas. There is one God and one mediator between God and man. Now, people like to say that all religions are the same and all roads lead to God. But they aren’t and they don’t, but all do not treat Jesus Christ as the mediator between God and man. At the moment, I can’t think of any other religion in which there is a mediator between God and man. Oh, there are prophets like Mohammed or Buddha, but they don’t mediate. When you come before God for judgment, you’re on your own.
We’re told that we can’t all believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and we can’t all believe His teachings. There’s a problem with this claim. If Jesus is the Son of God, and if He is the mediator that this verse claims, He is. It’s not a matter of opinion or belief, but of reality. If He is the way, and the truth, and the life, then He’s the definite article, not just one of the crowd. If He is not the way, and the truth, and the life, then He’s either crazy or a liar and should be disregarded. This is C.S. Lewis’ trilemma. Some folks try to find a way around the trilemma by saying that it wasn’t Jesus that lied, it was Constantine and his bunch – but the same problem holds true. Either Jesus is, or He is not the mediator, and if He is not then we are lost. Either way, one must be true and the other false. It doesn’t matter whether we “can” believe this way or that. What matters is what is objectively true. I don’t care whether  you’re Christian or not. I don’t care whether you’re conservative or liberal… you’ve gotta agree that it matters whether or not there is one God, and whether or not Jesus is the Mediator between God and man. We do need to come together around what is really real, but we won’t, because truth takes things out of our control.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Right Road

          Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. (Psalm 139:7-12)                  For years before GPSes existed, I told people I wanted something in my car that would tell me, “Turn left in half a mile…turn left in a quarter mile…turn left in 500 feet… turn left in 100 feet…turn left now …You missed the turn, Dummy!” The problem isn’t necessarily that I get lost so much as I’m afraid I’ll get lost. I don’t want to have to spend my whole trip stressing over the next turn. I have the same problem with my spiritual journey.   
Post a Comment
Read more

Died as a Ransom

                 For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. (Hebrews 9:15)                  This is something I’d really rather not think about but here it is and it’s important. I was reading in Bold Love about seeking revenge.  The author wrote of seeking justice when a supposed Christian does something sinful, harmful, and/or horrific, like sexually abusing a daughter.  And the thought that came to mind was of God asking if Jesus’ death was sufficient payment to me for the sin committed against me.                I have no specific longing for revenge, vengeance, or justice. I’m sure there are some lurking somewhere in my heart, but this wasn’t a response to one. It was more a question of principle. Jesus’ death was sufficient payment for to God for our sins.  That’s the standard Sunday Schoo
1 comment
Read more

Out of the Depths

  Out of the depths I have cried to You, Lord. Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive to the sound of my pleadings.   If You, Lord, were to keep account of guilty deeds, Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, so that You may be revered. I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and I wait for His word. My soul waits in hope for the Lord more than the watchmen for the morning; Yes, more than the watchmen for the morning. Israel, wait for the Lord; for with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is abundant redemption. And He will redeem Israel from all his guilty deeds . (Psalm 130)             I like Mr. Peterson’s interpretation of the first line. “The bottom has fallen out of my life!” Of course, the problem for some of us is the fact that we’re drama queens, and/or we’re weak. Any time anything happens that disturbs our sense of mastery and control, the bottom has fallen out of our lives. If the past couple of days have taught me anything, they’ve t
1 comment
Read more