50. CUNNINGLY DEVISED FABLES 2 Peter 1:16-17 “For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Those who do not understand Christianity seem to think that we are following a great big fable. They realize that Jesus was an actual historical figure and that He might have been a great religious person, but to say that He was God is nothing more than a figment of someone’s fertile mind. They seem to think that the Old Testament accounts of things such as Jonah being swallowed by a large fish and in three days he was spit up onto dry land still alive is one of these fertile figments of someone’s over active mind. Even though I doubt their sincerity, these individuals are the ones who are deceived. Even though there are many religions out there which are real figments of someone’s over active mind, Christianity is not one of them. If Christianity is, then there was a great multitude of men and women who have these minds. They saw Jesus, touched Him and witnessed the many miracles He performed during the three and a half years of His earthly ministry. Over and over again, Jesus proved to the world who He was and yet He was still rejected as the long awaited Messiah of the Jewish people. Of course, He was rejected because the prophet Isaiah said He would be (Isaiah 53:3). There were still many who did not reject Him as to who He said He was, God come in the flesh, seeking that which was lost, the human soul. As our text says, “we have not followed cunningly devised fables” because there are too many historical documents that say other wise. These historical documents are not only found in the Bible but through many secular writers also, such as Josephus, the great Jewish Historian. These are to be found in the great library of ancient documents found in Jerusalem and kept by the Jewish people themselves. The Bible, God’s Word, has been preserved as He said it would be and will be in the future until all is fulfilled. We have 66 books: 27 in the New Testament and 49 in the Old Testament which speak of basically one thing, Jesus Christ. The Old Testament contains a wealth of information about Jesus and all would be able to see it if they would just open their minds to the Holy Spirit and let Him be their guide. Unfortunately there are many Christian men and women who are deceived into believing that the Old Testament has nothing which pertains to Jesus and they refuse to read it or study it. It is their loss but they are missing a great portion of information about Jesus. We do not follow fables but the one who came and did mighty miracles so much so that if they were written down it would take a very large library to hold them. The Apostle John said: “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen” (John 21:25). We do not follow these “cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”; power that only Jesus could have done. He raised Lazarus from the dead even after four days in the tomb. Jesus delayed His going to Lazarus because He wanted to show the people what God could do in their lives if they would only let Him. If He would not have delayed the world would have laughed it off as just another healing but nothing more than that. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Lazarus lay there in that tomb for four days and as Scriptures tell us, he “stinketh” because of decay. We declare Jesus to a dying world and make known of His power, the power of the Creator. All Christians should be witnesses of Jesus Christ. Even though we today do not see Him and have never seen Him, our faith in what Scriptures tell us about Him is still as powerful as those who saw Him personally, handled Him and even kissed His cheeks. That multitude of witnesses, some 500 at one time, saw Him raised from the dead. Jesus rose from the dead and returned to the Father just as He will return again. The next time the entire world will see Jesus retuning. We have the technology now to make sure that it happens. There were only a few who saw Him taken up into the clouds but the entire world will see Him return the same way, amen. We might not have seen Him or touched Him but we do have His Word. We have it in our Bibles and we also have it written in our hearts. I might not be able to explain some things but I do have faith that they did happen just as our Scriptures said they happened. The flood of Noah is one of those things I cannot fully explain but it happened. The evidence is over whelming to say it did happen. There are places in the world that are of great height but yet there is found at the tops of these mountains fossils. How are they able to speak about His power? We read: “but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” They are able to speak of His power because they were eyewitnesses to it. For some, even though they see it with their own eyes, are hard pressed to believe what they saw, but not these people. Our courts of today accept eyewitnesses over all the evidence that they might be able to collect. If there is more than one eyewitness then the evidence can not be refuted. There was a great multitude of people who saw Jesus after His death because of His resurrection from the dead and were these eyewitnesses. And yet there are still skeptics; why? The main reason is because they do not want to be controlled and some feel that if they believe in Christ they will be controlled. Probably because they do not want to say that they are sinners. “Hey I am just as good as the next person.” “For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (vs. 17). Jesus, at His baptism, was spoken of by the Father and there were eyewitnesses of that. They heard God speak from heaven, saying: “This is my beloved Sin, in whom I am well pleased.” What a great thing to be eyewitness of. John was baptizing in the Jordan and I can imagine that there was a great multitude of people there to be baptized by John the Baptist. They heard God speak those words about His Son, Jesus Christ. I sometimes wonder why people still reject Him even after all the evidence in regards to who He is. I cannot understand it. I know, I did not outright reject Christ all those 38 years before my salvation but I was still guilty of being a sinner who needed salvation. Such is the rest of the worlds population, for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). And because of that sin, “the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). How can man reject Jesus when the evidence is so overwhelming as to who He is and what He can do? All of mankind are sinners and if we were honest with ourselves we would say it. God will judge the world of their sin. Do not be caught and judged because of your sins. If you are honest, you would say, yes I lied to my Mom and Dad. Or you will say, yes I stole something when I was a youngster. You know something; that makes you a sinner. “If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” (1 John 1:10). We might think that we have kept all the Ten Commandments so I am good enough to get into heaven, but we also read: “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point , he is guilty of all” (James 2:10). There are not just Ten Commandments but rather there are six hundred and thirteen. And if we break one of those 613, we are guilty of all. If we have stolen anything or lied (even the smallest of lies, called white lies) we are sinners and are guilty of murder also. What do you do about your sins? Give them to God because He died for that very reason; to take the sins of the world upon Himself. We cannot make our payment for sin because we are sinners. Jesus did not sin. He is the only one capable of dying for sinners. You and I are sinners. We do not follow cunningly devised fables but rather Jesus Christ, God come in the flesh. (by Dr. Terry Cleaveland: Book #2 - Understanding Gods Word - One Day at a Time)
Posted on: Tue, 02 Dec 2014 13:42:19 +0000
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