Jacob Ninan
When people are suffering from sickness, poverty or other kinds of problems, and they hear preaching about someone called Jesus who can alleviate their miseries, who wouldn't be interested in that offer? They will be willing to 'accept' Jesus as their Saviour and some of them may even be willing to join a church where such offers are being given. But that is not regeneration or true conversion and these people have not become Christians in reality. However, they are given to believe that they have become Christians, or if they came from a Christian background, that they have become 'believers'! This is one of the most serious but common misrepresentations going around. The offer is very attractive and relevant to their needy situation. There is deception because if they are given to believe that they have become Christians in this way, they also become immune to the preaching of the true Gospel. This is not the primary reason Jesus came for, and if people believe that this is the Jesus of the Bible, not only will they miss the real Gospel, but they are also likely to get disappointed sooner or later.
We see from the gospel books that Jesus did many miracles as a way of introducing Himself (Jn.2:11). These supernatural interventions drew many people to Him and even made the biblical scholars of the day sit up and take notice (Jn.3:2). They also manifested the glory of His life in terms of His compassion towards the needy (Matt.14:14). But when crowds were drawn to Him and began to follow Him, He started preaching the good news of salvation to them. He made a point of this focus by telling the crowds plainly not to follow Him for getting earthly benefits (Jn.6:26), but only if they wanted to receive eternal blessings from Him."Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life" (v.27).
Going back in time, let us recollect the fact that people and indeed all the world had got corrupted when our first ancestors, Adam and Eve, disobeyed God and chose to please themselves and make themselves great. This brought God's curse on the whole earth and everything on it. Along with this curse God also held out the promise that one day the 'Seed of the woman' would come and crush the serpent's head (Gen.3:15). When the right time came, this was what Jesus came to do. His mission was to set His people free from sin (Matt.1:21). When the source of all problems is addressed in this way, people will have a way of facing and dealing with all the consequences of sin.
But as in the scene in John 6, people are more interested in getting immediate redressal of their problems – sickness, poverty or anything else – rather than dealing with sin in their lives. Very few people actually want to be free from sinning. Even when sin is mentioned, many people would be happy to receive just forgiveness and avoid punishment in hell. Very few people are ready to admit in their heart that they are sinners in the eyes of God and they deserve the judgment of hell. So very few find the path of repentance (Matt.7:14). If we actually see ourselves as sinners in God's eyes, it will result in genuine repentance that includes sorrow over what we have done to God and an earnest desire not to sin against God again (2Cor.7:10,11). Without such a turning away from sin and clinging to the Saviour, there is not even forgiveness of sins.
As we can see, much of the so-called Gospel preaching nowadays is about inviting people to come to Jesus so that He can answer their prayers, no matter what their needs are. Prosperity, complete health and freedom from every problem are some of the highlights of the offer preachers make on behalf of Jesus. As someone said, if we want more people to come and listen to our preaching, we must offer what most people are looking for! Thank God, some people do get to experience miracles, in the name of Jesus. But many of them have not even heard that sin is the root cause of all problems and that Jesus actually came to set them free.
Hardly any preacher speaks of the judgment of God for sinners or the place God has prepared for those who choose to continue as such. Obviously, the 'modern civilised and enlightened' man has no tolerance for such 'threats' and anyone who speaks about them will not have many listeners. So, preachers prefer not to mention them, but major on the love of God and His grace! Again, who doesn't want to be loved and who doesn't want free gifts? Many are happy to hear the 'people friendly Gospel' that Jesus has done it all and they don't have to do anything but receive this free salvation (meaning only forgiveness of sin). So, there are many takers for this gospel presentation. But the proof that they have not heard the true Gospel or been born again is that there is no change towards godliness in their lives. However, the deception results in all these people wrongly assuming that they have been born again and that they are heading for heaven.
There is nothing wrong in praying for the different problems people come with and expecting God to do miracles for them, as long as the preaching of salvation from sin is not left out. Salvation is the main dish, and people must not be sent away with 'starters'! People who have only heard of miracles that Jesus can do for them will soon get disappointed when they notice that He does not do miracles all the time. If they are not putting away known sins from their lives and learning to walk with Jesus daily, they may stumble when their expectations are not met.
Jesus said, "Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life" (Jn.6:27); 'food' represents not just what we eat but everything else also that we need for our life on earth. Jesus was not saying literally that we should not work for earthly things at all, because we all need them and we cannot live here without them. Our heavenly Father knows that we have need of them (Matt.6:32). There is also nothing wrong in praying for our 'daily bread' (v.11). But the question is what takes priority in our heart. According to Jesus, this priority must belong to God's kingdom and His righteousness (getting worked out in our practical life) (v.33). Unbelievers obviously seek only these earthly things (v.32), but we ought to have our hearts set on the kingdom of God.
The apostle Paul reminds us, "Bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come" (1Tim.4:8). Things needed for the body and all the things needed for our life here are not the things that are going to be there in 'the life to come'. While we are still here, certainly we need them and we ought to work for them. But our eyes should be on what will matter in the life to come. That is what Jesus came to give us – freedom from sin and a transformation into godliness – what is usually called 'becoming like Jesus'.
Even concerning becoming like Jesus, deception takes our eyes towards what Jesus did during His time on earth – miracles – and makes us long for 'greater things than these'! What about becoming like Jesus who never yielded to sin, even though He was tempted in everything just as we are (Heb.4:15)? What about seeking to produce more of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives and becoming more like Jesus?
How about learning from Abraham, the father of faith, to live like foreigners on this earth because our true citizenship is in heaven? This is to have our eyes fixed on the 'life to come' even though right now we are living on this earth. This was a well-known concept among Christians in the times past, but now things have changed and the focus seems to be on this life. Paying the insurance premium for ensuring a place in heaven by 'accepting' Jesus and then living it up on the earth enjoying the 'good life' describes the current goal for many. But the sad truth is that such people are either not truly Christians at all, or even if they are, they are living in a way that will deny them the true riches. Let us make sure that our eyes are fixed in the right direction.
-- Editorial in the Light of Life magazine, January 2020
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