Jesus Causes Church Split. – John 6:60-71
The split happened because of what Jesus said.
Some Left
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Some think it is too hard to accept. 60
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Some don’t like authority.
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Some like the way they are living more than the way Jesus wants them to live.
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All have not been give Life by the Spirit. 63 They don’t believe. 64
Some Stayed 68
1. They stayed because they really believed that only Jesus has the words of eternal life.
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Those who stay really believe that there is no other option and they don’t want any other option.
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When things get hard they stay. When Jesus says things that are difficult they stay.
2. They stayed because they really know Jesus.
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They know the Jesus who called them.
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They know the One who loves them more than anyone else.
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They know Him, so when he says, “come.” They come. When He says, “go.” They go. When He says “don’t.” They don’t. When He says, “do.” They do. When it comes to Jesus, their motto is “Obey first, ask questions later.”
Jesus knows the difference between those who truly believe and those who only pretend to believe. V. 64
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A believer is a follower.
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A believer is a stayer.
- Those who leave are not truly followers. 1 John 2:19
What was the purpose for Jesus teaching?
1. To proclaim the truth
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Truth is more important than unity or a big following.
2. To cause a split.
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There is no room in Christ’s church for those who do not believe Him.
What if Jesus would NOT have caused the split?
1. It would have given many a false assurance.
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Believing we are saved when we are not is like a man on LSD hallucinating and thinks he can fly, so he jumps off a building and dies. False assurance kills any attempt at true spiritual life.
2. New followers would have a false understanding of what it means to be a disciple.
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New followers might look at the current followers and their lack of belief and think that to be a true followers is to be a fence rider like the other followers.
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When I go to the funeral of some one I know did not live the Christian life, and the minister says “He is in heaven today. He was a member of I-never-attend Baptist Church,” it makes me vomit. It is sickening. Living that way does not glorify God. Telling people he/she is in heaven does not glorify God. It tells everybody at the funeral who is not saved that this is what it takes to go to heaven. It says live like this guy! And most of them already do. So the minister just told the crowd that everybody is okay. Keep living like you’re living. Go on keep sinning it will not keep you from going to heaven. Go on keep not following Jesus, that does not matter.
2 Things Jesus Implies by what he said…
1. We cannot interpret his words anyway you want too.
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If Jesus would have believed this he would have said, “Oh no don’t get upset. Just because I believe that doesn’t mean you have too.”
2. We must take serious what he says.
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If Jesus would have believed people were more important than his message. He would have said, “Oh no don’t get upset. You are taking me way too seriously. It was a joke. My goal here it to get as many people on board as possible and I would not want to offend you.”
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