Episode 18 revealed unrealized spiritual resources that can guide and enhance our new revelation of Jesus. Episode 19 describes a powerful new material resource that will also prove most helpful.
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Transcript
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The Future of the Teachings of Jesus
8. Material Help in Our Mission
The Life and Teachings of Jesus (Ep. 19)
Secular domination of today’s world. Today’s world is dominated by a materialistic secularism that denies our individual freedom, blights spiritual experience, and results in social disintegration, totalitarianism, war, and destruction. To turn the world from this radical secularism and its evil fruit will require a great power and a mighty effort. However, we are not without resources to oppose and overcome this great secular menace.
Spiritual resources. Episode 18 detailed the spiritual resources at our disposal. We are inspired and energized by the fact that we have Jesus’ mighty Spirit of Truth within to guide, help, and comfort us. In fact, our effort to bring a new more powerful revelation of Jesus to the world is really a part of Jesus’ pre-existent plan to bring his teachings to each new generation of mortals through his indwelling Spirit of Truth. So, in Jesus’ personal spirit we have a powerful spiritual ally to rely on and follow. We also have the Father’s spirit presence and the Holy Spirit to guide and help us in this great endeavor.
Material resources-the Bible. We also have great material resources that we may rely on. Most basically we have the Bible and particularly the New Testament gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The Bible in both the Old and the New Testament has many inspired spiritual teachings that give lie to the secularist’s assumption that the material world is all that there is. The Bible is a helpful spiritual antidote to the materialistic teaching that since spiritual religion cannot be verified by material science it is unreal, that it is a superstitious illusion, and that there is no spiritual world above and transcendent to the material world.
The need for a restatement of Jesus’ life and teachings. However, the unfortunate fact is that the Bible and its teachings have been overshadowed in modern times by the Godless philosophies of materialism and secularism. The Bible is a great resource in our efforts to bring the new revelation of Jesus, but something more is needed. What is needed is a new and more powerful focus on the inspirational life and the actual teachings of Jesus. We need a restatement of Jesus’ life and teachings that clearly distinguishes his teachings from the teachings of all other Biblical leaders. These other teachings do have great value, especially those that harmonize with Jesus’ teachings, but they must be recognized as secondary to the perfect teachings of the Master. We must come to understand the very great difference that exists between the actual teachings of Jesus and the many teachings about Jesus. It is time that we recognize the pure teachings of Jesus as supreme over all of other religious teachings, doctrines, and creeds. This was a basic consideration that led me, in 1985, to undertake the writing of my book, The Life and Teachings of Jesus.
The Jefferson Bible. This book may be characterized as a 21st century Jefferson Bible. During his first term in the White House, Thomas Jefferson revealed his dream of separating the sayings which were indisputably the words of Jesus from what he considered to be extraneous matter. In a letter to John Adams in 1813 Jefferson described his production of what came to be known as The Jefferson Bible as follows: “We must reduce our volume to the simple Evangelists; select, even from them, the very words only of Jesus, pairing off the amphibologisms [misinterpretations] into which they have been led…. There will be found remaining the most sublime and benevolent code of morals which has ever been offered to men. I have performed this operation for my own use, by cutting verse by verse out of the printed book and arranging the matter which is evidently his, and which is as easily distinguishable as diamonds in a dunghill.” In a letter to Charles Thompson in 1816, Jefferson described his book in the following manner: “A more beautiful or precious morsel of ethics I have never seen; it is a document in proof that I am a real Christian, that is to say a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus.”
Origins of The Life and Teachings of Jesus. The following is a brief history of how I came to write The Life and Teachings of Jesus, excerpted from the introduction. “My idea for this project had its roots in an event that took place many years ago. My grandmother was dying; she was bedridden, but alert. I searched for good words, meaningful words, that I could read to her in an effort to help her be prepared to leave this life and enter into the next. I settled on a small book called The Sayings of Jesus. It contained only the teachings of Jesus; I knew that his words could be trusted and would be the best words I could find.
A gift for departing students and the world at large. A number of years later, after I had started a small private school, the idea came back to me of having a book of Jesus’ teachings, this time to give to departing students. I wanted something to leave with them that they could read and comprehend, and that would provide a trustworthy and helpful guide for living. It was then that I really decided to find such a book, or perhaps produce one myself. Since undertaking work on this project, the hope has grown in me that this restatement of Jesus’ life and teachings would also prove helpful and uplifting to many others. I believe that, of all human knowledge, the most valuable is to know the life and teachings of Jesus. Therefore, I offer this restatement in the hope that it will contribute to the expansion of the knowledge of his inspirational life and incomparable teachings.”
Format of The Life and Teachings of Jesus. This book is a restatement of the life and teachings of Jesus as recorded in the New Testament gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. It distills from the Scriptures only those Bible verses that truly portray the life and teachings of Jesus. It collects in one volume all of the genuine teachings of Jesus and weaves them together into one coherent narrative. Each major event of his life is treated individually and then is arranged in chronological order. The result is 180 short chapters with each chapter identifying and discussing one particular event or aspect of Jesus’ life. Some examples of these individual chapters are, “The Birth of Jesus,” “The Sermon on the Mount,” and “Feeding the Five Thousand.”
Jesus’ life story. Since these chapters are arranged in the order in which they occurred in Jesus’ life this book presents the story of Jesus as it actually unfolded from birth through death and resurrection. This story format provides a fresh new vision of Jesus’ life on earth. And by gathering Jesus’ teachings in one book and presenting them in the order and context in which they appeared the reader will gain a deeper and fuller understanding of Jesus’ original gospel of the kingdom.
Features of The Life and Teachings of Jesus. Besides isolating and collecting all of Jesus’ true teachings in one volume and organizing them in chronological order, this book has many other useful features. It contains many helpful and explanatory footnotes that clarify both Jesus’ teachings and the events of his life. A complete index of Jesus’ words allows the reader to quickly find what he said about any particular topic. Likewise, a complete listing of every Biblical verse used allows the reader to easily locate any particular verse quoted in the book. The Life and Teachings of Jesus also provides a listing and page reference for each of Jesus’ parables, miracles, and those teachings that portray his philosophy of living. The book is very easy to read and understand and is printed in large 12-point type. The Life and Teachings of Jesus is leather bound with gold stamping and makes a thoughtful and attractive gift.
Past successes. I do believe that this restatement of the gospels can prove quite helpful to us in our efforts to bring the new revelation of Jesus to our world. It has been used to successfully teach Sunday school and in other church related activities. It has served as a graduation gift at a seminary in Texas and has been widely used for over a decade by a group of some 100 Christian pastors in India. It has been translated into their native language of Telegu and has received wide distribution.
Using The Life and Teachings of Jesus to aid our new revelation. This book is always well received as a thoughtful gift, thereby providing an acceptable and trustworthy revelation of Jesus that we can leave with others for guidance, comfort, and inspiration. It reinforces our new revelation of Jesus and is an easy way to transmit the true teachings of Jesus, here and now.
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