YES, JESUS DID CARE ABOUT CORRECT DOCTRINE, AND SO SHOULD WE [Excerpts]
At HuffPost’s Religion Blog, author Mick Mooney recently posted a popular article with the intriguing title “Jesus Didn’t Care About Correct Doctrine, and Neither Should We.” Mooney’s title hardly squares with the actual… well, Bible, but he does make a valid point: Christians need to befriend people in every social sphere.
Christians who constantly isolate themselves from non-Christians are—plain and simple—not following Jesus.
Yes, Jesus enjoyed people from all walks of life. He healed them, hung out with them, and—lest we forget—He also taught them. He knew His beliefs were 100% true. So, He invited everyone to join Him in His accurate view of God, man, sin, salvation, angels, the church, and last things—that’s doctrine. Doctrine has the unfortunate reputation of being dry, dusty, and divisive. But when Jesus said “The Scripture cannot be broken” in John:10:35If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;
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When Jesus stood before Pilate and summarized His life’s mission, He didn’t say He came to befriend everyone. He said: “To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice” (John:18:37Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.
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It’s tempting to take a few bits of information here and there that we like about Jesus and make Him into someone we want. But it’s far better and more authentic to embrace the record Jesus left about Himself in the New Testament.