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Home » Sage Words » Q: Are You Looking for a Loophole?

Q: Are You Looking for a Loophole?

By Paula Wiseman

washing handsWhy do you ask Me [My doctrine]?  John 18:21

Annas was searching for evidence of a hidden agenda, a secret motive, hypocrisy that was ripe for exposure. Jesus had none of those things. He taught with complete integrity. His public and private discourses were the same. He neither pulled punches with the outcasts of society nor with the pious religious establishment. His message was consistent, confrontational and convicting. And He lived what He taught. Even when He was hungry, tired, stressed or alone.

Like Annas, we hate that.

Too good to be TRUE
We dig for weasel words that allow us to self-justify. We hope for skeletons that indulge our self-righteousness. We want inconsistency that lets us off the hook. We want to be as good as Jesus, without having to "be" as good as Jesus.

Too GOOD to be true 
Our righteousness, though, is nothing to brag about. Isaiah (64:6) says it's 'filthy rags'. That's Hebrew for used tampons. Paul (Phil. 3:8) calls all his achievements 'refuse'. That's Greek for manure (or worse). 

Too good BUT true too
Jesus offers a trade. His righteous for ours. But only if we see our righteousness the way He does. That was His doctrine. Stop trying to be good enough. You can't. Stop weaseling, indulging, justifying.

Jesus doctrine – It is GOOD and it is TRUE

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Apostle Paul, Isaiah, John, Philippians, Questions series

Comments

  1. Lauren says

    May 28, 2010 at 9:09 pm

    I completely understand this! I sometimes look at novels or movies and if they have cheezy endings, you hate it. You want…something to go wrong or something to never be the same (not the good same, either) again. So, it's not hard to wonder…well, He's just TOO perfect, TOO trusting, and TOO righteous. And, all in all, we need someone like hat sometimes. We need someone we can fall back on and it's everything we need. Thank you for the post!

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