“I will trust the God that saves me.”
I hear that all the time and wonder why so many Christians are still stuck at the same level of spirituality and have not grown.
They treat Jesus as a lifeguard that can pluck them out when they are drowning and save them. Which he can do, but that is not His desire. If it were, why did He even bother to teach us everything in the scriptures?
Jesus was a rabbi, a teacher who came to teach us how to swim so that we need not fear drowning. He wanted us to be like Him. That’s what communion is all about.
Which would you sooner have, a lifeguard that waits until you are drowning to pluck you out, or a lifeguard that teaches you how to swim so you can not only save yourself but help others to swim as well. People hold onto their wealth and possessions, carrying so much baggage that it’s laughable. When the water rises they will still hold onto them and ask Jesus to save them, and their possessions. Sorry folks it doesn’t work that way. Remember what Jesus said to the man with wealth who wanted to follow Him...
The treasure has been dangled in front of us, but everyone wants to wait for the treasure to come to us!
I’ve watched the Holy Spirit move into people and turn their lives upside down as though they were Job. You can’t reach for the Holy Spirit and hold onto sin as it will rip you apart.
Define what you mean.
Jesus was a rabbi, a teacher who came to teach us how to swim so that we need not fear drowning.
He was called Rabbi, but it was a secondary MOS. He was and is the Son of God. That is how His Word introduces Him. The Son has freed me, so I don't fear drowning. I know that the promises of God are true.
You can’t reach for the Holy Spirit and hold onto sin as it will rip you apart.
I couldn't reach for the Holy Spirit on my own, nor would I have wanted Him. God called me and by His grace through faith converted me when I was still an enemy of God. And yet those with the Holy Spirit do sin. Even with a heart for God and a mind on Him, flesh and the world will assail a Christian until death. That problem is the same Paul wrestled with and is the same in all Christians. Else there would be no need for repentance.
The notions of faith, belief, trust, rely, hope centered on Christ's redemptive work is Christianity, the rest is human vanity.
Jesus is the Savior who saves us from the penalty of our sins - eternal death/separation from God. His message was one of redemption as well as the way to live our remaining years on this earth in ways that bring glory and honor to Almighty God. The fatal error in your example is in saying that Jesus "teaches us to swim" as if we can save ourselves WITHOUT His sacrifice for our sins. We cannot, as only by the shedding of blood is there remission of sins. He saved us-- not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to His mercy.. (Titus 3:5) and But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: "BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS HAVE BEEN COVERED. (Romans 4:5-7)
Jesus is our lifeguard because that is the ONLY way we can be saved - we cannot save ourselves.