It is perfectly fine to believe Jesus lived, died and rose from the grave; what isn’t right, is to consider
him [and the words ascribed to him] equal in importance to the Almighty God of Israel
Our beloved brothers and sisters: in the eyes of the God of Israel, it is perfectly fine to believe that Jesus
lived, died, and rose from the dead. In addition, it is also fine to embrace Jesus summary of God’s Law, as
well as what he perceived to be the path to everlasting life-- doing good, loving God with all our hearts, and
loving our fellow creatures as ourselves.
As is written: «Therefore, WHATEVER YOU WANT OTHERS TO DO FOR YOU, DO ALSO THE SAME
FOR THEM, FOR THIS IS THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS… “Teacher, WHAT MUST I DO TO
INHERIT ETERNAL LIFE?”. “What is written in the Law?” he asked him. “How do you read it?” He
answered, “LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, WITH
ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND”, AND “YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF”.
“You’ve answered correctly,” he told him. “DO THIS AND YOU WILL LIVE [FOREVERMORE]”»-
Matthew 7:12, & Luke 10:25-28.
What isn't right, is for a believer to think that the finite man named Jesus of Nazareth (peace and blessings be
upon him) is the infinite God of Israel; to think that Jesus isn't just a powerful messenger of God (“And the
multitudes said, This is THE PROPHET, JESUS, FROM NAZARETH of Galilee”- Matthew 21:11), but
rather God himself.
Why would it be wrong? Because God is spirit (“GOD IS A SPIRIT...”- John 4:24), while Jesus is flesh and
bones (“FOR A SPIRIT HATH NOT FLESH AND BONES, AS YE BEHOLD ME HAVING”- Luke 24:39).
In addition, God is perfectly good (“THE LORD IS GOOD… FOR THE LORD IS GOOD, and his faithful
love endures forever… BE PERFECT, THEREFORE, AS YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER IS PERFECT”-
Nahum 1:7, Psalm 110:5, & Matthew 5:48); while Jesus isn’t perfectly good (“WHY DO YOU CALL ME
GOOD?” Jesus asked him. “NO ONE IS GOOD EXCEPT GOD ALONE”- Luke 18:19).
Besides, Jesus himself taught that we cannot serve two master (“NO ONE CAN SERVE TWO MASTERS,
since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other”- Matthew
6:24).
In other words, you cannot obey the Jesus who said you must eat his flesh and blood (“Truly I tell you,
UNLESS YOU EAT THE FLESH OF THE SON OF MAN AND DRINK HIS BLOOD, YOU DO NOT
HAVE LIFE IN YOURSELVES”- John 6:53), and at the same time obey the God who forbids you from
eating flesh and blood (“BUT DON’T EAT THE BLOOD, SINCE THE BLOOD IS THE LIFE, AND YOU
MUST NOT EAT THE LIFE WITH THE MEAT (FLESH)”- Deut. 12:23).
Likewise, we cannot obey the Jesus who said that “the Law ended with John the Baptist” (“THE LAW AND
THE PROPHETS WERE UNTIL JOHN”- Luke 16:16), and at the same time obey the God who said that we
should never cease to think [and live] according to the Law (“THIS BOOK OF THE LAW MUST NOT
DEPART FROM YOUR MOUTH; you are to meditate on it day and night so that you may CAREFULLY
OBSERVE EVERYTHING WRITTEN IN IT”- Joshua 1:8).
Finally, Jesus himself heard his disciples openly referring to him merely as a powerful prophet; yet he didn’t
rebuke them for not viewing him as the Almighty God (“The things concerning JESUS OF NAZARETH,
WHO WAS A PROPHET POWERFUL IN ACTION AND SPEECH before God and all the people”- Luke
24:19).
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