Jesus Is the Way: Out of Confusion

"Wherever we find the Word of God surely preached and heard, and the sacraments administered according to the institution of Christ, there, it is not to be doubted, is a church of God."   - John Calvin

First, welcome back! When we last met we learned about the importance of not only having a relationship with God, but maintaining it. As with any positive relationship, one must continually work on it.

At the same time, there appears to be a certain amount of confusion affecting those who have a desire to follow Jesus Christ. What kind of confusion..? One could probably make a case for any number of reasons as to what this may be.

For the sake of our discussion here, I chose to focus on one issue that covers a broad swath, or path, across the range of current dilemmas in and around religion in general, that being: confusion.

People are leaving churches for a number of different reasons. It can be hard to focus solely on God when being overwhelmed by other things, including: conflicting doctrines, political differences, church abuses, outdated rules, logistics, etc.

But you can rest assured that Jesus certainly does not accept this. One only has to turn to Matthew 12:25 to see how he felt about harmful things causing division in the church. Confusion was never part of his plan for us.

Rather, Jesus prayed for unity and love in the church (John 17:20-21). It is "Christian love" that separates us from non-believers who cannot perceive, or feel the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:14). 

All they can see and hear are the actions and tirades of self-professed believers (Matthew 5:13–16). None of this serves as a good introduction to faith in Christ. It's no wonder that so many are turning from the church at this time.

I mentioned above that on no account does Jesus approve of any of this uncertainty. If anything, He promised to "build" his church, not tear it down (Matthew 16:18). 

Confusion means disorder, instability, and disturbance; none of which portrays God. Yet, despite all of the current upheaval, created both by man and Satan, I still believe the church will hold firm.

You can also trust that, even today, an obedient and faithful believer in Christ is personally welcomed into His church (Acts 2:47). And that, it is there that we can truly enjoy the unity of which Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:4-6.

As we close, "confusion" doesn't have to mean "desertion."  It is only by following Jesus as the way out of religious confusion will we re-discover His church, and reap, without reservation, the love and unity He spoke about. 

To date, we've learned that Jesus is the way to: a better life, the forgiveness of sins, God, and out of religious confusion. Next time, we will add one final topic to our studies: Eternal Life. I do hope you can join me then!

Scripture: Acts 5:29; Romans 3:4;  Psalm 133:1; Hebrews 10:25; 1 John 1:7

Prayer: "And I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ."  - Philemon 1:6  (ESV)

May God bless you!

Brandi