Examining "A More Christlike Word"
by Brad Jersak
Day 93
“For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.” (Paul’s concern from 2 Corinthians 11:4)
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The False Filter |
The Biblical Filter |
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The word OR the Word |
The Word THROUGH the word |
The
passage I came to was the fourth “woe” Jesus pronounced on the scribes and
Pharisees for their hypocrisy:
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel! (Matthew 23:23-24)
After calling these men “blind guides”,
“blind fools”, and “blind men”, Jesus adds another woe and again affirms that
they are “blind guides” leading people astray. This means that it is possible
to have teachers successfully leading others in appearances, even selling books
about what they believe, but being blind and leading their followers away from
the truth.
A “woe” can either express grief or
judgment. Grief would be expressed as “woe is me” while judgment “woe is you”.
Clearly Jesus is pronouncing judgment on these men and calling them out on
their hypocrisy.
The issue is not that they were so detailed
about what they tithed, but that they “neglected the weightier matters of the
law”. They neglected things far more important than tithing herbs and spices.
So, what are these weightier issues? They are “justice”, “mercy”, and
“faithfulness”.
Before I elaborate, I want to show how this
appears to rhyme with a familiar verse from the Hebrew Scriptures:
He has told you, O man, what is good;
and
what does the LORD require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and
to walk humbly with your God?
(Micah 6:8)
and what does the LORD require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
(Micah 6:8)
The reference to what is good and what
God requires is parallel to Jesus saying “these you ought to have done, without
neglecting the others”. In other words, there are things people ought to have
done no matter which covenant they were under.
However, the parallels continue with the
three words God gave Micah to declare to the people. His “justice”, “kindness”,
and “humbly” rhyme with Jesus’ “justice”, “mercy”, and “faithfulness”.
Now why did this hit me with such
encouragement?
Answer: because in both places God and Jesus
paired “justice” with “mercy/kindness”.
Why is that so significant?
Answer: because all through the Scriptures
God has the expectation of his people being just, which means doing the right
thing by everyone. No favoritism to friends or family because that isn’t just.
No favoring the rich over the poor because that isn’t just. No sympathizing
with the poor over the rich because that isn’t just. The issue with justice is
always holding to that is right in God’s eyes. That always means standing with
those who are in the right on an issue, and carrying out God’s judgment on those
who are in the wrong.
I have used this real-life illustration
before, but we see justice, kindness/mercy, and faithfulness walking humbly
with God in the overlapping historical event of the destruction of Jericho.
First, we see God’s kindness and mercy towards Rahab because she renounced the
gods of the Canaanites and declared her faith in Yahweh, the God of Israel.
Second, we see God’s justice against Achan for his sin of disobeying God
regarding the plunder, coveting for himself what God clearly declared to be his
alone, deceiving everyone about what he had done to the defeat of the people in
their next battle, and allowing his whole family to be judged with him without
urging them to repent of their corporate sin like Rahab had done.
My point is that justice and mercy are
always seen together. Walking humbly and faithfully with God requires upholding
both justice and mercy. If your brother sins, go to him in justice and confront
him with his sin. If he listens to you show him mercy because you have gained
your brother. If he doesn’t listen to you, show him justice and bring witnesses
to confirm his sin. If he doesn’t listen to the witnesses, show justice and
take it to the church. If he doesn’t listen to the church, show justice and treat
him like an unbeliever (which would mean he would become an outsider to the
church and everyone would call him to the gospel the same as they witnessed to
anyone else).
We see this in Corinth when Paul heard of a
horrible sin that was being tolerated in the church so he called for justice
against the man to the point of “purge the evil person from among you.” Paul
was demonstrating what Jesus had already taught. But in Paul’s second letter,
he called for the church “to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed
by excessive sorrow. So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him.” Paul
explained that “godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation
without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death” (II Corinthians 7:10). If
the man was repenting, it was because he had come to feel godly grief over what
he had done. But this was because the church joined Paul in relating to the sin
with justice and he was confronted with the horror of what he was doing. But as
soon as there was repentance, Paul urged them to show mercy quickly, “so that
we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs”
(2:11).
Throughout the whole Bible, not showing
justice in relation to unrepentant sin is being outwitted by Satan, and so is
not showing mercy when someone repents. Micah explained what Yahweh requires of
us in justice, kindness, and walking humbly with God, and Jesus rhymed this
with his justice, mercy, and faithfulness. It is a triune package-deal just as
God is triune!
How does this confront BJ for false
teaching?
Answer: because BJ wants us to think that
“mercy trumps judgment”. He wants us to think that any references to judgment,
or justice “against” people, is metaphorical, or allegorical, or figurative, or
rhetorical. In BJ’s world of “Did God actually say…?”, everything must be
mercy, and mercy alone.
But here it is Yahweh telling us he requires
the good of doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with our God,
while Jesus says that “justice and mercy and faithfulness” were weightier
matters of the law than tithing. And that tells us that justice and kindness,
or justice and mercy, MUST be kept together. It would be just as wrong to
emphasize justice without mercy as to do the BJ thing and emphasize mercy
without justice.
I know that none of us are denying how
important it is to be kind and merciful. None of us deny that loving one
another is Jesus’ new commandment, or that we are to love, pray for, bless, and
do good to our enemies.
But BJ is telling us to treat all issues of
justice as metaphorical, or non-literal, when Yahweh and Jesus tell us that
justice is just as “weightier” as is mercy or kindness. And that means that BJ
is contradicting God the Father and God the Son. And that should mean to people
that we all vote in agreement that Brad Jersak is a false teacher as Jesus and
the apostles described.
Okay, so, before I got back to finalizing
BJ’s chapter, I just came up from another exercise ordeal with two very strong
points from Scripture.
Samson and those WOMEN!
First, I heard another 14ish chapters
of Judges, including Gideon and Samson. As I cringed with the descriptions of
Samson’s stupidity with women (yes, STUPIDITY! Of the somewhat hormonal kind!),
I realized that another pattern was standing out: the effect of pagan women on
God’s boys.
For context, BJ has wept big tears around
his claim that the Yahweh of the Hebrew Scriptures is a horrible person for
putting to death women and children in judging the criminal nations. Yes, the
judging side of justice is cringe-worthy. It is grievous that people defy the
living God and die for doing so. It is horrible what happens when God withdraws
his shepherdly hand from a sinful people and lets the other nations do as they
please. Painful to watch.
However, the question of why God would judge
a whole people group without excusing women and children is answered by two
things. One, that God knows the hearts of every person and will not condemn to
death a repentant person. If he condemns a people group to death, they are all
guilty of evil. Two, that God knows what those women and children will do to his
people if they are allowed to live. As he cannot allow unredeemed sinners to
enter the new heavens and new earth because they would be bringing sin with
them, he could not allow sinful women and children (who were the second and
third generations of the people who hated Yahweh) to infiltrate the ranks of
his people.
And what examples do we have of what happens
when there is favoritism to unrepentant women and children? Well, just ask Samson. He kept “falling in love” with women from among the enemies of Israel,
and those women kept using their position among God’s people to help their
enemies do them harm. What about Solomon? He also had a hormonal problem
towards foreign women and his power to have as many as he wanted (as king) set
him up to turn the whole nation to the gods of these women.
I’m not saying there is anything wrong with
a Christian man and a Christian woman from different ethnic groups marrying.
I’m talking about Israel and his enemies, and how women and children of these
enemies were still enemies. Like it or not, when Israel remained pure as God
told them to be, they were blessed. When they flirted with enemy women, down
they went. The patterns are pretty glaring.
Restating the Obviously Literal
There were lots of reinforcements of how
God’s mercy flowed towards his people when they walked with him, and how his
judgment fell upon them when they turned to idols. But this pattern suddenly
stood out in a way that almost made me laugh.
I was listening to the detailed account of
how Samson had asked God to let him have one last hurrah against the
Philistines by having his strength back just so he could topple their palace on
all the guests at a banquet. We then read, “And Samson grasped the two middle
pillars on which the house rested, and he leaned his weight against them, his
right hand on the one and his left hand on the other” (Judges 16:29).
What made me chuckle was the sudden
realization that I had heard this same pattern many times. It wasn’t enough to
give us the gist of the picture; it had to be doubly-detailed. I mean, think
about it. If we read that “Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the
house rested,” wouldn’t we picture him grasping one pillar with his left hand
and the other with his right hand? But there it is in writing that “his right
hand” was “on the one and his left hand on the other.”
But that’s the kind of details I’ve been
hearing all the way through my journey in hearing God’s word. So many times I
thought to myself that it was almost redundant for God to keep saying things
twice. First one way, then another (there, I just did it myself!).
And then I got it. God knew about Brad
Jersak and the BJs. He knew people would declare his breathed-out words to be
allegorical. He knew that people would demonize his justice and falsely accuse
him of sinful violence against poor innocents.
So what did he do? He kept repeating himself
in double-doses of details to defy deceptive deceivers with double-duty
descriptions of divine deliberation. You know, rhetorical devices to make sure
everyone knew he said what he meant and meant what he said! And all so sincere
seekers could read the Scriptures for themselves and see that the BJs are
acting like authorities over the words of God and at least the ”few” would have
nothing to do with it.
Well, except to “Take no part in the
unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them” (Ephesians 5:11).
BJ’s Imaginary Wrath
Here’s
my big complaint about how easily false teachers get a following, and my
warning to anyone who is this far through the book and still believes BJ has
made his point. Let me show how absolutely deceptive he is.
BJ’s
Claim: “The parable of the prodigal son(s) is the clearest picture we have of
what wrath is, how it works, what causes it, and how it is and isn’t ‘God’s’”
(p. 274).
Now,
what’s wrong with this picture?
Answer: Wrath is… NEVER MENTIONED in the parable!!!
In my
previous day’s Journal Journey, when we examined the eight Scriptures BJ shared
that actually did speak of wrath, we discovered that the “wrath of God” means
God’s wrath the same as the “love of God” means God’s love. If it is “of God”
it absolutely does mean that it belongs to him.
So
here we have Brad Jersak declaring that what we find in the parable of the
prodigal son is “the clearest picture” of the “wrath of God” and yet there is no
mention of wrath in ANY of the three parables Jesus taught. NONE of them are
making a point about God’s wrath. All three of them are making a point to the
religious elite about how they should understand Jesus’ relationship to the way
“the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him” (Luke 15:1).
All three of the parables picture God receiving sinners who repent.
Yes,
this ONLY has reference to God receiving sinners who REPENT. It has NO
reference to God responding to sinners who do not repent.
How do I know?
1. Finding the lost sheep: “Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance” (Luke 15:7).
2. Finding the lost coin: “Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (15:10).
3. Finding the lost son: “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate” (15:22-24), and, “It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found’” (vs 32).
It
almost feels vile to me for a man to claim this parable of the prodigal son illustrates God’s
wrath when his wrath is not mentioned! It has nothing to do with the picture.
Sinners are repenting and God is rejoicing over them. It has nothing to do with
the sinners who are not repenting one little bit. And THAT is what I find so
offensive about such blatant false teachings that a guy can say the Emperor is
wearing new clothes when everyone sees that he is wearing NOTHING AT ALL!!!
Increasing the wrathful ante
To show how evil it is that Brad Jersak would claim that the wrath of God is illustrated in the parable of the prodigal son when it isn’t even mentioned or pictured or described one little bit, let me show you the parables where Jesus DOES describe God’s wrath against sin. I am only including the quotes that relate to Jesus speaking of the wrath of God to show what he said.
In the parable of the net (Matthew 13:47-50), Jesus first spoke of the allegory that “When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad” followed by the explanation, “So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” It is easy to see which part is the parable, and which part is Jesus applying it to the real-life judgment to come.
In the parable of the unmerciful servant (Matthew 18:23-35), when the master discovered the wickedness, “And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt” followed by the real-life application, “So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.” We get the allegorical part in the parable, but Jesus then makes it real-life by telling people what his real “my heavenly Father” will do to people who are as unmerciful as portrayed in the story.
In the parable of the wicked tenants (Matthew 21:33-44), Jesus responded by asking the religious elite, “When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” To which they replied, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.” Here Jesus let the listeners describe the allegorical conclusion to the allegory. However, he then explained the real-life application that applied to them, “Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”
In the parable of the wedding feast (Matthew 22:1-14), “The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.” And when “the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment… the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.’” That is what it looks like for Jesus to express the wrath of God in an allegory. It looks like all the Scriptures describing “the wrath of God” in real life.
In the parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1-13), while the foolish virgins were going to buy oil, “the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’” Contrary to the open-door-policy of BJ’s “another Jesus”, the true Lord Jesus Christ illustrates what will happen at the end of the age when people are locked out of eternal life because Jesus did not know them.
In the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30), the master’s response to the wicked servant was “And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’” Since allegory in the Bible is always an illustration of real life, this is illustrating something about real life equally judged and condemned as in the story.
In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31), “The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.” Clearly this is an allegorical picture of what the Bible describes as real life (or death) in many places.
The fact that Jesus includes these references to judgment and wrath, showing illustrations that correspond to the didactic teaching about hell and the coming day of wrath, not only do we have a Yahweh who is different from BJ's "another Jesus", but even the Christ of the Scriptures isn't Christlike enough for the BJs. But we cannot escape that Jesus indeed does speak of the wrath of God in both allegorical and real-life terms, and that the parable of the prodigal son is one of the parables that does not mention it.
Because I need to end here without completing my completion of the last chapter, I want to drive home my conclusion that for a man to claim the parable of the prodigal son is an illustration of God’s wrath when there is nothing even mentioned in that regard, while the author completely ignores all the parables where Jesus did describe and illustrate the wrath of God in the coming judgment, is as evil and wicked as Jesus and the apostles warned about the false teachers all around us.
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Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8
Email: in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the
English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text
Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of
Good News Publishers.)
A More Christlike Word © 2021 by Bradley Jersak Whitaker House 1030 Hunt
Valley Circle • New Kensington, PA 15068 www.whitakerhouse.com
Jersak, Bradley. A More Christlike Word: Reading Scripture the
Emmaus Way. Whitaker House. Kindle Edition.
Definitions from the Bible Sense Lexicon (BSL) in Logos Bible
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