It is the ultimate question. Do we ever ask it? The things we emphasize, the way we act, the things that have come to define us– here we should ask it. To Independent Baptists or any group within Christianity it is the necessary, but overlooked, question. Would Jesus like it?

His name is thrown around carelessly, even among contradictory opinions. We are not at the loss here that some feel because He came and lived among us and we have four Gospel records telling us how He acted in a multitude of situations. Great caution is needed. Our dogmatism may be suspect in light of what Jesus has actually said and done. The most religious of that day, the Pharisees, often found themselves on the wrong side of the issue when the dust settled and God the Son went on record. Are many of us in our actions doing the same thing? Does our spirituality suffer the same fate when subjected to the only real test–would Jesus like it?

Let’s put the question to the areas where it is seldom asked:

1. Would Jesus Like Our Emphasis On Standards And Preferences?
Was it ever His emphasis? Read the Gospels again and in the area of personal sin He greatly favored discussing sins of the spirit. Pride, hatred, a lack of love– these ever were discussed by Him. That is not to say He didn’t discuss the sins of the flesh. To a lesser degree He did. But how often did He discuss standards and preferences? Read and read and read and you just won’t find it. (Before you ask, you will fare little better in the Epistles either).

As you read you will find that it was actually the Pharisees that pushed standards and preferences. They had different ones then. Hand washing rituals, Sabbath standards, rules for who you could eat with–they had the highest standards imaginable. And guess what? Jesus made it clear He did not like it. Why would we think it would be different today?

2. Would Jesus Like It When We Shun Others

Let’s be clear–He never practiced it! I challenge you to find one case where He did. Everyone else shunned a woman at a well who finally just gave up and went to draw water when no one else was there. Then Jesus came by. Before you argue that He only took witnessing opportunities, find me one case where He shunned an erring believer. Not only did He never shun Judas who He always knew was a devil, but He never shunned Peter after his denial and complete backsliding. Jesus sought him out and then found him naked. Did any of that stop Him? Did He refuse to eat with Him? Who was that actually prepared breakfast? I think you know.

3. Would Jesus Like It When We Take His Word Out Of Context To Prove Our Point?

Jesus would often retort with “you do err not knowing the Scriptures.” You see it was not that they didn’t quote Scripture. The Pharisees quoted plenty of it in defense of their positions. The problem was that Jesus did not like how they misused it. He showed that He insists that we take His Word only in the context He has given it.

4. Would Jesus Like It When We Sacrifice Soul Liberty On The Altar Of Following The Party Line?

Like we see too often in our day, the Pharisees held complete conformance to their convoluted positions as essential. Jesus didn’t even pass their test! Actually from a whole different perspective, the Sadducees did too. Jesus constantly ignored their cries. He openly ignored them too. Jesus was perfectly transparent. If it was wrong He did not do it. If it was not wrong, He never spent one moment worrying about how the Pharisees would take it. I imagine if Jesus had a Facebook account He would gladly have shared pictures of eating with ceremonial unwashed hands, or sharing a meal with an unrepentant person. (I do not make that statement to slam anyone, just to encourage you to be free).

We could say more, but I pray you get the point. Have we so lost our way that we have forgotten the only One whose opinion counts? So let’s start asking: Would Jesus like it?

Find all Articles in the series here.

How many times have you heard someone boast that they were battling for the truth? How many times have you and I seen ourselves as great contenders for the faith? Though I have seen it in several groups, it would be hard to deny that it is oft-repeated around the Independent Baptist world. Is it as true as we imagine?

No doubt when you proclaim the Gospel with caution and clarity you are defending a much-attacked truth. I can think of no place more than the Gospel where error is thrown like mud against the wall to see what will stick. If you are a Baptist, you may spend a great deal of time clarifying Baptist distinctives that you believe to be thoroughly Bible based. Even though Christians may disagree, for example, on something like Baptism, at least there are a multitude of Scriptures that can be brought to bear on the subject. Surely there would be some justification on making a stand on a subject prolifically mentioned in the Bible!

What about, however, when we go beyond the foundational truths of Scripture? Or what is often mentioned in the Bible? Have you ever, as I have, heard standards, preferences, or worship styles mentioned with equal fervor? Is this defending truth?

I maintain that it is not truth at all, but tradition. I won’t even claim that there isn’t some place for tradition, but that is not the place to divide the sheep and the goats, or cull out the heretics.

I fear that we have even lost our way. We hardly even recognize a biblical criteria to determine core truths. We make a clod of dirt and a mountain of equal value. I have long since lost count of all the articles I have seen on some subject held up as of paramount importance biblically, and even be filled with endless scripture citations, that was merely someone’s preference. The strange thing about these articles is that if you actually check the references,they are not speaking of the subject at hand in any material way. One of the favorites is to call the discussed subject a critical doctrine and quote II Timothy 3:16 on “profitable for doctrine” when it is actually about the Word of God, not the pet topic under discussion.

The saddest thing is that type of teaching is either: a) deceptive, or what I believe to be much more likely, b) naive. The writer does not even realize just how ludicrous that line of reasoning is!

But that is the problem with tradition– to force it you must use strong handed methods. You must be ugly to propagate it with those who no longer want it. What else could you do?

Truth is altogether different. It only needs proclaimed. Unlike tradition, it loses nothing if some let it go. Tradition dies if we can’t prop it up, but truth is ever marching on.

Strangely, we are the group most often lambasting tradition in others while we are blinded to it in ourselves. Vestal garments aren’t the only traditions out there!

Let’s, then, learn the difference between tradition and truth as clearly as we would distinguish the temporal and the eternal. If we don’t, we may waste our lives fighting for the wrong things.

Find all articles in the series here.