What does it mean to keep Jesus at the center of faith?
A couple of weeks ago I made an offhand comment in a podcast. I don’t even remember what podcast episode it was now, but in that episode, I said that Jesus is the Word of God; Jesus is the ultimate word, and we interpret Scripture through Jesus.
Since that comment, I have had so many social media messages and emails from people who do not have a clue what I was talking about, and worried that I was being heretical by not centering Scripture over Jesus. This response from so many people was surprising to me because this is so fundamental to Christianity, to our whole belief system, and so this is crucial.
I talked about this in the opening to yesterday’s podcast (episode 250), but I’d like to write it out in post form, too, so people can easily share it.
What Does The Bible Say About The Word of God?
The book of John opens by saying that, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” And the Word is Jesus. John also quotes Jesus saying that whoever has seen Him has seen the Father.
In the book Colossians we also read:
The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church;he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross
So Jesus teaches us what God is like, because Jesus is part of the Godhead; he is God with skin on.
That means that everything that we read in Scripture about God has to line up with the personhood of Jesus. If it doesn’t align, that is a sign that we are interpreting Scripture wrong, or we’re not understanding the original purpose of that Scripture. Jesus reveals God’s character, and so Jesus needs to be the ultimate arbiter of everything.
If your interpretation of a passage, then, entails God doing something or wanting something that Jesus would never do or want, then that is a sign that you are interpreting that passage wrong.
The Words Of Jesus Are Special And Jesus Should Be Centred
We interpret Scripture through Jesus, not the other way around.
I’m old enough to remember when the vast majority of Bibles were red letter editions. The words of Jesus were were printed in red, not black, because that was a signal that we were supposed to read those words and think, “Hey, these words are special. These words are set apart from the rest of Scripture because they’re actually from Jesus.”
In liturgical churches, or mainline churches, Jesus is also differentiated within the liturgy.
There’s often four Scripture readings:
- An Old Testament reading,
- A New Testament reading,
- A Gospel reading,
- And then a Psalm, which is often read responsively.
The services rotate through Scripture on a two-year basis so that over the course of two years, you read through nearly the whole of Scripture so that there is nothing that you can ignore (there are also readings for every other day of the week).
But the readings are not all treated the same.
When the Gospel is read, the congregation stands to signal that the Gospel reading is different than all the other readings because the Gospels focus directly on Jesus: His life, His words, His mission.
The red letter Bible edition told us the words of Jesus are different and standing for the Gospel in church signals that Jesus is the center focus.
Did you know…
Jesus never praised a woman for fulfilling stereotypical “female” roles
All the pastors who tell you that God wants you to be a wife and mother first, and this is your main purpose, is not interpreting Scripture through Jesus. Nowhere in the New Testament is a woman praised for her stereotypical role. Instead, women are praised for their faith, or their work in Christ as co-laborers. Jesus even chastises Martha who wants Mary to do stereotypical female things!
This is why we need to interpret Scripture through Jesus!
For more about what women actually did in Scripture, see our Biblical Womanhood collection!
A Jesus-Centred Theology Will Makes False Doctrine Obvious
Think of how many times Jesus said, “You have heard it said, but I say to you.” He was correcting things that they misunderstood from the Old Testament.
And what worries me today is that many churches have put other Scriptures above the words of Jesus and basically ignore Him.
An example of this can be seen clearly at far too many evangelical churches each week.
Pastors will preach on marriage using verses that are ripped out of context about how women are to submit. They never once mention how Jesus treated women, how He elevated women, how He praised women for asking questions, how He didn’t expect women to just wait on men, and how He even praised women who deliberately went against those cultural expectations. None of that gets mentioned because if they centred Jesus in their messages, they would also have to elevate women above what their theology allows for.
I have sat through so many months of sermons at many evangelical churches where Jesus was left out of the central message. Jesus was mentioned in the songs. We prayed in His name–but the teaching left Him and His character out.
Here’s the tell: These teachers will talk about God, but they don’t use the name Jesus because what they’re teaching doesn’t match with the character and actions of Jesus. And when your interpretation of Scripture leaves Jesus out, you’re missing something crucial.
Keep Jesus At The Centre
So keep Jesus at the front and center because He is our Saviour. He is the one that we follow. He is the voice that we are supposed to listen to and recognize.
And I really hope that the church gets this because it’s so important.
And if you want to dive deeper into this, you can:
- Read Pete Enns’ The Bible Tells Me So.
- Listen to the podcast, The Bible for Normal People.
- Read Scot McKnight’s The Blue Parakeet
- If you want an academic work, try N. T. Wright’s books The Day the Revolution Began or How God Became King
There’s so many books out there about this.
But let’s keep Jesus front and center, and let’s remember that He is the ultimate word.
And we interpret Scripture through Jesus.
On that note, I want to share this beautiful confession that was written by Skye Jethani from the Holy Post podcast. Hundreds of evangelicals have put their names to it including me.
What we’re asking is that people read this confession, that they adopt it, that they talk to people about it, and that they share it because there’s some really deeply disturbing things happening in the evangelical movement.
And we need to call the evangelical church back to Jesus.
You can read the full Confession of Evangelical Conviction here.
What do you think? Why do we put Jesus under the rest of Scripture? How can we fix that? Let’s talk in the comments!
My guess is that part of it is because their way of teaching scripture keeps them in power and control over others. Fully following the teachings of Jesus would cause them to surrender some of that power and make people more independent and self-empowered.
And, of course, that doesn’t go against scripture at all, since Jesus himself said He came not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it.
I think that’s exactly it, Nathan!
Is there any research showing the history of this switchover? Or maybe some of the resources in the bullet points cover this progression (or, really, REgression)?
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One of the regular commenters (Nessie? CMT? EOF?) commented awhile back that even the words of Jesus were not very comforting to her. Two examples I remember were His warning about not everyone who calls Him Lord and the parable of the ten virgins. I think she cited at least a couple more passages too.
She felt like she could never be sure that she really, truly was a believer, because she was riddled with doubts based on the passages she highlighted. Was she one of the virgins who ran out of oil? Or was she one that was inside the shut door?
I have felt the exact same way nearly all of the thirty-seven years I’ve been a Christian. There’s no joy, only fear. There’s no hope, only confusion. There’s no easing of the burden, only heavier pressure to do, to be, to give, to ask for nothing, to seek nothing, to not repose, to not refresh. The yoke is heavier than lead, and the condemnation is constant.
I cope mainly by never thinking about any of it. Is this the abundant life Jesus spoke about? (Rhetorical question in one sense, but deathly serious in another.) There’s no way to even *consider* praying, reading the Bible, or going to church without it all rushing back, so actually *doing* any of those things is out of the question, simply for my own peace of mind.
Obviously, I’m not the only person who feels this way. How do we all get back the Jesus who was stolen from us by the very people who were supposed to help us see Him more and more clearly?
I don’t have an easy solution for you, but I’m so sorry you were made to feel this way. It’s hard for me to imagine an experience of church that causes people to feel that way. Not that I’m doubting your account of it in any way, it’s just so far outside my experience and so heartbreaking.
Hi Jo – I have been watching you for a very long time. We have had some interactions and even a tiff – over the topic of WWJD. I dont know your full story but I am quite aware that you have been harmed immensely. I am sure my story does not even scratch the surface of yours. AND – in some ways I became the abuser as a result of what took place in my life. By the grace of God I found a path out of the mess to be a healthy person. It started with a mustard seed of faith and then a crap load of work. From what you wrote, I can see you have that mustard seed. You know Jesus is safe – you want Him back. You can get to Him. I promise. I know I had to do a lot of work to get to where I am today. Your story and how you can “get Him back” is your business not mine. I absolutely hate that you need to avoid Jesus. I have so much Hope for you and I want to encourage you. I wish you the absolute best. Thanks for being here.
That’s a great question! I have found that reading only the gospels helps. Reading some of these other books. But I’m hoping others chime in too!
Hi Jo, I get what you’re saying. Reading the bible is not very comforting to me either, most of the time. And I’m tired of having to work so danged hard to be closer to someone who really doesn’t seem to be very present a great deal of the time (with some notable exceptions in my life — there have been several times when I was VERY aware of His loving presence with me) — but anyway, wasn’t the yoke supposed to be easy and the burden light? Then why do I feel so much pressure to “discipline” myself to pray and follow Him? Why can’t I just relax and enjoy the life He gave me?
If a) He loves us so much, and b) His yoke is easy and His burden is light, and c) He reserved His strongest words for the religious leaders who placed heavy burdens of observance on people’s backs, then why do we pull all this crap about spiritual discipline, and how we must always work so hard to be holy and stay in His presence, out of scripture, and call it Christianity? I don’t think we’re doing it right at all!!
I’m pretty sure that wasn’t me, but I can say that I definitely have times where I feel that way. I recently spoke with my pastor about this and he suggested I go through the gospels with the lens/filter of only looking for the ways in which God shows His love to us.
NL mentions below how we can mess up the story by using a wrong filter/starting point, like that of jmac’s, so I liked that my pastor is applying the same lens idea but in a positive way. I don’t know how much it will help me, but I finally, after 3-4 years, reached a point where my nausea subsided from just the thought of reading my bible. I really don’t know if i would have gotten there without a pastor the past couple years listening, asking time to process, then speaking with me and apologizing to me for the way God’s words have been used to abuse me and push me away from Him. So i’m going to try his idea, the same one given to him when he went through a long season of depression and doubts.
I love that. And also I find the Passion translation to be very comforting. It tends to give me a whole new way of experiencing the Bible!
Hi there, I feel the pain of your struggle with those passages and with spiritual “disciplines.” May I offer this thought to you: in my church, when people are baptized, the pastor says, “what is your sacred confession?” And the response is, “Jesus is Lord.” At the end of the day , at the end of my life, that is my confession. Perhaps the end of the night for the virgins and the people who are saying, “Lord,Lord” are not saying “Jesus is Lord.” I was talking with my young child about why we can trust God: because we know he’s good BECAUSE Jesus died to show us his powerful LOVE and to bring us PEACE with God. Jesus didn’t die so that we could work hard to show him how much we love him or so that we could be so disciplined and correct till the very end. We are in the line of Abraham whose faith made him righteous! Not his actions. This, to me is the essence of faith in Christ, and I find it beings comfort to me when I read the parables about falling away from faith. I ask myself, “what is my sacred confession?” Jesus is Lord, and he is good. Do I have to read my Bible? Pray? Go to church? No. But if I do, when I have this mindset of Jesus as the one who brought me peace with God, I am blessed by those “disciplines.” I pray you find peace in Christ.
I also remember and I think it was a commentator named Stefanie.
I agree that those parables can be terrifying. Because the minute you say, “well, those warnings apply to other people, like Pharisees or televangelists or predators, but not me,” well… doesn’t it seem like you are thinking exactly like the people in the parable who were shut out and rejected? Ergo, you must always live with a measure of fear, because if you have certainty, it might be a false certainty. But then, you keep hearing that you need to be sure of your salvation… so if you are confused and anxious, that’s not illogical.
I am right there with you with just avoiding thinking about it as much as possible right now. And the thing is, I still think I have faith on some level. But what I absolutely cannot tolerate are singing or hearing songs that say that I believe God loves me- I actually start to feel sick when I hear them. I think because song and music are so close to the emotions.
I remember that comment, but also forgot who said it. I would say to people that Jesus is okay with honest doubts. I don’t believe that He was talking about people who want to believe, and usually do, but sometimes have a nagging question in back of their head. Jesus was more likely talking about the ones who loudly pray, sing and lecture to the world, wave their bibles around and tell everybody how holy they are and how much the love Jesus. He meant people who put on a great show of outward faith, but inside either don’t believe at all, and/or are just using the appearance of faith to pursue something else.
As a practical matter, how do we get back? I’m not sure. Just slowly and step by step we need to realize how broken and twisted some churches and leaders are, and that the REAL Jesus is there, even though sometimes people misrepresent Him
Amen to all of that!
Well said.
On your last question (and Jo’s similar comments earlier), it reminded me of a friend who felt really burned out on religion years ago and he said the first step back for him was just taking his Bible with him in his car to work. For a while just having it there was as much as he could handle, but gradually he was able to start reading it again etc.
I can’t personally relate to feeling that hurt, but for those who can, there might be some wisdom in that baby steps approach.
I believe it is a completely different gospel. Rather than being a gospel of how we are redeemed into relationship with Christ, for which He created us, it is a gospel of how to “do right” and keep the right hierarchical structures. John McArthur teaches that the original sin was Eve stepping out of submission to Adam- usurping his role by taking the fruit. That completely changes the gospel. The gospel then becomes redeeming man to certain relationships on earth- as if hierarchy was God’s purpose in creating us. It is heresy from the very beginning of the story. Naturally, it will change the rest of the story. From that point, it’s almost an unconscious bias for many men.
Absolutely, NL!
Yes, well said! Jesus is the word of God.
I do understand how this can be really surprising and confusing for people coming from an evangelical perspective though- I had a similar feeling when I first heard Christians making the argument that we should interpret the commands of the bible through the lens of love. Like Romans 13 says, every command can be summed up in “love your neighbor as yourself.” I remember being so mystified when I first heard that, because it was totally different from how I had been taught to read the bible.
What I was taught as an evangelical was like… we said all bible verses are important, and they are all true and we have to carefully analyze them to determine which commands apply to us today- in reality, though, we didn’t treat all bible verses as equally important. There were some key verses we picked out and said they define what Christians believe and how we should live, and if other verses didn’t fit with that, they were just kind of ignored.
I don’t mean this as an argument against what your post is saying at all, but I think you may be overlooking an aspect of evangelicalism’s take on Jesus: in their emphasis, He is not just the Jesus presented by the gospels, but also (primarily?) the Jesus presented by Revelation and messianic prophecy such as Psalm 2 (where he breaks the nations with a rod of iron, etc etc). They present his 3 years of a ministry of humble, nonviolent meekness on earth as God’s invitation for people to turn to him voluntarily, but as one pastor I distinctly remember put it: that opportunity for voluntary repentance has a time limit, and “when he comes back, it will be with a sword.” And I could tell that pastor really relished that idea. So it may be less that they ignore Jesus, but anticipate his return as something forceful and violent.
Oh, that’s a good point! Except that even then it has to match with what we know about Jesus.
I am flabbergasted that this needs to be explained. The ways people can mess up the gospel never ceases to amaze me.
I think one pushback to your explanation might be that the way we know Jesus is through the scriptures, so technically, we understand Jesus through scripture. But I would say that even with that, we still have to interpret the rest of scripture through what scripture tells us about Jesus.
I wonder how much of the shift away from seeing Jesus as the Word has come from a history of “the Bible is God’s love letter to you;” pastors thinking that they have to have a catchy slogan to summarize their sermons; or sermon-prep getting distilled to 3-alliterative points where more time is spent on finding slide illustrations than on preparing the content of the sermon; or “evangelism” turning into marketing, coercion, and expecting people to have no more capacity for understanding complex subjects than a 10-year-old. If Christian worship and witnessing focused on talking about Jesus’ life and living out what we learn from him, I wonder how many mechanisms of harm and just plain nonsense would fall away.
I know! This really shouldn’t have to be explained. But I’m amazed at how many who grew up in more conservative churches don’t realize this.