“Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword” (Matt. 10:34). At first glance, this statement seems incongruous with the popular conception of Jesus Christ. No doubt guided by Hollywood’s unhistorical and imaginative depictions, He is often pictured as insipid, blandly noncontroversial, or benignly accepting of anyone and anything. Modern thinking reduces Him to a supremely tolerant ethicist: one who condemns those people and things that society’s conventional wisdom deems as bad, while simultaneously excusing individuals from their personal guilt. In short, Jesus is modern man’s psychoanalyst, guru, confidant, and all around “buddy”, who will by no means challenge or offend contemporary sensibilities. Needless to say, this is a caricature of the true Messiah, whom the Scripture describes as a “stumbling block” (1 Cor. 1:23; cf. Rom. 9:32-33). The Lord Jesus’ own words reveal His controversial claims and actions, which even today offend the natural man.

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“Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword” (Matt. 10:34). At first glance, this statement seems incongruous with the popular conception of Jesus Christ. No doubt guided by Hollywood’s unhistorical and imaginative depictions, He is often pictured as insipid, blandly noncontroversial, or benignly accepting of anyone and anything. Modern thinking reduces Him to a supremely tolerant ethicist: one who condemns those people and things that society’s conventional wisdom deems as bad, while simultaneously excusing individuals from their personal guilt. In short, Jesus is modern man’s psychoanalyst, guru, confidant, and all around “buddy”, who will by no means challenge or offend contemporary sensibilities. Needless to say, this is a caricature of the true Messiah, whom the Scripture describes as a “stumbling block” (1 Cor. 1:23; cf. Rom. 9:32-33). The Lord Jesus’ own words reveal His controversial claims and actions, which even today offend the natural man.
To read the entire article, click on the title.

Modern man faces a bewildering array of difficulties. Economic uncertainty, soaring crime rates, devastating wars, and conflicts within families all threaten to overwhelm people. Because Christians live on this fallen planet and are not yet morally perfect, they are not exempt from these problems. Thankfully in facing the crises of life, we have an ever-present Saviour, who is capable of dealing with any situation. In the truest sense of the phrase our Lord Jesus is the Man for all seasons.

To read the entire article, click on the title.