Limapela Education Project
Faith in Action
This project aims to provide quality education to children in Zambia's Copperbelt Province.
What would Jesus do? Rob Yule, Senior Minister of Greyfriars, points out that this is an important question in the first letter of John. In contrast to modern liberal or conservative distortions, he shows that the practice of a lifestyle of love is a hallmark of genuine Christianity, in keeping with the example of Jesus himself. He gave this message at Greyfriars' Classical Service on 9 July 2006.
In John's first letter this is a serious question about Christian conduct. In any given situation, where you don't know what to do, ask yourself: 'WWJD?' 'What would Jesus do?'
It is somehow typical of the modern world, obsessed as we are with global merchandise and branding, that if you type 'What would Jesus do?' on Google, you are led straight away to a website of that name, whatwouldjesusdo.com, hawking a variety of Christian and other merchandise.
You read (in heavily-capitalised sentences): 'Do you have a desire to share your Christianity? . . . Do you have a desire to share the Hope our Saviour offers with others? What Would Jesus Do? . . . Jesus boldly proclaimed the Good News. Our wearable messages offer you the opportunity to boldly proclaim the Good News. . . . We carry the most complete set of Silicone, Rubber and Woven wrist bands and Christian Bracelets on the internet. . . . We also have a complete line of Christian Tees [t-shirts], Hoodies [hooded jackets] and Head Gear.'
'We are a Christian organization run by Christian individuals, and have been manufacturing, selling and shipping the 'What Would Jesus Do?' Bracelets from this website since 1996.'
What would Jesus do? One suspects, to go by this website, that he might wear a cross around his neck, rather than die on one for the sins of the world.
The central premise of Christianity is that God has revealed himself to us through his Son Jesus Christ. As John puts it at the beginning of his letter, 'The Word of life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it.' (1 John 1:1-2). Jesus Christ is God's living communication to human beings. The central affirmation of Christianity is that Christianity is Christ.
It follows that if you would be a Christian, you must believe in Jesus Christ as God's revelation to human beings, and behave in a manner that is consistent with his life and teachings. As John says, 'Whoever claims to live in him, must walk as Jesus did.' (1 John 2: 6). You can't claim to be a Christian if you don't seek to order your life according to what Jesus did and taught.
So, the question, 'WWJD? What would Jesus do?' is a valid question. The danger is that we will unthinkingly bring our current moral and social standards as the answer, instead of submitting to what Jesus actually said and did. Today's liberals substitute permissive sexual morality for the love that Jesus taught. And today's conservatives substitute current materialistic values (such as the merchandise on the 'WWJD' website) for the lifestyle that Jesus taught.
Jesus was radical. He challenges our self-centred way of life. John says, 'We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.' (1 John 2:3) Jesus main command was, 'Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no-one than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends.' (John 15:12-13). Jesus' way is a radical and costly challenge to our self-centred and selfish ways of living.
John says that this commandment to love one another, which Jesus taught and demonstrated, is both old and new. 'This old command is the message you have heard', says John, 'Yet I am writing you a new command' – a command that dispels the darkness of ignorance and shines a light on your current situation (1 John 2:7-8).
Our Christian calling is to give contemporary expression to our ancient faith, to make the faith 'once delivered unto the saints' (Jude 3, AV) something vital and challenging for our contemporaries.
The heretics of John's day - rather like the permissive teachers of ours - claimed that love was something new that replaced the duty or obligation to keep God's commandments. Command-keeping was passé; living in love was hip and trendy.
John emphasises that Jesus saw no contradiction between love and keeping the commandments. Jesus said, 'If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love.' (John 15:10). Then he added, 'You are my friends if you do what I command.' (John 15:14). The person who loves Jesus keeps his commands.
You could call this the paradox of Christianity. The old become new. The familiar made fresh. Duty made exciting. Truth lived and living.
This is quite different from the world's way of thinking, where the old is regarded as boring, the familiar stale, duty as dull, and truth as something intellectual and uninteresting.
Jesus talked about a skilled teacher as being like the owner of a house 'who brings out of the storeroom new treasures as well as old.' (Matthew 13:52). The art of teaching is to convey a sense of excitement about what is familiar, to bring a sense of discovery to what is well-known, to convey a sense of relevance and freshness to the of truth. This was one of G. K Chesterton's great abilities as an apologist for Christianity. He was always showing up the liberals of his day as outmoded and old-fashioned, while presenting orthodoxy as exciting, fresh and always up-to-date.
Practical Christianity is to love other human beings, especially our fellow-Christians. 'Those who claim to be in the light but hate a brother or sister,' John says, 'are still in the darkness. . . . The darkness has blinded them.' (1 John 2:9, 11).
Loving our fellow-Christians is here identified with walking in the light. You can't say you love God, or know God's love, if you don't love your fellow-Christian. It's a contradiction in terms. John says it's like 'walking round in the darkness.' Love for our neighbour is the litmus test of our love for God. Love is what shows the genuineness of our conversion, the authenticity of our experience of God's love. John will spell out more fully what this means as he goes through his letter.
The Argentinean evangelist Juan Carlos Ortiz visited New Zealand in the early nineteen eighties. He told the now famous story of how he preached a sermon on love to his Buenos Aires congregation.
'Love one another,' he preached.
The next Sunday, he preached the same sermon: 'Love one another.' The Sunday after, he shocked his congregation by preaching the same sermon again: 'Love one another.' 'Why are you insulting us by repeating the same sermon?’ they complained. 'When you start doing what the sermon says', he replied, 'I’ll move on to the next one.'
So the next Sunday he preached again, 'Love one another', then sat down. Gradually, people got up out of their seats and began talking to one another. Wallets and purses began to be taken out of pockets, handbags started to be opened. The haves began to share with the have nots. Those with resources began to share with those in need. The members of the church began to be concerned for each other. They began to put Christianity into practice and love one another, not in word only, but also in deed (1 John 3:18). As a result, Ortiz's congregation became a byword in caring and community.
WWJD? 'What would Jesus do?'
Brothers and sisters, if he was here today, he would tell us to love one another.
Rob Yule, 9 July 2006
© 2006, Greyfriars Presbyterian Church
