Are you in agreement with the words of Jesus?

(1 Timothy 6:3-5 – Are you in agreement with the words of Jesus)

Here is an interesting questions. Are you in agreement with the words of Jesus?

OK. You’re a Christian. So, of course you agree with the sound words of Jesus, don’t you? It stands to reason that if you are a follower of Christ Jesus, then you must be in agreement with His words and teachings. But is this true?

There are around 2.5 billion people in the world who identify as Christians. And believe it or not, the vast majority of those people are not in agreement with the sound words of Jesus. They may say that they are Christians, but they don’t walk as He walked. So, let’s dig a little deeper and just test this hypothesis. Let us see whether YOU can answer in the affirmative, the question: Are you in agreement with the words of Jesus

What are the words of Jesus?

The simple answer to this is, the Bible. The Bible contains all of the words of Jesus. They were given to us to teach, guide, counsel, and show us the way to live in agreement with the will of the Father.

The whole point of the Bible is to show us the way to life. That was the work of Jesus too. He came to give us life, if we would believe in Him and follow Him.

Jesus said this about Himself:

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6)

If we want to find the way to the Father we need to go via Jesus. That means we have to listen to His words and be in agreement with Him.

We cannot expect to find the way to the Father by taking a different route, or by following some other path than the sound words of Jesus. That would be like trying to find your way around London by using a map of New York. If you want to find your way around London, you need a map of London.

Likewise, if you want to find your way to God the Father, you need the “map” of the Father. And that map are the sound words of Jesus Christ.

So, are you in agreement with the words of Jesus? Are you following the right map, or are you using some other map that is not the map of Jesus?

I’m pretty sure you are nodding your head about now saying to yourself, “Well, sure. I’m following the ‘Jesus map!’” Let’s dig a little deeper to find out if that is true.

Are you in agreement with the words of Jesus?

Let’s run a little test or two to see if you are truly in agreement with the words of Jesus.

Do you want to enter the kingdom of God? Then have you been baptised in water and in the Holy Spirit with the sign of speaking in tongues? And by baptism I mean full immersion as an adult, not the sprinkling of water on your forehead as a baby.

Many Christians have not been through these two processes, and yet Jesus tells us that if we don’t do both, we cannot enter the kingdom of God.

5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born anew.’ 8 The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with every one who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:5-8)

To be born of water is to be baptised by full immersion. To be born of the Spirit is to receive the Holy Spirit. And as for speaking in tongues, that is the sign of the Spirit for those who have received the Holy Spirit. This is shown in verse 8 of the above quote.

Receiving the Holy Spirit

Looking at the quote, you know that the wind is blowing when you are inside because you can hear the sound of the wind blowing through trees or the rafters of your home. In the same way Jesus tells us that those who have received the Holy Spirit know they have received the Holy Spirit because they hear the “sound of the Spirit.” What is the sound of the Spirit? Speaking in tongues. Note the “sound of the Spirit” when the disciples first received the Spirit at Pentecost. It says,

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:4)

Tongues were the “sound of the Spirit” as the Holy Spirit gave utterance to each of the disciples.

And as for those who may be thinking, “Oh, but tongues was only for those days.” Umm, well that’s not what the Bible says.

38 And Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are far off, every one whom the Lord our God calls to him.” (Acts 2:38-39)

The promise is to all that are far off. We are far off in both time and place, unless you happen to be in Jerusalem right now. But even more important, ask yourself, “Have you been called by the Lord God?”

If your answer is “Yes,” then the promise of the Holy Spirit and tongues is to you…today.

So, have you received the Holy Spirit and do you speak in tongues? If not, then are you in agreement with the words of Jesus? He said that you needed to do this if you want to see the kingdom of God. If you haven’t been baptised and received the Holy Spirit with tongues, then you haven’t yet seen the kingdom of God.

Another test

Think about this one for a moment. Do you call the leader of your church by an honorific, such as Pastor, Teacher, Father, Reverend, or any other honorific?

If so, then consider the words of Jesus.

8 But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brethren. 9 And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. 10 Neither be called masters, for you have one master, the Christ. (Matthew 23:8-10)

Jesus showed we are not to use honorifics because it sets one person or group of people above the rest. As He said, we are all brethren. Brothers and sisters in Christ. None of us is greater or lesser than another, so we are not to use these honorifics.

Do you do so because they have studied and received some qualification from a school or university?

Well, with the exception of medical doctors, why do we not use honorifics for accountants, engineers, chemists, physicists, and so on? You don’t call someone “Accountant James,” do you? But if James had a religious qualification you wouldn’t think twice about calling him “Pastor James,” or “Father James,” or whatever.

Jesus said not to do this so why do people do it? And if you do this, are you in agreement with the words of Jesus? No, you are not.

I could go on with many similar tests where people who call themselves Christians are not in agreement with the words of Jesus. But just these two alone will suffice to show that probably 99% of Christians are NOT in agreement with the words of Jesus because they are doing the very opposite of what He said. They are trying to get into the kingdom of God by following a map made by men rather than the map provided by God. Jesus is the way and the scripture is the map.

Are you in agreement with the words of Jesus – a solution!

There is a solution to this issue that all Christians can follow.

Read you Bible! Learn for yourself. Seek the truth. Ask the Lord to show you rather than looking to ANY man to show you the truth. You have to find it for yourself because on the Day of Judgement, you won’t be able to say, “Well, this is what my pastor said…” No! You must seek for yourself.

And this is what the scripture I am reviewing today in 1 Timothy 6 has to say.

3 If any one teaches otherwise and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching which accords with godliness, 4 he is puffed up with conceit, he knows nothing; he has a morbid craving for controversy and for disputes about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, base suspicions, 5 and wrangling among men who are depraved in mind and bereft of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. (1 Timothy 6:3-5

These are harsh words and a harsh judgement against those who are not in agreement with the sound words of Jesus.

If you want to be certain that you are in agreement with the words of Jesus, then go to the source. Read the Bible for yourself and seek the Lord to open up things. Oh, and make sure you have been correctly baptised and received the Holy Spirit, with the gift of tongues. You may not know this yet, but tongues are an important part of following the words and walk in Christ correctly.

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