Many people believe the red letter words {Jesus' words} are the only important words in the Bible. These are the words we should focus on, since Jesus says nothing about homosexuality, wifely submission, or being a keeper at home. His words are only about love and compassion. They are the only words that matter. Oh yeah???
What about the red words that say if your hand causes you to sin, cut if off or if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out? What about hating your mother, your father, and your siblings? What about selling all of your wealth if you want to enter into eternal life? What about lusting being equivalent to adultery and hating being equivalent to murder? Those don't sound like words of love and compassion to me.
We must remember that Jesus was speaking to people who lived under the Law. His purpose was to show them that they would NEVER be able to attain eternal life by obeying the Law even if they cut off their hands, plucked out their eyes, hated their family, sold all they had, and never lusted or hated. It was impossible to keep the Law. Therefore, no one would inherit eternal life, right?
Wrong. He was preparing the people for His death and resurrection. If it hadn't been for Paul writing Romans 6 and 8, along with some passages in Ephesians and Colossians, we would not realize the full extent of what Jesus accomplished on the cross.
When He died, we died. When He rose again, we rose again. When we believe, we are new creatures in Christ. We are freed from our sin and dead to it. We have inherited eternal life, not by what we have done, but solely based upon what He has done for us.
He was able to pay the full penalty for our sin. He was the perfect, sinless Lamb. He fulfilled the whole Law and now He asks us to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love others as we love ourselves. By doing this, we show we love Him.
The work is finished. We no longer live under the Law. We live under a New Covenant. We believe the whole Bible to be the inspired Word of God, not just the red letters.
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable
for teaching, for reproof, for correction,
for training in righteousness.
II Timothy 3:16
