I Say I Believe. What Does the Evidence Show?

Themes

• Jesus said, to say we believe God, we need to value His opinions. John 5:44
• He also said, to believe requires seeking God's praise. John 5:44
• And He said, you can judge whether something or someone is good or bad by the fruit (results) produced. Matt 12:35

Examining our own fruit
It is easy to make excuses for our own behavior and attitudes. Most of the time we feel justified; even when the results are destructive and painful.  If we can step outside ourselves and view impartially the results of our behavior, then we can see the evidence for ourselves of the degree to which we esteem God's opinions. The type of  fruit we see is the evidence of our secret beliefs and desires. Do we feel God would praise us for it?

Verses:
"You like to have praise from each other. But you never try to get the praise that comes from the only God. So how can you believe?"  John 5:44

Restated, in order to say we believe and follow God, we need to seek His praise for our daily behavior. Also it is a high priority with us to seek praise from God.

" You will fully recognize them by their fruits. Do people pick grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 20Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them."   Matt 7:16-20

"The good man from his inner good treasure flings forth good things, and the evil man out of his inner evil storehouse flings forth evil things." Matt 12:35

Upon self examination, what fruit do we see in our daily words and actions? If we are honest with ourselves, we see a mix of good and bad. To seek God's praise, we  work on producing good fruit. This is a decision we make. May God follow our decision with strength and support in changing our attitudes and desires.

Our Heart's Desires Defile Us

Verses

• “18 But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20 These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.” Matt 15: 17-20
• "Nothing outside a man can make him 'unclean' by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him unclean." Mark 7:15
• "The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks." Luke 6:45
• 11"It is not what goes into the mouth of a man that makes him unclean and defiled, but what comes out of the mouth; this makes a man unclean and defiles [him]." Matt 15: 2 & 11
• The Pharisee was surprised when he saw that Jesus did not wash his hands first before the meal. Luke 11:38
• Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23

Theme
Jews were concerned about being defiled and unclean. They had laws and ceremonies for what to eat. When to wash. Who they could eat with. Jesus makes it clear (as well as Proverbs) that defilement comes from our hearts. What desires we have in our hearts will flow out of us in the form of actions, attitudes, and words. Jesus brought the attention of the Jewish people to this idea on several occasions by openly violating the cleansing ceremonies. Once shocked and focused on him, Jesus would explain this principle to them.

ONLY God is Good: What To Do When We Disagree With Jesus

Verses

• "No one is good—except God alone." Mark 10:18 (Jesus had been called good).
• "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone."  Luke 18:19
• Jesus answered, “Why do you ask me about what is good? Only God is good." Matt 19:17

Theme
One of the themes Jesus teaches is that only God is good.  Everyone else, including himself, is not in the same category. In the Amplified Bible "essentially and perfectly morally" good is used to highlight the connotation of the word good.

What if I disagree with Jesus?
I personally find this teaching hard to accept, because I want to put Jesus in the same category of goodness as God. After all Jesus had the divine nature of God within him.  But here we have Mark and Luke showing us Jesus meant for this category to exclude himself, and he was very insistent about it.

Choices
I have several choices when I do not like an idea Jesus spoke. I can reject it, which doesn't sound like a very smart way to respond. Or I can open my mind and submit myself to the teaching. I will also continue to look for more verses which will explain why he excluded himself. Meanwhile, I'll ask the Holy Spirit to help me understand and accept that Jesus wants us to know that only God is good.

Did Jesus and Paul Teach The Same Themes?

Did Jesus and Paul teach the same concepts and themes?
Today my answer is "I'm working on it." Meanwhile I've learned a lot about the themes Jesus did teach, and they are important for us to know. This blog is how I initially plan to share what I have discovered over the 7 or so years I've been working on the question.

My investigation started, when I was first asked the above question. At that time, my response was, "Of course Jesus and Paul taught the same themes." But that was just my knee jerk answer to a surprise question. As I pondered the question in the days that followed, I realized I did not know the answer. This lack of knowledge started me on a multiple year review and comparison of the gospels of the New Testament for common and differing concepts and themes.

Over the last 15 years I have worked as a software analyst and quality assurance tester for several financial institutions. Why not use the professional skills and techniques I've learned as a result to review and compare Jesus words in the various gospels? I was delighted when the techniques worked wonderfully.

Main Method of Analysis: Affinity Grouping

I pondered on the best way to investigate and analyze the ideas and concepts to draw conclusions.
Some considerations and decisions:

1. First of all, I did not want second hand conclusions from other scholars. I would read the words of Jesus and Paul myself.
2. The source text were not written in English, and I am limited to it. Which translation should I use?  Decision: www.BibleGateway.com has many English translations which can be read in parallel columns. I selected Easy to Read, NIV, Amplified, and King James. I've referred to other versions to clarify the original intended meaning of the gospel authors as needed.
3. I would read Jesus teachings first then Paul's.
4. Which gospel should I start with? If I started with the oldest one, I could tell what ideas, if any, of the later authors had been added. By age, the oldest gospel is Mark. Luke and Mathew are newer and about the same age. So their reading order does not matter. The newest gospel is John. Decision: read Mark first.
5. As of today, I have read and analyzed: Mark, Luke, and Matthew. I'm reading John currently, and  I'm up to chapter 13.
6. As I read, I would list in an MS Excel spreadsheet Jesus ideas and themes and group them using a business analysis technique called affinity grouping.
7. Very quickly common concepts began to group together. As they did, I put them into separate tabs and sub-groups.If a verse fit in several groups, I would list it in those groups.
8. The more often similar verses are listed in a particular group, could be an indication of that group's importance. Perhaps Jesus said the idea at most of the places he went. Decision: keep an open mind and see what develops.

What are some of the themes of Jesus I've found? 
Next time, I will begin to share some of the results.