Remember: every person that you serve turns into a immediate friend of
Jesus. Go one step further: see him or her as Jesus in disguise – Stephan Joubert (Emphasis added)
This surely is one of the profoundest little gems of wisdom ever to be coined by mortal man. Its just a pity Stephan wasn’t around when Jesus walked the earth, because if he’d been with Jesus, he could have told Him there was a much easier way to be successful and make friends than through his cross.
Ok! Stephan probably meant that Jesus regards everyone to be his dear friend whilst those who benefit from his kindness, do not regard Him as their friend. Consequently, it is only a one-way friendship. Or, Stephan Joubert could probably have in mind a two-way and reciprocate friendship where those who do not see Him as their friend, immediately becomes their friend when they are served in the very same way He served people when He was on earth. But what did Paul say?
Brethren, together follow my example and observe those who live after the pattern we have set for you. For there are many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, who walk (live) as enemies of the cross of Christ (the Anointed One) (Philippians 3:17 and 18).
If you do not follow after the example and the pattern Paul and the other disciples have set for you, you can say, boast and claim that you are a follower of Jesus Christ until he cows come home, it means nothing. In fact, you are nothing but an enemy of the cross of Jesus Christ if you do not follow Paul’s example. What is Paul’s example all about? What is the essence of his example? His own words in 1 Corinthians 2 verses 1 and 2 sums it up perfectly: “And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” Paul’s entire life, his missionary journeys to the Gentiles, his service to the poor, everything, was centered and anchored in the cross of Jesus Christ, simply because he knew and understood that the cross was the power and wisdom of God to those who are being saved but foolishness to those who perish (1 Corinthians 1:18). Anyone, and I don’t care who you are, anyone whose message to sinners, the poor, the disenfranchised, the downcast, the marginalized, the rich, royalty etc. etc. etc. is not centered and anchored in the cross of Jesus is not only making a mockery of the Christian faith but of Christ Himself. Any circumvention of the cross, no matter how much and how unselfishly you serve others and how many glasses of cold water you dish out, is an outright declaration of war against Christ’s cross; you are and will remain an enemy of the cross of Jesus until you repent and begin to cling to the cross of Jesus Christ with all your might.
Let us now examine Stephan Joubert’s statement “every person that you serve turns into an immediate friend of Jesus. Go one step further: see him or her as Jesus in disguise.” If you thought something so profound could have been the brainchild of Stephan Joubert, you’re wrong. Mother Teresa who, like the Pope never had the assurance of her salvation, said in an interview.
We try to pray through our work by doing it with Jesus, for Jesus, to Jesus. That helps us put our whole heart and soul into doing it. The dying, the crippled, the mentally ill, the unwanted, the unloved — they are Jesus in disguise.
Really? You will recall that when Jesus’ mother, brothers and sisters tried to draw his attention while he was preaching, He said: “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.” (Luke 8:21), clearly implying that only those who obey his Gospel are his friends and his brethren. He did not say that their servitude to others magically turned his enemies into his friends. Had that been possible He would never have needed to die on a cross. What does God say about the unsaved?
He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. (John 3:36)
Stephan Joubert just adores the Word of God so much that he liberally refers to entire chapters. In his blog comment “Does God tithe?” he says of Matthew 10:
God takes notice of the smallest deeds and word of kindness, as Jesus tells us in Matthew 10.
So let’s look at Matthew 10.
- Jesus sends his disciples out on a missionary journey and gives them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out and to heal all manner of sickness and disease. Notice, Judas who also betrayed Him was amongst those who were sent out. Could it be that he was the one who invented and patented the brand new evangelistic tool of turning those whom he served into immediate friends of Jesus? I’m only asking because the other disciples were commanded to shake the dust off their feet when the inhabitants of the cities they visited did not accept their message. That’s not much of a kosher technique to turn people into immediate friends of Jesus, is it?
- This is what Wikipedia says about shaking the dust off your feet:
In Biblical times, when leaving Gentile cities, pious Jews often shook the dust from their feet to show their separation from Gentile practices. If the disciples shook the dust of a Jewish town from their feet, it would show their separation from Jews who rejected their Messiah. The gesture was to show the people that they were making a wrong choice. The opportunity to choose Christ might not present itself again. According to the New Testament, when Jesus called his twelve disciples, he sent them into Jewish lands and told them, in a reversal, to perform the same act against the non-believing Jews (Matthew 10:14), and “it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city” (Matthew 10:15). The only recorded instance of this practice in the New Testament was when Paul the Apostle and Barnabas were expelled from Antioch, Pisidia by Jews who disapproved of them teaching to gentiles (Acts 13:50-51).
So this was hardly a way to be successful and make many friends for Jesus. By the by, Stephan Joubert and his buddies on E-church loath it when anyone speaks of being separated from others – “us and them,” “saved and unsaved,” holy and unholy.” This is exactly what Jesus commanded his disciples to do, separate them from unbelievers who rejected their message and to demonstrate their separation by shaking the dust off their feet. Come on Stephan, wake up! You are referring to Bible verses and chapters that refute your theology in the most articulate way.
