What Being With Jesus Can Do

Being with the Lord Jesus changes us.




Joel Kontinen

The Bible often discloses profound truths in just a few words. When Luke described a difficult ordeal that the early disciples faced in Jerusalem, he mentions a small detail in connection to their arrest. The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection and they did not tolerate those who did and put the apostles behind bars but they were in for a surprise: ”Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13, NKJV).

Even the Sadducees realised that Peter and John had been with Jesus.

Like Peter and many others, the apostle John took a very long spiritual journey. Jesus gave him and his brother James the name Boanerges, ’Sons of Thunder’ (Mark 3:17), which might say something about his temper. John for instance wanted to call down fire from heaven to punish a Samaritan village that refused to welcome Jesus and His disciples (Luke 9:51–56). Furthermore, he was obviously very ambitious as he wanted to be exalted above the other disciples to become a co-ruler in the Messianic Kingdom of Israel (Mark 10:35–37).

Yet, when as an older man he penned his Gospel, there were no traces of the old Boanerges spirit left in his writing. The Son of Thunder saw himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved (John 20:2). The Lord did not single out one disciple as the sole object of his love, however. It is more probable that John used this phrase because he realised that Jesus loved him in spite of his temper and his occasional thunderstorms.

And, as Luke suggests, even Sadducees, the skeptics of his day, realised that John had been with Jesus. Being with Him changed the Beloved Disciple, and it can change me and you, also. The apostle Paul, who was transformed from a persecutor into a saint, said that those who are in Christ are new creations (2 Cor. 5:17). The Creator, Jesus Christ, transforms us. The more we are with Him, the more we become like Him. Thunderstorms can give way for rays of bright sunshine.

Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 3:18: ”But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

Searching for the Lost: Another Unique Trait of Christianity

Jesus as the Good Shepherd by Alfred Handel. Photo courtesy of Toby Hudson, Creative Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).





Joel Kontinen

Many non-Christian religions are stories of man’s search for God. Christianity (and Judaism, to some extent), differs from them, because it is the account of God’s search for man.

When Adam and Eve lost their way due to their own choice, God came to the garden to seek them and bring them back.

Since then, God has time and again stepped into history to point us the way back to Him.

At the appointed time, the Jesus left His heavenly dwelling and lived among His creations for a short while:

“The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

He came, because without Him, mankind was lost, without any hope whatsoever.

The New Testament shows us what Jesus is like. “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10). He was even ready to leave 99 sheep and go to search for the one that was lost.

He is the Good Shepherd who gave His life for the sheep.

And that means us: “For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” (1 Peter 2:25).

If you are still lost, now is the time to let the Good Shepherd find you.

Scripture verses from the Berean Study Bible

Jesus: The Name Above Every Name

The name above every other name is Jesus (Greek: Ἰησοῦς, Iesous). Image courtesy of Andreas Wahra, Creative Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).




Joel Kontinen

How could God best show us what He is really like?

He has done that in two ways: 1) By giving us His Word, the Bible, and 2) by coming to live among us for a short while. The apostle Paul called Jesus “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15).

During His earthly ministry, Jesus “went about doing good and healing all those being oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him.” (Acts 10:38).

To identify with humanity, Jesus used the title Son of Man (Greek: ὁ υἱὸς τοὺ ἀνθρώπου), a sign of humility.

Writing to the Philippians, Paul exhorts us to imitate Christ:

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus Who subsisting in the form of God, did not consider to be equal with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself, having taken the form of a servant, having been made in the likeness of men. And having been found in appearance as a man He humbled Himself, having become obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” (2:5–8).

Whereas His disciples wanted to be great, Jesus was willing to wash their feet.

This humility eventually led to exaltation:

“Therefore God also highly exalted Him, and granted to Him the name above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in the heavens and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (2:9–11).

Even today, there is power in the name that is above every other name. In Jesus' name, sinners receive salvation and the sick are healed.

Scripture quotations from the Berean Literal Bible

Whatever Happened to Repentance?

Rembrandt van Rijn: The Return of the Prodigal Son, public domain.




Joel Kontinen

How long has it been since you heard a sermon on repentance?

Repentance is not a very popular concept nowadays. It is probably one of the tree words many preachers tend to avoid. The other two are sin and hell, which obviously are not politically correct terms either.

When Jesus began His earthly ministry He preached on the necessity of repentance: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel,” Mark 1:15 records Him preaching.

And when He was about to leave this world, He instructed the disciples: “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke 24: 46–47).

This is exactly what the early disciples did. Peter and John proclaimed: “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19), and Paul had a similar message. On trial before King Agrippa, he said: “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance" (Acts 26:19–20).

What, actually, is repentance? The Greek word metanoia refers to a change of mind and sorrow for one’s sin. It is not primarily an emotional reaction, although emotions may be involved, but a decision of the will. One makes a decision to discard that which one knows is wrong and then discards it. Or if one finds one is going in the wrong direction, one turns round and chooses the right way.

I would suggest that there are two reasons why preaching on the necessity of repentance is not popular in our day. The first one is Darwinian evolution that basically rejects a literal Fall and the second is humanistic psychology that draws on Darwinism and rejects original sin. These two ideologies permeate every level in society and their impact is also felt in the church, even though Christians might not always realise it.

However, the Bible tells us that God has not changed, and history tells us that man has not changed, so there should be no valid reasons for avoiding one of the most essential concepts of Christian preaching.

The gospel has to do with changing lives. As Paul put it in Romans 1:16: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes.”

Even today, preachers should proclaim “the whole counsel of God” since it is the only formula for changing lives.


Scripture verses from the New King James Version (NkJV)

Faith That Moves Mountains

Faith can move mountains.




Joel Kontinen

“Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.” (Mark 11:23).

Faith is one of the key words of the Gospels. It can achieve incredible things. Time and again, Jesus taught about the significance of believing, of having faith.

"Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted,” (Matthew 15:28), He told a Canaanite woman who believed He could and was willing to heal her very sick daughter.

Jesus also praised the great faith of a Roman centurion (Matthew 8:10), who saw Him as the One who had authority over sickness, even at a distance.

In contrast, Jesus often rebuked those who failed to believe. “Men of little faith,” He would say to the disciples once and again when they doubted Him.

It was not just any kind of faith that Jesus meant, but faith in Him. The Letter to the Hebrews gives us a brief definition of faith:

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1, NIV).

Faith is essential:

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Heb. 11:6).

Faith in the Bible as God’s self-revelation made modern science possible. The pioneers of science, for instance Robert Hooke, Sir Isaac Newton and Louis Pasteur, believed that a rational Creator had created a rational universe that obeys natural laws that could be studied.

Some Christians have succeeded in exercising the kind of faith that is not deferred by seemingly impossible hurdles. British evangelist Smith Wigglesworth (1859–1947), who is known as the Apostle of Faith, fits nicely into this category. God used him to touch and heal countless lives all over the world.

Heresy Hunters, Sign Seekers and Rational Readers – The Need for Balance in Our Christian Walk

We should keep our eyes on Jesus and God’s Word. Image courtesy of Andreas Wahra, Creative Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).




Joel Kontinen


Christians are by definition followers of Christ. Or at least we should be. In practice, we tend to form small cliques and often think we have all the answers while the other groups are still groping around if not in the dark, then at least in semi-darkness.

We might distinguish between three major groups in evangelical Christianity: (1) heresy hunters, (2) sign seekers and (3) rational readers. It seems that the borders of these groups do not necessarily follow denominational boundaries.

Heresy hunters strongly believe that they are living in the end times and that the Anti-Christ might appear at any moment. Historically, the earliest members of this group were teachers of the Jewish law who claimed Jesus was possessed by Beelzebub, the prince of demons.

It is certainly true that some preachers have marketed highly questionable doctrines, such as the “Jesus died spiritually” teaching that has no biblical basis whatsoever. The late Kenneth Hagin and his followers also taught that we are little gods. Moreover, some weird manifestations at the fringes of the Pentecostal-Charismatic Movement might suggest that the heresy hunters are definitely needed.

However, here we need discernment. Otherwise we might see heresy where there isn’t any. For instance, some say that speaking in tongues definitely ended in the first century A.D. when the New Testament canon became complete. The argument is based on a single verse in 1 Corinthians 13: “Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.”

Did you notice the time element? I didn’t.

I would say that the same applies to divine healing.

“Slain in the Spirit” or falling down in response to prayer or the laying on of hands is a controversial phenomenon. It occurred in some early revivals but it is also manifested in Hinduism, so we cannot really pass the final judgement in this issue.

Sign seekers are those who believe in a powerful end time revival. They firmly believe that every supernatural thing, no matter how weird it might sound, comes from God. The problem is that uncontrollable laughter, jerking and twitching also occur in Hinduism and new age settings.

Now, heresy hunters will claim that all bizarre manifestations are sure signs that they are of demoniac origin. Another possible explanation would be that they are psychological reactions to expectations in a highly emotional setting.

David Wilkerson, for instance, has said that he does not believe that weird “Toronto Blessing” type noises are manifestations sent by God’s Holy Spirit.

A big problem with the sign seeker approach is that it emphasises glory without the cross. At worst, it results in a bloodless gospel with positive thinking and self-improvement replacing the need for repentance.

We should also remember that Jesus warned of running after signs: “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign!” He told the Pharisees and teachers of the law and then promised them just one sign – His resurrection.

However, on at least three occasions Jesus instructed the disciples to heal the sick and the early church followed this commission literally, with amazing results for the spread of the gospel.

The members of the third group, rational readers, focus on the intellectual aspect of the Bible. They are the Sadducees of our time. The Sadducees did not believe in the supernatural. Unlike the German scholars of the 18th and 19th centuries, the rational readers do profess to believe in the supernatural, but in their quest for harmony between modern science and the Bible they often use naturalistic explanations in their interpretation of the Old Testament. Bernard Ramm was an early advocate of this tendency. Noah’s Flood, he said, was local, and Joshua’s long day was not so long after all.

A major problem with rational readers is that they tend to overestimate the explanatory power of modern science and underestimate the power of the great Creator God, who in the New Testament turned water into wine in an instant and restored Lazarus to life in no time at all.

Another problem is that Christianity loses its life-changing dynamic aspect when its inherent power is explained away. We should, after all, be doers of the Word.

Is there a solution to the problems the Church is facing? I believe there is: a return a Christianity that focuses on and lifts up Jesus Christ and gives Him all the glory for His work as Creator and Redeemer and uses discernment to keep the faith pure from intrusions, regardless of whether they come from western rationalism or eastern mysticism.