79 - The New Covenant

<p class="ng-scope" style="margin:5.55pt 0in 5.55pt 0in;">ave you ever wondered why so many individuals who claim to be Christians behave so badly? In some cases, large numbers of so-called Christians have behaved worse than unbelievers and some even at a level of evil explainable only by demonic influence. Have you ever been reading a history book or watching a documentary only to suddenly realize that the horror being described was perpetrated by people who called themselves Christians? Or, have you noticed that with sad regularity a Christian leader will be caught doing something awful? It’s unnerving. It’s discouraging. It leaves a person wondering if Christianity is true. If it does what it says it does, then why isn’t it making its followers more like its Founder? Where’s the change? Where’s God? Where’s the miracle?</p> <p class="ng-scope" style="margin:5.55pt 0in 5.55pt 0in;">In my opinion, this is the most serious charge against Christianity. These glaring failures make it appear that our faith is just one more set of religious teachings, one more philosophy among all the other teachings and philosophies in the world. Yet, to be fair, we have to point out that while some Christians and so-called Christian societies have behaved badly, there have been individuals and communities of believers who have loved and served their Lord with amazing sincerity and selflessness. Most of us know someone whose life reveals miraculous change. No one can deny that something really happened to that person.</p> <p class="ng-scope" style="margin:5.55pt 0in 5.55pt 0in;">So the question is: Why are some people who call themselves Christians becoming so much like Jesus, while others who also call themselves Christians behave no differently, or even worse, than unbelievers? As we read through John’s report of the disciples’ final evening with Jesus, we can hear in the Lord’s voice great expectation for the future. He clearly expected those disciples to change and become like Him. He knew that change hadn’t happened yet, but He