To that end, I'm going to do a series on something written for secular people. 23 Things Successful People Never Do, from bestlifeonline.com. It's an interesting approach. I was surprised how much the general thoughts line up with things Christians should do. The only real differences were in the actual examples, not in the concepts. In a way, maybe not all that surprising.
Is the Bible relevant today? is article #2 in the series: Settling for less. Click button to view titles for entire series
Jesus came to earth to die for us, and one of the results of that is that His followers can have "life to the full". Let's examine that passage. After that, we can better understand why a Christian might want to look at a secular list of things to not do.
The Shepherd and His Flock
This is basic and important stuff for every Christian. We should be following Jesus, not anyone else. That's what He's explaining here. This passage, like so many others, does show the Bible is still relevant today.
Jn 10:1 “I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep.
Jesus is the one who enters by the gate. But anyone who comes in by another way is a thief, trying to take the sheep. That's the difference between us following what Jesus taught, and what someone else teaches - even if they are using His name.
3 The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.
It's important that we really know what Jesus actually taught. Just reading the Bible a few times a year cannot do that. Truth is, doing one of those "read the Bible in a year" plans won't really be enough either. Not that reading the Bible is bad. It's not. And even something is better than nothing, especially if it leads us to want to know more. To be able to tell the difference between what Jesus taught - and when someone introduces false teaching into the mix. Otherwise, we can and probably will follow the thief.
Jn 10:7 Therefore Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Jesus repeats the previous thought. A technique used throughout the Bible to let us know that the thought is really, really important! And, we read the part about us having life to the full when we follow Jesus.
Jn 10:11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
Now, something on the dangers of following the thief. And going all the way back to Eve, being able to tell the difference between Jesus and the thief. Between Jesus and Satan.
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