The PASSION Of The Christ Revisited

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL FRIDAY MARCH 5, 2004
(Philippians 2:5-11)

Your attitude should be the kind that was shown us by Jesus Christ, who, though he was God, did not demand and cling to his rights as God, but laid aside his mighty power and glory, taking the disguise of a slave and becoming like men. And he humbled himself even further by being obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Yet it was because of this that God raised him up to the heights of heaven and gave him a name which is above every other name, that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The PASSION of the Christ revisited. Since the movie has now been out for 10 days and many people have seen it, I thought it was important to do a follow-up to the February 23rd Devotional I did prior to the movie's release. This is not to rehash the points I made in that Devotional where I encouraged readers to see the movie as well as use it as an evangelistic tool, but to put what many of you have seen in perspective and deal with some issues that have been raised by The Passion.

The bottom line to The Passion of the Christ is that it is bringing people back to THE CROSS. One of the "big picture" goals of my ministry and what Liveprayer tries to do each day is bring the Body of Christ together as one. Please do not misunderstand me. I am NOT talking about some sort of ecumenical movement that includes all of the false religions of the world. What I am talking about is the ONE TRUE CHURCH, the BODY OF CHRIST which consists of all those who have accepted Christ as their Savior by faith regardless of the name of the building they choose to worship in. The Bible clearly teaches that when you die, there is only going to be one issue that matters for eternity, have you accepted by faith Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Those who have rejected Him will be eternally separated from God and those who have accepted Him by faith will be forever with Him.

*ALL OF THOSE WHO KNOW JESUS CHRIST AS THEIR SAVIOR WILL BE SPENDING ETERNITY TOGETHER, SO WE SHOULD START LEARNING HOW TO BECOME ONE NOW!

One of the great byproducts of The Passion is that it takes the focus off of all of the things that we have allowed to divide us as followers of Jesus Christ and puts it back on what unites us, THE CROSS. We allow satan to divide us by our churches, by doctrinal and theological issues, by race and ethnicity, and in so many other ways. What unites us, makes us the Body of Christ is our faith in Jesus. It is the cross that brings us back to HIM.

The reason I encouraged those who know Christ as their Savior to see this movie was to get a glimpse, a view, of the incredible price that was paid for our sin. SIN IS NOT FREE. The bottom line of The Passion for the child of God is that he/she can never look at sin the same way again. There is no way to ever sin again and not be reminded of the incredible price our Lord paid.

The reason I encouraged those who know Christ to take an unsaved family member, friend, classmate, or co-worker to the movie, was because this movie would open a dialogue about Jesus. Who was He? Why did He have to die? What was the significance of His death? Instead of the typical questions a non-believer usually asks to justify their non-belief, this movie forces them to face the ultimate question of who really was this man Jesus.

Listen, this movie is NOT the ultimate answer to saving the world, but is simply another tool God can use. It is a tool He can use to encourage His children to get serious about serving Him and making a difference with their life. It is a tool He can use to open the hearts of the non-believer to be open to making a commitment of their life to Christ. That is why I have personally endorsed The Passion and encourage people to see it.

Of course, anything God is using to encourage the saints and bring the lost to know Christ will come under attack from the enemy. Anyone who has claimed or continues to claim that the movie is anti-Semitic is simply looking to stir up controversy. As I stated in my 2/23 Devotional, it is no more anti-Semitic than it is anti-Roman. That is simply a foolish claim with no merit. I have also heard Mel Gibson attacked for the money that he is making off the movie. Don't forget, Hollywood refused to make this movie. Mel Gibson was in the unique position to be able to do it on his own. The reality is, there are probably only a handful of people on the planet with the resources, the insight into the motion picture industry, that could have pulled this off. With God's help, Gibson did it. Anyone that risks 25 MILLION DOLLARS of their own money on a project has the right to enjoy whatever financial rewards there may be.

As a side note, you can be assured that two things will be happening in Hollywood in the coming months. First, because of the success of The Passion there will be more motion pictures geared to a Christian audience. Let's pray they are well done and true to God's Word. Also, the great perverter satan himself will be giving inspiration to those who hate God to start putting out movies that are clearly anti-Christian. A movie on the blasphemous DaVinci Code book is already in the process of being filmed. Be assured others that will blaspheme Christ will be rolling out in the near future.

I love you and care about you very much. I pray that you will go see The Passion. It will help those who know Christ as their Savior to come together around the one thing that unifies us, THE CROSS. It will also give the believer a visual picture of the horrific price Christ paid for our sins. No child of God can EVER sin again without thinking of the price that Jesus paid for our sins. I am thankful for the reports I'm getting every day of how this movie is being used to bring the lost to come to know Christ as their Lord and Savior. This movie can help open even the hardest heart to the truth of who Jesus is and why faith in Him alone is the only road to God. The fact is this world is hungry for the TRUTH. The Passion is a wonderful tool God is using to share the truth of Christ's last hours on this earth.

In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller

If I can help you in any way you can contact me through my personal email at bkeller@liveprayer.com.

This was Part Two of a two-part devotional. Part One was The Passion of the Christ.

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