Jesus Worship and Nature of Forgiveness
This mediated message deals with Jesus worship and nature of forgiveness. It shows that Jesus is not God and should therefore not be worshiped. The nature of forgiveness is also addressed. For similar information, go to this page and the related articles. Forgiveness is also dealt with here.
Jesus Is Anxious That Mankind Should Stop Worshiping Him as God.
God Alone Can Forgive Sin. Jesus Corrects a Passage in the New Testament Dealing with Forgiveness.
(JESUS)
(December 25th, 1914 | Received by James Padgett)
I AM HERE. Jesus.
You are my dear brother, and I will tell you what I desire you to do at this time. You must not let the worries of your business life keep you from giving your thoughts to God in worship and in prayer, and from believing in me and loving me as your friend and teacher, for I am. And I wish to have you do only those things which will make you more at-one with the Father and love me more.
You must try to let all your thoughts turn to the mission which I have selected you to do, for I have chosen you and you must do my work. As I am the one that God selected to do His Work when I was on earth, so you are the one that I now select to do my work by giving my messages of Truth and Love to the world. I will soon commence to write them and you must preserve them until such time as you shall be in condition to publish the same, which will not be very long. For I have already told you that the means that will enable you to give your whole time to me will soon be at your command.
I do not want you to think that you are not worthy to do this great work. If you were otherwise, I would not have selected you. And this fact alone should be sufficient to make you not doubt that you are a suitable person for the work.
Let me tell you now that, no matter what you may think will happen to your business affairs and work, I will look after you and remove all obstructions so that, as I say, you will soon be able to commence your duties.
In my teachings, I want to show that I am only my Father’s son, as you are His son, and that I am not to be worshiped as God. He is the only God, and the people who are worshiping me in all parts of the world are not doing what I desire. They are putting God in the background and making me their object of worship, which is all wrong and which I am so anxious to have ceased.
They must look upon me only as a son of God and an elder brother who has received the Father’s Love and Confidence, and which I am bidden to teach to others. You are not to let anyone tempt you to let your love of God be displaced by any love that you may have for me. Your love for me must not be the kind that you have for Him. He is the only God, and you must worship Him, Alone. So, be careful and make this distinction or you will make a most egregious mistake.
I am your own dear brother and teacher, and love you with a love that I have for very few mortals. Why? Because I see that you will be a true follower of me and will love God as I love Him. Only I do not want you to think that you are now in a condition that leaves you free from sin or from the necessity of appealing to the Father with all your heart for an inflowing of His Love. You must get all this Love that is possible, and that can be gotten only by prayer and faith.
So, in your prayers, have faith, and the time will come when you will become very close to the Father and enjoy His Love to a degree that few have obtained so far.
Yes, it is possible and, as I say, it will take place. Only do as I have told you. Yes, I will help you with all my power and love, and you will succeed. Only try to believe and you will realize before you come to the spirit world that God is your Father to a degree that will enable you to live very near Him, as I am living. Your faith is now very great, as I know. And notwithstanding the fact that you have doubts and get despondent at times, yet, your faith is there and it will grow in intensity and become so strong that it will never again be broken.
Yes, there are many things in my life, as written in the Bible, which are true and many that are not true. I will tell you of these things when I come to write my messages, and you must wait until then. Yes, I did, but not in the sense that it is taught. To forgive sin is only to let the true penitent feel that, just as soon as he prays to God to blot out his past offenses and truly believes that He will do so, the sins for which he would otherwise have to account are no longer held against him. I could not forgive sin myself, for I was not God. But I could tell them truly that God would forgive their sins if they repented. Later, I will tell you in detail what real forgiveness is and what it consists of. As for the healing act which I performed at the pool of Bethsaida, I am reported to have said, “Is it easier to say, ‘Take up thy bed and walk,’ than for God to forgive your sin?” Well, that is the way it is recorded, but that is not what I said. Actually I said, “That thou may know that the son of man through the Power of God can forgive sin, I say unto you, take up thy bed and walk!” It was only as God’s instrument in showing man the Way to His Divine Love that I could bring about forgiveness of sin, and not by any power of my own.
If God did not forgive, I could not, and neither can any man.
I know that a church claims that authority, but it is not correct. It has no power to forgive sin or to grant any favor or indulgence to mankind. And its assertions of that power is a mere usurpation of what God, Alone, has the Power to give.
May God’s Blessing and mine rest upon you tonight.
JESUS.
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