Quotes in Favor of JWO
Apostle John speaking in Revelation 19:10 -- in various versions - endorses JWO:
Worship God, For the substance (essence) of the truth revealed by Jesus is the spirit of all prophecy. (Rev. 19:10)(Amplified Bible)
Worship God, For the essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness of the message confirmed by Jesus. (Rev. 19:10)(NLT with alternative text in footnote)
"He who rejects me and does not receive my sayings has a judge; the word that I have spoken will be his judge on the last day." (John 12:48.)
Papias 130 AD "But I shall not be unwilling to put down, along with my interpretations, whatsoever instructions I received with care at any time from the elders, and stored up with care in my memory, assuring you at the same time of their truth. For I did not, like the multitude, take pleasure in those who spoke much, but in those who taught the truth; nor [did I take pleasure] in those who related commandments belonging to others [Roberts trans.] / "who recall someone else's commandments'" [Lightfoot trans.] but [I took pleasure] in those who rehearsed / remembered the commandments given by the Lord to the faith, and proceeding from truth itself. If, then, any one who had attended on the elders came, I asked minutely after their sayings,—what Andrew or Peter said, or what was said by Philip, or by Thomas, or by James, or by John, or by Matthew, or by any other of the Lord's disciples: which things Aristion and the presbyter John, the disciples of the Lord, say. For I imagined that what was to be got from books was not so profitable to me as what came from the living and abiding voice. (Papias ca. 130 AD quoted in Eusebius, 3.39.3-4 excerpted in Roberts, Donaldson & Crombie, "Fragments of Papias," The Writings of the Apostolic Fathers (T&T Clark, 1867) at 441-42. Cf. translation of J.B. Lightfoot, Hammer, & Holmes, The Apostolic Fathers (Leicester: Appollos, 1990) at 314; cf. earlier translation J.B. Lightfoot, The Apostolic Fathers (Macmillan, 1898) at 527.)
"What does not teach Christ is not apostolic, whether it be Peter or Paul." (Martin Luther, quoted by Friedrich Bleek, An Introduction to the New Testament (T&T: 1877) at 275.)
Prof. Bauman, 1985
"Supernaturalistic explanations for why Jesus died and how his death saves us, however, largely evade the historical implications of messiahship and discipleship along the via dolorosas of life. ...The emphasis has been not on the didache Of Jesus but on the kerygma About Christ. Jesus’ teaching of the Way of the Cross has been replaced by Paul’s proclamation of the Word of the Cross with the effect that the offense of the Cross has been transferred from the existential to the epistemological plane so that the authoritative command to Follow Jesus has become an intellectual problem of Believing in Christ. That following Jesus is presumptuous and unnecessary is implicit in the logic of most atonement theories. " (Prof. Bauman, The Sermon on the Mount, The Modern Quest for its Meaning (1985) at 421.)
Song "Only Jesus" (2006) by Mike Weaver
Who could ever find the words to describe the Indescribable Limited vocabulary falls so short of depicting You God Yet I'm distracted, the things of this world threaten to pull me apart But in Your mercy You hear the cry of my heart
(Chorus) Only Jesus, Only Jesus Lord, I'm tired of all the rest When my heart knows You are best
Come and change, Lord, rearrange every part of me Until You are all that can be seen Come be seen in me
(Chorus)
Only Jesus, Only Jesus Son of God and Son of Man who Came to destroy the work of sin And its work in me was crushed when You became the way for me Help me surrender and stop pretending that I can live on my own I'll find who I am wrapped up in You alone
Mike Weaver, its author, explained the purpose of the song: "The lyric comes from a place of desperation in the Lord, and it ends with the realization that only Jesus satisfies. Some people treat salvation as if it is little more than fire insurance. This song declares that it is also about having abundant life and that satisfaction in this life that only Jesus can bring." (Gospel Music Lyrics)
Words of Jesus Ministry (2010)
Some will say the Old Testament scriptures are no longer valid or important to Christians so they focus on the New Testament only. And then, for many, the focus is on the writings of Paul, viewing the Words of Jesus as almost leftover Old Testament "Jewish" material. Again, we belive such views are out of balance and dangerous. We believe the focus of one's reading and scripture study time should center around the Words of Jesus. Other scriptures can then be properly studied through the lens of what Jesus taught.
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