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WWJD vs WDJD

by Michael Russell

Occassionally, you will see a T-shirt or bumper sticker or other emblem with the letters WWJD. The letters stand for the question, "What Would Jesus Do?"

The idea behind the question is to prompt us to think about our behaviour. Before we do something, we should ask ourself, "What would Jesus do in this situation?"

This is a very powerful tool to help us think of the morality and eternal value of our daily decisions.

It is also a powerful tool to encourage Bible study; because this is the only way that we can know what Jesus would do. It is through studying Jesus' life that we are able to learn how Jesus faced decisions and the decisions He made.

I think an alternative question that is more powerful is WDJD - "What Did Jesus Do?". What is the value of asking what Jesus would do if we don't know what Jesus did do?

The ability to answer WWJD is dependent on how well we know Jesus in the first place. What did He do? Why did He do it? Who is this Jesus?

To truly understand what Jesus did, we first must understand sin (we have turned away from God), repentance (the necessity that one's life must change direction), and our broken relationship with God.

Without these fundamentals, to say "I believe in Jesus", has the same meaning as saying, "I believe in George Washington". This falls short of the life change that comes from trusting in Jesus and what He did.

The first step is when we see ourselves as lost and perishing, being terrified of God's wrath, convicted of our sins, and recognizing that we need to be saved (we cannot save ourselves). Only then, are we able to go to Jesus to be saved and receive the free gift of salvation.

The problem, too many so-called churches today are not teaching this. They teach that we are to "believe in Jesus", but they do not teach what Jesus did -- crucified as the payment for our sins, buried, and resurrected as the first born of the new creation. They teach a Jesus who is a magical genie. A Jesus who came to save us from our current pain, instead of save us from our sins.

Too many churches today are teaching a false belief. Instead of teaching the true Jesus, they are teaching a Madison Ave Jesus with emphasis on "Jesus loves you" and leaving out "Jesus died for you" and "your sins are why Jesus had to die".

The emphasis on a "lovey dovey" view of Jesus ignores our sin nature. It ignores the holiness of God. It ignores our being lost and needing a saviour. It ignores the foundations of the gospel. It ignores the fact all sins have consequences. Finally, it ignores the fact that we serve God; God does not serve us (the genie mentality).

This false belief is evidenced by the many people who claim to be Christians, yet their lifestyle is no different than the world. These self-proclaimed Christians are not convicted about their own sins and are not abhorred by the sinful state they see all around.

In conclusion, until you understand "What Did Jesus Do?", you cannot properly answer "What Would Jesus Do?".

This essay was inspired by the article, Who is Jesus?, by Ken Ham as published in Answers Update, October 1999, Vol 6, No 8.