Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. So Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life.” –John 6:66-68
An old saying, credited to various sources, goes, “People don’t have ideas. Ideas have people.” At first blush, this may sound illogical. Ideas aren’t even alive; how can they “have” people? But the deeper notion here is that ideas have the power to influence, to shape people’s behavior, and to guide human actions. If you’ve ever seen someone behave in “irrational” ways, my intuition is that if you dig deep enough, you’ll find that there’s a powerful idea influencing their behavior.
Another way to say this is that “Ideas have consequences.” If you believe that “might makes right” you behave very differently than if you believe in “loving your enemies.” If you believe that enslaving others is horribly wrong, you will end up with a very different world than if you believe that some people can be bought or sold.
In the quote above from John 6, Jesus reached a juncture in his teaching ministry in which many of his disciples turned away from following him. Jesus then had a frank conversation with his inner circle about their intentions. Peter replied with a powerful confession: “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life.” Peter went on to say, “We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” This understanding of Jesus would eventually lead Peter and most of the other disciples to follow Jesus even to their deaths and the world would never be the same. Ideas truly do have consequences!
The New Testament is a compelling, divinely inspired collection of writings filled with ideas that have captivated the human imagination and animated Christian movements for 2000 years. Our fall sermon series will focus on significant words that show up throughout Scripture but that carry special meaning in the writings of the New Testament. These words are freighted with ideas that have shaped world history: “Life.” “Good News.” “Forgiveness.” “Righteousness.” “Faith.” “Grace.” “The Cross.” “Fellowship.” “Hope.” “Peace.” “Salvation.” “Love.” “Witness.” And more!
This fall, our tour of these foundational New Testament ideas will certainly enrich our appreciation of the Christian faith. But the real endgame is that these ideas will help us to live well in the real world, to be formed into the kind of people whose lives tangibly reflect the goodness, truth, and beauty of our Lord and Savior.
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