Does Jesus Specifically Have to Say It?

Perhaps you have seen the argument that if Jesus didn’t specifically speak out against something, then modern Christians cannot speak about it.  This argument has been made on various topics throughout the years, but in more recent years it has been made concerning the sin of homosexuality.  Now, this post is not going to be about homosexuality, but it is the sin that this argument has been used to "justify" most recently.  However, it has been used for justification of other sins in the past and it will, I'm sure, be used in the future.

Perhaps you have seen this picture?

The argument, in other words, is that since Jesus did not make a specific point of calling homosexuality a sin, then we cannot say anything about it today.  The only way that an individual could possibly come to this conclusion is to cast aside the entirety of the Bible (generally in order to justify an activity they are already participating in).  However, this does lead to the question: does Jesus specifically have to say it?

If it is true that Jesus had to specifically say it, then to what purpose do we have the writings of the apostles? If the actual, verbal words of Jesus were the only ones that matter, then there truly would be no purpose to having the rest of the Bible.  Pack it up, toss it out, burn it, bury it, do whatever to it because it doesn’t matter.  But is this true? Just out of curiosity, what did Jesus say about this concept (since that is the original argument anyway)?

Turn to John 12:42-50.  In this passage, Jesus asserts two things; first, that the word He spoke would judge those that reject it (12:48), and second, that He spoke only that which God the Father had commanded Him (12:49-50).  Even Jesus, the Son of God, did as directed by God the Father.  Now turn to Matthew 16:13-20.  In this passage, Jesus grants to the apostles the “keys” to the kingdom of heaven.  What are those keys? Access to heaven through inspiration and knowledge of salvation, both of which came from God the Father! Jesus also states that whatever the apostles bound or loose on earth would likewise be bound or loosed in heaven.  Does this mean that God allowed the apostles to dictate to Him what would be taught (something that He did not even grant to the Son)? No, they were inspired to speak the will of God just as Jesus was.  How do we learn this? Through other passages concerning these same topics!

In 2 Peter 1:20-21, Peter writes that scripture is not for private interpretation (1:20) and that prophecy is not of men, but of God via the Holy Spirit (1:21).  In other words, the inspired men of God spoke as He moved them to speak.  They only conveyed the will of God to mankind, not their own will! Also, the truth is the truth regardless of how people try to interpret it differently than what it says (1:20).  In 1 Corinthians 1:18-25, Paul tells us that Christ is the power and wisdom of God.  Further, Christ became that wisdom for us (1:30), and therefore Paul came in spiritual wisdom to preach the message of salvation to mankind (2:1-16).  He did not come, as he states in chapter 2, in the wisdom of man, but the wisdom of God.

From all these passages, we can see that the assertion that the message HAS to come from Christ directly is false.  Many people want to look only at what Jesus said because they have a misconceived notion of what Jesus stood for and taught (in other words, while they argue for only looking at what Jesus actually said, they don’t even take all of what He said…just what they WANT to believe).  God inspired the prophets and the apostles, the writers of the Bible, and dictated to them the message they were to preach/teach/write. It ALL comes from God, whether Jesus said it or whether the apostles said it by way of inspiration.  Therefore, it does NOT have to be Jesus that specifically says something in order for it to be applicable!