#this is a vital distinction

Some people attempt to share the gospel message by making a “sales pitch” for Jesus. The temptation in evangelism is to make the message seem as attractive as possible, and to minimize the difficulties involved in making a genuine decision to walk with the Messiah. Often the appeal is made along the lines of the ego’s self-interest. Jesus is put forth as a solution to life’s problems, a panacea for the worries of life, a blessing for your love life, etc. “Believe in Jesus – because it works for you! You’ll be amazed by the results!  God will bless you and you’ll find happiness and contentment at last!" 

Unless we are careful, using an approach like this can make a subtle appeal to the flesh, to the all-too-human desire for personal satisfaction, happiness, and even pride. But Jesus never made a "cheap sale” of His message and mission. He never appealed to the flesh as a reason for following Him. On the contrary, he repeatedly stated the cost of discipleship and warned of being hated for his sake. “For the gate is narrow and the way is hard (i.e., τεθλιμμένη, "oppressive”) that leads to life, and those who find it are few" (Matt. 7:14). Indeed, Jesusoften intentionally offended people when they encountered him. Far from making it easy to believe, Jesus regularly put up stumbling blocks when people approached Him. He never was a “people pleaser” and He never apologized for speaking the truth, just as He never sought the crowd’s approval nor sought a “market” for His mission. Even less did Jesus seek the approval of the status quo, that is, the religious establishment of the Jews or the political establishment of Rome.

In short, Jesus’s life was scandalous to human beings and their various conceits. Encounters with him were always “tests” that evoked one of two responses: offense or faith. For example, Jesus scandalized his family (Matt. 12:48), his community (Matt. 13:54-57, John 6:42), the gawking crowd (John 6:26-30), various religious seekers (Mark 10:17-22), the religious establishment (Matt. 15:12), the political establishment (Luke 13:32), and even His own followers (John 6:61). His question is always, “Who do you say that I am?” People either were offended at Him or accepted Him, but Jesus made it impossible for them to be indifferentabout Who He was.

John J. Parsons

[Saint] Paul was denounced to the [Roman] authorities by owners of a slave-girl who had the power of predicting the future [due to the influence of a demon. Such soothsaying was not uncommon;] in the uncertainties of a pre-scientific age, any high-ranking official would have a staff of seers to predict the future for a price. Today we [effectively] still have them and they call themselves scientists, whether their predictions have a sound scientific basis or not. [Although legitimate science is praiseworthy and practically useful, we see the modern “demonic” aspect inevitably emerge when the knowledge gained by science is separated from God, being instead hailed as the result of human power alone, and used for trivial, selfish ends. Like in the pagan days of Rome, today individuals of popular esteem or rank will, almost religiously, consult the (often unprofessional) predictions of ‘science’ to guide and govern their choices. This superstitious obsession, and the power it brings, has become so integral to the lifestyles of so many that, when it is questioned– or removed, as Saint Paul did with the demon of divination– the result is striking. Idols do not fall quietly, especially not before Christ. Likewise,] when Paul silences this girl– and deprives her owners of their income– [in their fury,] they easily accuse him of other 'crimes’. These might be refusal to attribute divine status to the Emperor– [the next step up in idolatry. Whereas a pagan had no trouble promoting mortals to 'godhood’ and consulting spirits for hidden knowledge, the early Christians– still seen only as a Jewish sect– openly refused and rebuked such practices. Their faithful devotion to the One God, and declaration of His Sovereignty, was an automatic criminal sentence in the eyes of a vengeful nonbeliever– or even a misguided man of their natal faith, once the Christian declared Christ as God Himself! Thus] in his proclamation of the Gospel, Paul was caught between two [unavoidable and painful outcomes]: either he was beaten by the lictors for refusing divine honour to the emperor, or he was beaten by the Jews for granting divine honour to Christ. [Nevertheless, he– and all the faithful– stood undaunted.] Half-a-century [after Paul was so accused,] Pliny, as a provincial governor, challenges Christians to say ‘The Emperor is Lord’; they reply, ‘Damn the Emperor, Jesus is Lord!’

Dom Henry Wansbrough; Expounded Commentary on Acts 16:16-22

The word ‘commandment’ often implies coercion and regimentation, and ‘obedience’ implies an unwilling or even a sulky child. In the case of God’s commands, however, a commandment is a gift, indicating the way in which love can be expressed; and obedience is a way of seeking to draw closer to God by imitation. The lover seeks to act like the beloved, to be modelled on the qualities which are loved and admired. The commands of God are not random or domineering, but are indications of the ways in which we can draw just a little nearer to the infinite qualities which are seen in the creating and redeeming God. The generosity seen in the beauties of nature and humanity, in the beauty of tolerance and forgiveness, are reflections of the divine qualities. This [humble, constant, compassionate “reflecting”] is how Jesus kept His Father’s commandments and remained in His love, and how we too may do the same.

It might even be said that Jesus needed to suffer so that we might see that God too can endure suffering. Suffering and the supreme suffering of death are human experiences which cannot [derive from] God, [nor can they be said to reflect any quality of divine perfection, for sin and death only entered the human experience through sin]. And so Jesus Himself took them on to share and ennoble these also, [transmuting death itself into a door to life– a paradox only God Himself could accomplish]. Jesus showed His love of the Father and His love of humanity by adopting and enduring the experiences which cannot touch an impassive God– [by being so touched, He proved His tender heart forever.] Such is the full meaning of the love expressed by ‘as the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you.’

Dom Henry Wansbrough; Commentary on John 15:9-17

The prophet Samuel tells the people of Israel that sacrifices and burnt offerings are not what God desires most. What God is really looking for from His people is obedience, not showing off with public spectacles of religion. [Centuries later,] God [still] asks us simply to obey Him, [except now He has also given us,] to follow, Jesus’ model of love, mercy and humility. [His example of obedience is perfect; we need only imitate Him through love. We couldn’t have simpler directions! Nevertheless,] we live in a time when churches can get sidetracked [from simplicity, becoming preoccupied] with putting on events or running programmes that are focused ‘inwards’– [prioritizing their own immediate needs over any acts of mercy]. Perhaps these are the bold 'burnt offerings’ of today? [After all, no matter how impressive the architecture, financial resources, public image, or social life of our church may be, if these things are not being used to actively obey God’s person-focused commandments, they mean nothing to Him.]

[Today, consider God’s true wants from us and ask:] How do we live out our faith in a practical way that pleases God most? [Have we done so today?] How do we become outward-facing churches and Christians, [making the service of God and His people the ultimate motive and end goal of all our choices?] God is looking for Christians who are willing to reach out to those in need [whenever we encounter their needs, not just when it’s 'convenient’]. How do you respond when you see those who are a pariah, [someone rejected or ridiculed even by fellow members of the faith? How do you meet the sick, the imprisoned, the homeless, the addict, the refugee? How do you act to soothe those who are afraid, lost, hopeless, disabled,] poor or in pain? [Do you see them all as people, or as projects for your pride? We cannot please God if we are thinking about what will make us look good.] What would it look like for you to look outwards and [selflessly] serve those who are in need of God’s love? After all, how we serve the poor and follow the example of Jesus is the real litmus test for churches and for us as individual Christians. [God’s commandments are to love and serve one another, not to help ourselves].

Mercy Ships

To love Jesus means to keep His commandments. [Such keeping] is not a matter of mere obedience but of loving imitation. [Try as one might, it is impossible to honestly obey anyone unless one also loves them; neither pride nor indifference can even feign the virtues of humility and dedication required to observe another’s commands. On the other hand,] if I love a person, I want to keep that person’s commandments, both out of loyalty and out of respect for that person’s qualities: [for as one who loves will easily discern,] the commandments [given] will reveal and mirror that person’s qualities. So, the Law given by Moses reveals God’s nature by what He commands. Just so, the actions of Jesus reveal His and the Father’s nature: He heals, He loves, He judges, He forgives, He commands. To obey the commands [given by our loving God] is a response in love, [not legalism. To keep them, like a gift, is the natural and necessary consequence of our personal relationship to Him]: we need to do just that.

Dom Henry Wansbrough; Commentary on John 14:15

As we prepare for the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost and prepare for the renewal of our own mission to the world, we begin [to ready our hearts] with a firm demand for faith in Jesus, which is the same as belief in the Father. Faith is not just an intellectual assent but includes trust, a confidence that we can leave everything in the hands of Jesus.

Dom Henry Wansbrough

[Acts 11:1-18] is not the actual [or ‘real-time’] narration in Acts of the conversion of Cornelius– [that is recorded in 10:1-29–] but Peter’s rendering of it to the community [of Jewish converts to Christianity] when he is justifying his action [of not only visiting but also eating with the Gentiles]. Like the story of Paul’s conversion, this story therefore occurs three times in Acts– [first as narrative, then twice again as speech–]showing the importance of this moment when the first gentile is received into the Church, [and the need to continually proclaim this universal heart of the Good News]. Nevertheless, Peter is humble and witty enough to include his little tiff with the Voice from heaven, whose liberalism so scandalised him, and which [therefore] ended up by roundly ticking him off for his criticism of God’s creation [as 'unclean’]! Peter also amusingly stresses that the Holy Spirit, and not himself, was responsible for the acceptance of the first gentile: in the original account the Spirit merely 'interrupted’ Peter (10:44), whereas now Peter [himself] says, [in effect, that his speech was neither a requirement nor a cause for grace– emphasizing that] he hardly had time to begin speaking when the Spirit poured down!

Dom Henry Wansbrough; Commentary on Acts 11:1-18

What has Adam’s guilt got to do with us? Why are we held responsible for his sin, when we were not even born when he committed it? Did not God say: “The parents will not die for the children, nor the children for the parents, but the soul which has sinned, it shall die.” How, then, shall we defend this doctrine [of original sin? Let us begin by affirming that] the soul [which] has sinned [shall] die. We [all] have become sinners because of Adam’s disobedience in the following manner: After he fell into sin and surrendered to corruption, impure lusts invaded the nature of his flesh, and at the same time [his nature was infected,] the ‘evil law’ of [all future mankind’s] members was born. For our nature contracted the disease of sin because of the disobedience of one man, that is, Adam, and thus many became sinners [by nature]. This was not because they sinned along with Adam, because they did not then exist, but because they had the same nature as Adam, which, [by failing to honor the law of God,] fell under the law of sin. Thus, just as human nature acquired the weakness of corruption 'in’ Adam because of [his] disobedience, [whereupon] evil desires invaded it, so the same nature was later set free by Christ, who was obedient to God the Father and did not commit sin– [restoring & preserving forever, through His sharing in human nature, the righteous purity that Adam lost].

Saint Cyril of Alexandria

Faith is greater than the law because the law is our work, whereas faith belongs to God. Furthermore, the law is concerned with our present life, whereas faith is concerned with eternal life. [Therefore,] faith gives us peace with God, not the law. [Only faith] reconciles us to God by taking away those sins which [the law revealed in us and which] had made us God’s enemies. And because the Lord Jesus is the [sole] minister of this grace [of reconciliation], it is through [faith in] Him that we have peace with God.

Ambrosiaster