In Matthew 24: 24, Jesus provides a stern warning that “false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect–if that were possible…”
In the old “To Tell the Truth” game show, you had to question three contestants to determine the true identity of the person who would then stand up to be recognized. Unfortunately, if you’re looking for the true Jesus these days, you have more than three “contestants”.
The cults and false religions of the day have produced some such as these: Jesus #1: Jesus was Michael the archangel, the first being created by Jehovah God, “a god” but not Almighty God, was invisibly raised from the dead as a “spirit being” and has already invisibly returned to earth. Jesus #2: Jesus was the “spirit brother” of Lucifer, a man who evolved to godhood and was married to more than one woman while on this earth. Jesus #3: This is a Jesus who never came in the flesh, but is simply a divine idea or principle inherent in every person. Jesus #4: Jesus is one of many great prophets but has since been superseded by a greater prophet. He did live a sinless life but was not crucified nor did he die to pay the penalty for anyone’s sins.
All of the above are the creations of men although they bear the same name as the true Jesus revealed in the Holy Scriptures. However, as eternally dangerous as all of the above “Jesus’s” are, there may be some that are even more dangerous. There are many people, some even sitting in church week after week, who have created a Jesus in their own minds with whom they are comfortable. He may be a Jesus that is all “love” but no judgment. He may be a Jesus that tolerates all lifestyles and life choices even though they conflict with His Word. But, he is not the true Jesus revealed in the entirety of God’s Word.
In 2 Corinthians 11: 4, the apostle Paul warned the believers at Corinth, “For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.” There are other Jesus’s, other spirits and other gospels. Are you “putting up” with a false Jesus, one that cannot save? At one point while Jesus was walking this earth, He turned to His disciple Peter, and asked, “Who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, answered boldly, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” There is only One Jesus who is God in the flesh, only One who died on the cross for your sins, only One who rose physically from the dead and is alive forevermore, only One who sets you free from the bondage of sin, only One who grants eternal life to those who believe. Do you know Him?
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