In the Age of many man-made gods, it is important for you to know Who you believe and serve. This lesson will help the believers better comprehend the true identity of Jesus and the unbelievers to know and believe the true Christ.
Introduction
In the age of many man-made gods, it is important for you to recognize Who you believe, serve, and worship. Many people in the world today have rejected Jesus Christ. And there are others who claim to know and believe in Jesus Christ but have various customized Jesus. This Jesus is made out of their imagination or expectations of what they want Jesus to be.
This lesson will help those who believe in Jesus Christ to better comprehend the true identity, the works, and expectations of the biblical Jesus Christ. It will also help the unbelievers to know the truth about Christ, the gospel of the grace of God, and how to believe in Jesus and be saved.
Different Kinds of Jesus
As we can all agree, the Bible is the only true source of information and the truth about Jesus Christ. If your description of Jesus is not the same as that of the Bible, then you got “another Jesus.” There had been many kinds of Jesus even before our days. For instance, during the first century, there were many kinds of Jesus being preached:
2 Corinthians 11:4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.
The same way in our days, there are many descriptions given as to whom Jesus is, many of which are contrary to the Bible. Some who claim to believe in Jesus today don’t even follow the Jesus of the Bible. Instead, they have created in their mind the kind of Jesus that they prefer.
For the purpose of this discussion, I will present two major kinds of Jesus that are present in the minds of people today. There is the true Christ as described in the Holy Bible, and then there are false Christs.
In the age of many man-made gods, it is important for you to recognize Who you believe, serve, and worship.
The True Jesus – the Christ
I will begin this section by proclaiming the very first truth about Jesus Christ. He is God, the second Person of the Trinity, God the Son. He is described in the Bible as the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8). He became a Man, He was conceived of the Holy Ghost and born of a virgin. He lived and died for the sins of the world. That is to say, His blood shed and death on the cross was the payment for all sins (Galatians 1:4).
This same Jesus offers free salvation to all people, regardless of how sinful they might be. Receiving this salvation requires no works, performance, or payment since it has already being paid for by the blood of Christ. All it takes is genuine repentance toward God, admitting your sins and believing that there is absolutely nothing that you can do to redeem/save yourself. Run to Jesus and put your trust in His completed redemptive work. Believe that He died for your sins, He was buried, and He rose again the third day according to the Scripture (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).
The above is the simple message of the gospel of the grace of God. The Bible says that we are saved by grace through faith, that is, faith in Jesus Christ. Those who trust Christ with all their hearts are forgiven their sins, and given the gift of eternal life. This means they have reserved a place for themselves in eternity with God. Jesus is the Christ. And He came to this world around two thousand years ago for one specific purpose: to reconcile us unto God. It is through Him that we can get back to God after being separated from Him due to our sins.
In a nutshell, the Jesus of the Bible is the One who came to give eternal life to all who will believe in Him. His ultimate goal is to take us to heaven where we shall all be with God for all eternity.
2 Corinthians 8:9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.
Christ’s Expectations for the Believers
Having believed in Jesus Christ and received the free gift of salvation and that of eternal life, the believers are expected to live the remainder of their lives in fellowship with, and worship of Christ. Through the gospel, we are called to be disciples of Jesus Christ living to His glory, being zealous of good works.
Ephesians 2:8-10 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Titus 2:11-14 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
Christ demands absolute loyalty to Him from His followers. In return, the believers and followers of Christ get heavenly rewards. As a follower of Jesus Christ, your position and possession in heaven will be determined by how you follow Christ now in this life. The believers’ works will be tested, and rewards will be given based upon how much you sacrificed in your service to Christ now.
2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. See also 1 Corinthians 3:11-15.
Does this still sound like your Jesus? For more about the biblical description of the Jesus, please see Who is Jesus Christ to You?
The Counterfeit Jesus – the Antichrists
The false Christs are contrary to the true Christ in description and in functions which makes them the antichrists. These exist today in various forms depending on where you go or who your talk to.
1. The Deceivers
These deceivers can come in the form of false prophets. They will tell the people exactly what the people want to hear while at the same time making merchandise of them (2 Peter 2:3). No discerning Bible students should be surprised by these because they have already been predicted:
Matthew 24:23-25 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 25Behold, I have told you before.
As clearly stated by the words of Jesus above, these deceivers will focus the people attentions on signs and wonders and many claims of miraculous abilities. The goal is to make the people believe that they can get whatever they want from God as long as they follow certain routines and put their faith on things other than God.
These deceivers have no concern for the souls of the people, and therefore the preaching of the gospel is of no use to them. They are more concerned about their callings and so-called ministries, their platforms and the amount of followers they are able to draw with their sugar-coated messages.
But remember, the goal of the false Christs is not to help the people. They just sound like they care for or about the people. Their real goal is to enrich their own pockets, purses and Bank accounts. When they need money, they will syphon it out of the peoples’ pockets with scripture-coated human strategies. But when the people need something, they are told to pray and sow seeds. At the end of the day, they get fatter while the people get thinner. But their days are numbered, says the Scripture:
2 Peter 2:1-3 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. 3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.
We pray that these false Christs repent and start telling the truth before it is too late. In the meantime, believers beware!
2 Peter 3:17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.
The deceptions of these false Christs has resulted in the formation of many man-made Jesus’s in the peoples’ minds. These could include:
2. The Jesus for Licentiousness
Licentiousness, also lasciviousness, is the excessive indulgence of liberty; contempt of the just restraints of law, morality and decorum (Webster).
This Jesus is being served and worshipped today by those who take the grace of God for granted. They believe that being saved by grace alone means that they can do whatever they want without suffering any consequences because grace covers them. Nothing can be more heretic than this! These people do not believe that they need to change their ways. They want to continue their businesses as usual, seeking convenient life while at the same time wallowing in ungodliness and sins. If you try to caution them, however you do it, they will say that you’re judging.
Although the Bible says that “where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Romans 5:20-21), we must never miss the very next verse:
Romans 6:1-4 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? 3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Those who are truly in Christ have something in them that makes and helps them to walk in newness of life. Although salvation is not accomplished by our works, it is hard to be saved and not experience any change of life. Some Jewish believers were rebuked by the Apostle James for this error. James makes it clear that faith without works is death. Saving faith is always accomplished by good works.
Those who are truly in Christ have something in them that makes and helps them to walk in newness of life.
3. The Jesus for Greed
This is the Jesus for those who believe that Jesus Christ exists simply to give them all that they want. As I explained in my previous Article, Heresies About Christ Vs. Biblical Truth, one of the reasons for this false belief is the false gospel received by the people. The foundation of their faith was built upon the premise that they would get whatever they wanted if they came to Jesus. And this belief unbeknownst to them will affect their entire Christian lives. I strongly recommend that you read the section for more detail.
These people have nothing to do with serving or sacrificing for Christ or for the kingdom. Even the works that they do, they do them for the wrong reasons. When they pray, however long, their prayers are filled with requests for the things of this world. (It is not wrong to make supplications to God during our prayers, but that is not the only purpose for praying to God.) When these people give, they do it so that God can give them something in return. Their entire Christian lives are centered around what they want to live their best lives now.
But the believers are not to love this world or the things therein (1 John 2:15-17). The Bible specifically warn the believers against this:
1 Timothy 6:6-11 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. 9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
Please note: being rich and wealthy is not a sin. But this should not be the reason why we follow Jesus Christ.
The Conclusion
We come to Jesus Christ to get forgiveness of sin and the free gift of everlasting life. After obtaining this, the knowledge of it gives us the reason to want to follow Christ for the remainder of our lives. Following Christ means you stop living for yourself, but for Him. You stop running after the things of this world, but “follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.” You stop storing your treasures in this world, but invest in the Kingdom of God.
So which Jesus are you following? Your lifestyle, and not your profession of faith, will determine. How much of the things of this world will you be willing to lose in order to follow the true Christ? As a matter of fact, if all (marriage, family, houses, jobs, savings, investments, etc.) is taken away from you, and all you have left is Jesus Christ, will you be content and still say “I love Jesus!”, “God is good!”?
There is still time to evaluate your faith and in Whom you have put it. Don’t be deceived by the shinning and glittering things of this world. They are only temporary. You will either leave them behind, or they will leave you behind. The believers’ minds should be focused on Heaven and not on this world.
2 Corinthians 4:18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Thank you for reading!
