WHAT JESUS DO YOU BELIEVE IN?

There are many ways the enemy attacks.  Many times he tries to divert people away from God's Word.  You see this in the orchard with the question, "Did God actually say?"  This tactic has worked well on so many people.  But if a person continues to look to Jesus for help, then Satan uses a slightly different method of distortion.  He will try to contort your view of who Jesus really is.  You see, Satan doesn't mind you using the name of Jesus as long as you are never talking about the real Jesus.  

Since the first century, the church has been attacked by heretical teachings that distort our view of Jesus. The apostle John wrote about such people in his letters. (1 John 2:18,19) John calls these people antichrists, or against Christ. They distort the truth about who Jesus is. We see this again in 2 John 1:7.

"For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist."

He then gives instruction about avoiding such people.

"Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward. Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works." (2 John 1:8-11 ESV)

This type of attack has continued throughout the centuries. Arian taught the false teaching that Jesus wasn't God but was instead created by the Father. This heretical teaching spread throughout the church so much so that Arian's opponent Athanasius of Alexandria cried out "Athanasius contra mundum!" "Athanasius against the world!" (You can read more about Athanasius here.) Most of the world fell into this heresy, but church doctrine isn't decided by majority rule, but rather what God's Word says.

Today there are various modern day heresies about Jesus, such as the Mormon religion and the Jehovah Witnesses. Islam also has a false view of who Jesus really is. These are easy to spot for most Christians. But there are subtler forms of antichrists that we also need to watch out for. 

There's the "non-condemning" Jesus. This Jesus doesn't want to punish sin, but forgives everyone no matter what they believe. It is clearly evident in scripture that those without faith will suffer eternal punishment in hell. (Revelation 20:15)

There's the "sinner's prayer" Jesus. This Jesus will guarantee you a spot in heaven as long as you recite the sinner's prayer and mean it in your heart. Again, scripture doesn't teach us to pray a certain prayer to be saved, but to repent and believe. (Ephesians 2:8-10) There are no magical "get out of jail free" words we can say.

There's the "pick and choose" Jesus. This Jesus only likes the verses of the Bible that you like. He agrees with you that those other verses shouldn't be there or don't mean what they say they mean. The video below is a great example of this Jesus.

In truth, there is only one Jesus. This Jesus is both fully God and fully human. He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died on a cross, paid the penalty for your sins and mine, was buried, rose from the dead three days later and now sits at the right hand of the Father in heaven. He will one day come again to judge the world. Those who have faith in this Jesus will have their names written in the Lamb's book of life. They will spend eternity in the new heavens and new earth. They will be in perfect relationship with God. Those who believe in a different Jesus will be judged for their sins and spend eternity in the lake of fire. 

So I ask you, "What Jesus do you believe in?"