Beware Of A Different Jesus!

Daily Bread

Daily Bread Devotions by Chuck Myer Daily Bread Archive | Sign up for our resources

The supreme question . . .

“He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’” (Matthew 16:15)

This is indeed the supreme question . . . who do you say that Jesus is? Christians say in agreement with Peter’s reply,

“Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16)
Jesus is the great “I AM!” – “Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am” (John 8:58)

What was the response of the Jews to this proclamation of Jesus?

“Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him” (John 8:59) – they believe Him to be guilty of blasphemy because He claimed to be equal with God.

Cults, isms, false teachers, and false messiahs abound in our world today. As much time has passed since Jesus ascended into heaven, the devil has been hard at work building one false religion after another. There are many different names for these groups and they all have a plethora of teachings, but what we need to know about them is this, “Who do you say that Jesus is?” Note just some of their claims regarding the One who said, “I am.”

Mormonism – Joseph Smith wrote, “Christ is the firstborn spirit Son in the eternal family, and while yet in pre-existence he advanced and progressed and became like the Father in power and intelligence; that is, he became a God.”
Jehovah Witnesses – Charles Taze Russel noted, “The incarnation is scripturally erroneous. Indeed, if he (Christ) had been an incarnate being, he could never have redeemed mankind.”
Scientology – L. Ron Hubbard – “Neither Lord Buddha nor Jesus Christ were Ots (i.e., Operation Thetans, enlightened beings) according to the evidence. They were just a shade above clear (i.e., relatively low on the Scientology scale of spiritual advancement).”
Zen Buddhism – The Gospel According to Zen – “Who is Jesus? He has no name” and “Jesus” declared, “Split wood: I am there. Lift up the stone, and you will find me there.”
Unity School of Christianity – Charles Filmore – “Most of our religious beliefs are based on the (erroneous) idea that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God . . .”

One thing is for sure, everyone has an opinion of who Jesus is. The great Bible teacher/preacher Vance Havner noted, “Jesus was the most disturbing person in history.” And He still is! He certainly left no wiggle room as to who He claimed to be and what was mandatory to believe about Him . . .

“. . . unless you believe that I am He…” (note that “He” is in italics, added by the translators, so Jesus is saying, “unless you believe that I am,” thus claiming to be the Great I AM and giving witness that He is God) you shall die in your sins” (John 8:24)

Have a great day . . . and as you walk, be sure you have a right understanding of who Jesus is and beware of a different Jesus (II Corinthians 11:1-15).

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