Which Jesus Is the Church Preaching?
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We are living in the days the Apostle Paul warned about in his first letter to Timothy and his second epistle to the Thessalonians.
“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron” (1 Timothy 4:1-2 NKJV).
“The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 NKJV).
Did you notice, the Apostle specifically wrote, “the Spirit expressly says…”
Did you notice, the Apostle specifically wrote, “the Spirit expressly says…” This is not the idea or the reasoning of a man.
It is specifically what Holy Spirit is saying to the believers. God is warning His people what it will be like as the last days approach.
I do not have room in this blog to provide all the biblical indicators that tell us we are living in that time frame. That is for another writing.
Look at the characteristics given by the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul that reveal church leaders and churches are departing from the faith.
- People will listen to and embrace deceiving spirits;
- People will listen to and embrace doctrines of demons.
- Teachers will have the appearance and reputation for being great teachers of the Word of God; they are speaking lies;
- The conscience of these teachers is calloused.
- People will stop loving the truth;
- A spirit of delusion will fill the culture and creep into the church.
- People will believe the lie;
- There will be a growing pleasure in unrighteousness, even in the church.
There are things happening in the Gospel preaching churches right now that grieve the Spirit of God and sadden the heart a truly committed disciple of Jesus Christ.
Many who have been in church leadership for years did not see this coming.
Major voices in evangelical churches are now teaching, “The Bible is not the foundation of the Christian faith, and it never has been.”
According to these teacher-preachers one does not point to the Holy Scriptures as the foundation of their faith.
They should point to the resurrection of Jesus for why they believe.
While claiming to believe the Bible is God’s Word, they have a low view of the infallibility of the Holy Bible.
This growing movement inside the Evangelical and Pentecostal churches is gaining traction.
There are two important questions that must be asked.
If you point to Jesus as the foundation of your faith, specifically to which Jesus are you pointing and how does one know that is the correct Jesus?
Are you pointing at the Jesus who is a brother to Satan or are you pointing at the historical Jesus who was married to Mary Magdalene?
Are you pointing to the Jesus who faked miracles so he could gather a following or are you pointing to Jesus who had a gay relationship with his disciples?
Are you pointing to Jesus who was a great teacher of love and forgiveness but died as a troublemaker for Rome or are you pointing to Jesus who was crucified, and his disciples faked his resurrection?
Are you pointing to Jesus who is
- The Christ and is the only begotten Son of God;
- In whom dwells all the fullness of the godhead bodily;
- Who rose from the dead and today is seated at the right hand of God;
- Who has been given a name above every name
- And is coming again to rule and reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords?
How will a person know which Jesus is the correct Jesus to build their faith upon?
The Mormons have one Jesus while the Muslims have another Jesus.
The Gnostics teach yet another Jesus while the contemporary churches who are progressive have still another Jesus.
There is only one true Jesus Christ; conceived of the Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin Mary. He is the Word that became flesh and lived among us.
- He was tempted in all points as we are tempted, but without sin.
- He was crucified; Heavenly Father laid upon Him the sins of mankind.
- He was buried taking every person’s sinful with Him to the grave.
- He rose the third day, ascended back to Heaven where He is seated at the right hand of the Father, continually making intercession for us.
- . He is preparing a place for every true disciple and is coming again very soon to take us to that place He has prepared.
How do we know that He is the one and only true Jesus Christ?
We don’t look to archaeology, historical record, or to a personal experience to reveal the identity of Jesus Christ. These are all subjective sources.
We must look to a more certain source.
God’s holy and infallible Word reveals the identity of the true Jesus.
The Apostle Paul affirmed, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 NKJV).
Jesus, Himself, declared it is the Scriptures that testify of Him (John 5:39).
When the anchor point of faith is moved away from the Holy Scriptures and one begins looking to an experience; or to historical record that is written by fallible humans; or even to archaeological records that are far from complete; then the anchor point becomes very unstable and subjective.
The image of Jesus can easily become distorted and faith becomes misplaced.
Jesus Christ is the author and finisher of our faith. He has revealed that faith in His written Word, the Holy Bible.
That is why the Apostle Jude urged the church to “contend earnestly for the faith that is once for delivered to the saints. For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Jude 3-4).
God has revealed Himself to mankind in the person of Jesus Christ.
We have an accurate and undeniable record of that revelation in the Holy Bible, God’s infallible Word.
It can be trusted with absolute certainty.
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HOW DO CHRISTAINS NOW COMBAT THIS FALSE TEACHING IN ORDER TO GAIN THE SOUL OF THOSE THAT ARE ALREADY SINKING IN THIS FALSE TEACHING?
Jesus Christ is the author and finisher of our faith. We should always entrust Him with our very being.