WHICH JESUS?
"But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 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" (2 Cor.11:3,4).
The apostle Paul spoke of those who would come preaching another jesus; of those who would receive another spirit and accept another gospel. The question I pose to you, the reader, today, is: ‘Which spirit have you received, which gospel do you believe and WHICH JESUS HAVE YOU ACCEPTED?’
There are many false jesuses which myriads of people have confidently embraced. These false messiahs go by the name jesus, and claim to be God’s Son, but when we look at the detail of the doctrines which promote such charlatans, and compare them with the Word of God, we are able to see that they are not the Son of God, but empty vessels, imposters which have absolutely no power to save anyone.
THE ‘JESUS’ OF MORMONISM:
The jesus of Mormonism is not the Second Person of the Trinity, as there is no Trinity at all according to Mormon doctrine. The Mormon jesus was a pre-existent spirit, the spirit-brother of the Devil, and was married to both Mary and Martha! Brigham Young, the successor to Mormon founder Joseph Smith, declared that the Mormon jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was ineffective for the cleansing of some sins. Man himself has to atone for those sins that the blood of the Mormon jesus could not atone for. The Mormon jesus is a false jesus and no Savior at all.
THE ‘JESUS’ OF THE JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES:
The jesus of the Jehovah’s Witnesses is not God, but only a god. He is the Son of God, but not God Himself. This jesus was resurrected a divine spirit creature, and his birth on earth was not an incarnation according to JW doctrine. The jesus of the Jehovah’s Witnesses is not coming again, but is already on earth, only invisibly. This jesus ‘...removed the effects of Adam’s sin by his sacrifice on Calvary, but the work will not be fully completed until the survivors of Armageddon return to God through free will and become subject to the Theocratic will of Jehovah’ (‘The Kingdom of the Cults’, p.99). The JW jesus is a false jesus and no Savior at all.
THE ‘JESUS’ OF ROMAN CATHOLICISM:
The jesus of Roman Catholicism is another whose death upon the cross was insufficient of itself to atone for the sins of all those for whom He died. This jesus died to redeem all mankind from sin, but his death alone was not sufficient enough to fully atone for all sins, thus there is a need for men to suffer punishment in Purgatory in order that they may become fully purged of their sin, and, therefore, pure enough and acceptable enough to enter Heaven. The Roman Catholic jesus appears on Roman Catholic altars as bread and wine, and is continually being offered to God as a bloodless sacrifice for the sins of man. The Roman Catholic jesus is a false jesus and no Savior at all.
THE ‘JESUS’ OF THE FAITH MOVEMENT:
The jesus of the Faith Movement did not atone for man’s sins upon the cross. His physical death alone accomplished nothing. This jesus needed to go to Hell and suffer torment there, and be tortured by the Devil and his demons in order to complete the Atonement. This jesus had to die spiritually. The death of this jesus did not atone for the sins of man on the cross, but in the pit of Hell. The atoning sacrifice of the Faith Movement’s jesus was not finished upon the cross, but was merely the beginning of the complete work of redemption (Kenneth Copeland, ‘Believer’s Voice of Victory’, April 1982, p.10). The Faith Movement jesus is a false jesus and no Savior at all.
THE ‘JESUS’ OF SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISM:
The Seventh-Day Adventist jesus bears some similarity to the true Jesus, but being similar is not the same as. According to Seventh-Day Adventist prophetess, Ellen G. White, ‘The blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, while it was to release the repentant sinner from the condemnation of the law, was not to cancel sin....it (the blood) will stand in the sanctuary until the FINAL atonement’ (E. G. White, ‘Patriarchs and Prophets’, p.357). The jesus of Seventh-Day Adventism ‘...gave his life that man should have another trial. He did not die on the cross to abolish the law of God but to secure for man a second probation’ (E. G. White, ‘Testimonies to Ministers’, 1953, p.134). The Seventh-Day Adventist jesus is a false jesus and no Savior at all.
THE ‘JESUS’ OF CHRISTIAN SCIENCE:
The jesus of Christian Science did not atone for man’s sins upon the cross at Calvary. Founder, Mary Baker Eddy, emphatically and blasphemously stated that, ‘The material blood of jesus was no more efficacious to cleanse from sin when it was shed upon the accursed tree than when it was flowing through his veins...’ (‘Science and Health’, p.25). This jesus was born of the Virgin Mary’s spiritual thoughts of Life and its manifestation. The ‘one sacrifice’ of this jesus, ‘however great, is insufficient to pay the debt of sin’ (‘Science and Health’, p.23). The jesus of Christian Science is a false jesus and no Savior at all.
THE ‘JESUS’ OF ARMINIANISM:
The ‘jesus’ of Arminianism is the most popular and adored of all the counterfeit christs. This jesus is another false messiah who died, not for God’s chosen people, but for every individual ever born. His death was not to secure the salvation of anyone, but was to make salvation potential for everyone, dependent upon their free will choice of Him. This jesus is not the effectual Savior of His people, but the potential Savior of every person, thus making man’s free-will decision for God that which will ultimately decide his eternal destiny. According to Arminianism it is not Christ and His Work that makes the difference between saved and lost, but a free-will act of man. The jesus of Arminianism achieved nothing on the cross for any for whom he died unless they accept what he has done, thereby making it a valid and effectual act. The jesus of Arminianism is a false jesus and no Savior at all.
THE TRUE JESUS:
There is only one True Jesus, the Jesus of the Bible: the One Whom God gives testimony to. The One Who died, was buried and rose again "according to the Scriptures" (see 1 Cor. 15:1-4). There is only one Savior whom God recognizes as His Son, and only His Son saves: the Jesus Who is not only the Son of God, but IS God Himself. The true Jesus IS the Second Person of the Trinity (see 1 Jn. 5:6,7), unlike the Mormon jesus. The resurrected body of the true Jesus was made up of ‘flesh and bones’ (Lk. 24:39), and the true Jesus is not already secretly on earth for His coming will be seen by all (see Acts 1:9-11 cf. Lk. 17), unlike the JW’s jesus. The true Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father, and does not appear at the beck and call of Roman Catholic priests upon their altars as bread and wine. Nowhere in Scripture can it be demonstrated that the sufferings of the true Jesus continued in Hell for the redemption of man, as they did for the false jesus of the Faith Movement. The true Jesus died on the cross at Calvary and His shed blood, that is, his physical death, DID atone for all the sins of everyone for whom He died. His sacrifice was a once and for all substitutionary sacrifice that requires no repetition and no supplementary act on the part of man in order for it to become fully effective. His physical death IS sufficient to cover every sin—past, present and future—of all those whom God gave to Him.
The jesuses promoted in the false gospels of religion failed to fully atone for sin by their ‘death’ on the cross. The true Jesus’ atonement for His people was fully efficacious for the redemption of everyone for whom He poured out His blood: "Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross" (Col. 2:14 cf. Heb. 9:13,14); "...but now once in the end of the world hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself" (Heb. 9:26); "...we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all" (Heb. 10:10); "For by one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified" (Heb.10:14); "...unto Him (Jesus) Who loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood" (Rev. 1:5). All these Scriptures testify to the fact of the all-sufficiency and all-efficiency of Jesus’ once-and-for-all sacrifice for His sheep on the cross. “…I lay down My life for the sheep” (Jn. 10:15).
As the different gospels preached by these false religions are no Gospel at all, so too, their different jesuses are no Jesus at all and, therefore, no Saviour at all! It is of crucial importance that we believe in the right Jesus. In fact it is a matter of life and death. The jesus you have is identified by the doctrine you believe in. There are billions of people on this earth, but only one you and only one me. Likewise, there is only ONE Savior, and if one does not abide in His doctrine, if one does not believe in the only Gospel which reveals the Righteousness of Christ, without which no one can be saved, then one is without God and without hope: "Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God..." (2 Jn. 9); "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth...For therein is the Righteousness of God revealed..." (Rom. 1:16,17).
Imagine a room full of different jesuses. Above their heads is written: ‘The jesus of the Mormons’; ‘The jesus of the Faith Movement’; ‘The jesus of Roman Catholicism’; ‘The jesus of Arminianism’ etc. The characteristics, the attributes, the history and the redemptive work of the jesus you follow must be in accord with the Jesus of the Bible, or you have accepted the wrong jesus (1 Cor. 15:1-4). Why error is so deadly in this matter of who the Savior is and what He has done, is that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump (see Matt. 16:6-12). If one does not hold to the truth about Jesus, how can one be said to have the True Jesus? "Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God..." (2 Jn. 9); “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the Wrath of God abideth on him” (Jn. 3:36 cf.1 Jn.5:10-12).
The doctrine which distinguishes and identifies the jesus you believe in must be in accord with the Scriptures, or you have been taught, and do follow, one of the many counterfeit saviors. The true Jesus is the One Whose physical death upon the cross, alone fully atoned for the sins of everyone for whom He died. Only this Jesus is the real Savior; only this Jesus provides salvation for His people, the ones whom God chose before the foundation of the world, and gave to His Son (see Eph. 1:4 & Jn. 17:2,3). Accept any other jesus, however much he might resemble the true Jesus, however sincerely you believe him to be the true Jesus, and you have embraced a satanic counterfeit who will lead you to an eternal, inescapable Hell.
For more detailed teaching on the true Jesus, see my booklets ‘God’s Only Jesus’ and 'Atonement for Whom?: A Study of the High Priesthood of Jesus Christ' at www.godsonlygospel.com
Also, for a broader look at those religious organizations which teach a false gospel, wherein is not salvation, please see my book 'Who Are The Lost?' at www.godsonlygospel.com
This article is also available on request in the Philippino 'Tagalog' language.