What Jesus?

Christianity is about doctrine, pure and simple.

Our view of all human life precious in the eyes of God stems from what God himself says about life in the Holy Scriptures.

We love others because Jesus commands us. Why do we take the words of somebody who lived 2000 plus years ago so seriously? Why not listen to Buddha, Mohammad, Joseph Smith, Charles Taze Russell or your inner light? Why Jesus?

We follow Jesus because of WHO Jesus is, pure and simple. Let me pause on Jesus for a moment; we'll get back to Him.


This post is about a pet peeve I have. I'll get to it, but first, I need to make an argument defending the necessity to believe cardinal doctrines of Christianity. These doctrines have been held throughout the history of the church.

Something sadly lost on too many of today's Christians is that in order to be considered orthodox, certain beliefs must be held. Compromising or flat out denial of one of these will compromise others.

For example, if you deny salvation by grace alone through faith alone, you deny the effectiveness of Christ's death. You also deny, whether you know it or not, the sovereignty of God. How can God be the complete sovereign of the universe if he does not have complete victory over sin and death? if his death on the cross was not payment enough does this mean Satan has some power God does not have? How can God keep you unto himself once you come to faith if he cannot completely defeat sin proving he's not sovereign? This denial also elevates humanity higher than it ought, it says "God needs our help (again compromising God's sovereignty) so we must help him, and, after all, we're not too sinful if we can corporate with God."

Take the scriptures. How many Christian leaders pay lip service to scripture but then turn around and say some of the Bible contains errors? The statement goes something like this....."The Bible CONTAINS the word of God rather than IS the word of God.

If this is the case, might I ask what parts contain errors and could they please tell me how they came to this conclusion? If one part is erroneous, even though Paul tells us in his writings, that ALL scripture is God breathed, than how can we have complete confidence in the rest of the Bible? This is not to say I understand completely Holy Scripture, and I don't have questions. This does not also mean I do not hold certain doctrines such as Christ's full Deity and humanity or God electing some to salvation but man's responsibility to respond, in tension. What it means is God's ways are not my ways and he has given us more than enough evidence to trust in faith the truthfulness of his word.

One other unintended consequence of compromising Scripture is obvious. When you second guess its reliability, you must also second guess the DOCTRINES found therein. If the flood did not occur, is God really sovereign? If Daniel did not write Daniel and his prophecies were fakes as liberals claim (despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary) Does this mean Christ was not God since he referred to Daniel as a prophet? And if the miracles done at the time of Moses and Joshuah were fakes than does this mean Christ was not born of a Virgin? How can Christ be the sinless lamb led to the slaughter if he was born no different than you or me? Wouldn't that make him just a man? Can his death be payment enough since Romans tells us "All have Sinned and have fallen short of his glory" If we compromise the Virgin Birth, who's to say Christ rose from the dead? After all, if other parts of the Bible are not reliable, what says this part can be trusted? If I take this approach, I might be inclined to question my own salvation and what God says about keeping me unto himself not letting me fall from His grace since those are all found in Scripture. Denying parts of Scripture would cause my faith to unravel like a ball of yarn in the hands of a kitten. I think I've made it pretty obvious. There is no middle ground; either you take ALL the Bible or you take NONE.


Our faith is based on foundations found in Holy Scripture. This means certain doctrines must be taken and accepted if one is to call themselves a Christian. It is the responsibility of the church to, rather than avoid these doctrines, to teach it's members what they are, why they are to be believed, how to convey these beliefs to a lost and hurting world, and how to apply these beliefs in their lives.


Which brings me back to Jesus and quite frankly, one of my pet peeves. How many have heard the following statement? It is dressed in the guise of sounding more "spiritual" The person will stand up and say, "You know, I don't understand all these doctrines, and I don't need them.....(Then you hear the keyboard do a nice musical trill of notes) I just want to love Jesus." (More trills ) Doesn't it sound soo cool? More "spiritual" that somebody just wants to love Jesus? I mean, who could argue with that? Don't get tied down with all these gosh darned doctrines, just "love Jesus"


I hate to rain on their "spiritual" parade but I have to ask one question. Which Jesus would they like to love because I can provide several for them to choose from. Allow me to name a few.


One can love the "Jesus" of the Watchtower Bible and Tract society, aka the Jehovah's Witnesses. This Jesus is not God but Michael the Archangel. He was the first and greatest creation of Jehovah God and is only the son of God because he is the first creation. This "Jesus" came down to earth as only a man, died on a torture stake (not a cross) only for Adam's sin, and rose as a spirit being from the dead where he has already returned to our planet as a spirit, not a body.


Then there is the "Jesus" of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, aka Mormons. This "Jesus" was the brother of Lucifer, both of them were born of Elohim, the God worshipped on earth who has a body of flesh and bones just like you and me. Christ came to earth, was born to Mary through a physical relationship between her and God. Anybody who converts to Mormonism can become a god just like Christ did.

We also have the "Jesus" of the "Jesus Only Movement" This group, like the Jehovah's Witnesses, denies the Trinity. To the Oness group, "Jesus" is actually a "mode" of God. Rather than God existing as one but three persons as orthodox Christians hold, the Jesus Only Movement holds that god reveals himself in three different "modes" much the same way an actor changes consumes in a play.

One can love the "Jesus" of the liberal church. This Jesus is simply a man, nothing more. To the liberal church, Christ was not born of a virgin, did not die for the sins of the world, nor did he raise from the dead. Jesus' bones are buried somewhere in Israel.

Last but certainly not least, a person can love the Jesus of Historic Christianity. This Jesus is the second person in the Triune Godhead. He is the Alpha and Omega proclaimed in scripture. His coming was foretold thousands of years before the incarnation. The Jesus of the Bible is the Great I AM, the one who holds the keys of death and hades . He will wipe away every tear and whose death and Resurrection holds victory for all who have faith in Him. This Jesus is not Michael the Archangel, a "spirit" brother, a mere man, or a player in God's cosmic magic show going from mode to mode. This Jesus is the sovereign creator of the universe who has paved the way for salvation. THAT is the Jesus one should love.

But how is one to know the right Jesus to believe in? I have shown at least five different "Jesus es" who would hardly recognize each other. Simple, the only way to tell is to familiarize yourself by knowing what the Bible says, i.e. getting your doctrine right.


One last item, just because there are cardinal doctrines does not mean there is not room for genuine disagreement between Christians. Our faith is not an "all or nothing" religion. Whatever one's view of the proper mode of baptism, whether Christ and Israel will reign on earth, the sign gifts, or the type of worship music, remember, those are secondary issues. I may not attend a church because of some secondary issues, but I would not exclude them from the fellowship of believers based solely on non essentials.

We, as Christians need to have an intelligent faith. The world is asking what we believe in and why. Hopefully I've demonstrated an "I love Jesus and live for Him" is not enough. What Jesus do you love, and why do you live for him?