For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. —2 John 1:7
It has been said that in the beginning God created man in His image, and in the end man has returned the favor! This speaks of our tendency to create a God that we like while rejecting the God who is. As I was writing this devotional on a beautiful Saturday morning, two women “coincidentally” knocked on my door. They wanted to tell me about the Jesus they have created, the one who used to be Michael the archangel, a created being of God. But John warned us about that. He clearly said deceivers will go out into the world and say that Jesus was not Christ when He came in the flesh, thus denying the deity of Jesus and His existence as God prior to His earthly birth.
Many religions today have created their own Jesus, and here is why this is important. Acts 4:12 says, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” So if you have created your own Jesus, like the one who is the spirit brother of Lucifer or Michael the archangel, or the one who is merely a great teacher or prophet, that’s not the Jesus who saves.
It is of utmost importance for Christians to know what they believe, as there are many who have gone out to deceive. Jesus is God come in human flesh. He did not receive the Christ spirit at His baptism, and He is not the devil’s brother. He was never an angel who became a man who then became an angel again. He is God putting on flesh, come to take away the sins of the world!
If you have your own Jesus, a Jesus other than Immanuel, “God with us,” then you have created God in your own image. Trusting in that will not save. To believe otherwise is deception; it is antichrist, which means “against” or “instead of” Christ. Do not be fooled by those who want to talk about Jesus but deny His Deity. That’s another Jesus, and believing in that Jesus will save no one.
Be confident today. The real Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Preaching the real Jesus will bring people to real salvation. So stand against deception today as opportunities arise to defeat lies with the truth about the real Jesus!
Excerpt from “Body Builders” now available on Amazon.
