5 Counterfeits of Jesus
There may be "more than one way to skin a cat," but there is only One way to be in the presence of God in heaven. This One way is Jesus. In our human-centered understanding, we try to make up other avenues to get to heaven. Also, the enemy of our souls manufactures lie after lie, desperate to keep us away from the Truth. But God made it clear by prophecy in the Old Testament and reality in the New Testament. He was sending a Messiah, a Christ, a Savior, a Hero, a Son to save the world. Jesus is the only way to be with God in heaven.
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (NIV)
Counterfeit Number 1: "You can't know for sure"
To me, this is the worst counterfeit of them all. That a Creator would pour out His creativity, energy and love into a creation and not give them a for sure way to get to Him. A loving parent would never leave their children stranded! We are not in the dark. The Bible makes the truth plain and clear. Jesus is our portal from this life to the presence of God. All we have to do is see our need for a Mediator and use our words dipped in belief to claim Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
"If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved." (NIV)
Counterfeit Number 2: "You have to be good enough"
Here is the thing: no matter how good we are, we will never be good enough to be in the presence of a holy God without a mediator. We believe this counterfeit when we are either ignorant or in denial about how awesome and perfect our God is. God knew we would fall short of His holy Standard, which is why He sent His Son to make atonement for our sins. Jesus gave us His holiness, and He took our sins. It is only through Jesus we will ever be good enough because we receive His perfection by grace.
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." (NIV)
Counterfeit Number 3: "You get a do over"
Reincarnation suggest that if we aren't good enough in our current life, we will get another life to try again. This is false in two ways. First, it relies on counterfeit number 2 that we can be good enough, which we can't. Second, believing in reincarnation takes more faith than believing in Jesus because there is no biblical backing. In Jesus, we are "born again" meaning that our spirits are "birthed" into a relationship with a holy God. This relationship continues after our bodies die and we enter heaven. We are physically born through our mother and spiritually born through our Savior. Our flesh and spirit are tethered into a one-of-a-kind, unique masterpiece. God doesn't discard our life for another because this life He is giving us now is precious and valuable.
"For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (NIV)
Counterfeit Number 4: "There are many ways"
Jesus is God in the flesh Who came down to earth to break His body and pour out His blood. The Blood of Jesus Christ is the Living Water of God mixed with the earth to redeem all of creation from sin. Through the Blood of Jesus Christ, we can now have a relationship with a holy God because we have been made right. That relationship continues into eternity. Nothing can do what Jesus has done. All of creation pivots on His Sacrifice on the Cross and His Redeeming Blood. To accept Jesus is to walk in God's presence. To reject Jesus is to walk in the absence of God's presence. Nothing other than the Blood of Jesus can birth us into the presence of God. Nothing is that powerful.
"How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!" (NIV)
Counterfeit Number 5: "You don't matter"
The Bible says that Jesus died for each and every single one of us. He loves you. No matter how you were raised, what sins you have committed or how you see yourself, God adores you. You are His child. He longs to have a relationship with you, which is why He sent Jesus to die. If you would like to have a relationship with God, all you have to do is accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior.
Say these words: "Dear Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner. I fall short of God's holy standard. Yet, I still want to be part of His holy family. I want to live with God in heaven for eternity. I ask for You, Jesus, to come into my heart. Forgive me of my sins. And be my Lord and Savior. Thank you for loving and saving me. I pray this in Jesus' name, amen."
"And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again." (NIV)
Copyright © Alisa Hope Wagner, used with permission.
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