by Bernie Koerselman
Introduction
Believe I Am the One I Claim to Be
A Heresy Which Teaches the Wrong Him
Titles Claimed by Jesus
This Heresy Is Within the Evangelical Protestant Church
Reasons for the Heresy
Ecumenism
Relativism
Satisfies Needs to Feel Good
Seems Seeker-Friendly
It Sounds Right
Peter Prophesied About This Heresy
The Heresy Is Destructive
The Heresy Denies the Lord
Many Will Follow the Heresy
Does God's Repetition Have Meaning?
God's Repetition
Two-Thirds of New Testament Books Don't Mention "Savior"
Not a Semantic Difference
A Different Jesus; a Wrong Response
You talked with the appointment secretary. She assured you that you didn't need an appointment, that Jim Abbott would be in on Wednesday afternoon. She said, "Just come in and ask for Jim."
Wednesday afternoon you arrived at the office, introduced yourself to the receptionist, and asked to see Jim. The receptionist called, a secretary came out and took you to see Jim – Jim Jamison.
What happened? You did as the appointment secretary told you to do, you asked for Jim, but you saw the wrong "Jim."
That's what is happening in many of our churches. People come to find the Jesus in whom they can believe to have salvation. Instead, the church tells them about another Jesus.
That's what happened to me. The church people didn't deliberately mislead me; they didn't intentionally take me to the wrong Jesus. They just didn't lead me to the Jesus of Scripture. Only through personal Bible study did I discover and receive the Jesus revealed in Scripture. Then the Holy Spirit flooded me with the fruit of the Spirit.
To respond to Jesus' warning, we must do two things. The first is to make sure we know who Jesus claimed to be. I'll show you who in this section of the book. The second is to believe that he is who he claimed to be. That part is up to you.2"I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins."1
In this section of the book, we're looking at the phrase, "believe in him," with the emphasis on learning who the "him" of the phrase really is. The phrase, believe in him, is often connected with salvation.3 Those who correctly believe in him are the ones who have salvation. But we can't believe correctly if we believe in the wrong him.
What was your answer? When I pose those statements to people, most believe they are true. Both are false. As to the first one, as we will see, there is no statement in all of Scripture that comes close to saying there is salvation for anyone by believing in Jesus as Savior.4 The second is also false, but is even further from the truth because it refers to believing in something he did, not in him.
The goal of biblical Christianity is not to satisfy self. On the contrary, Scripture says that those who desire to believe in him and be saved must die to self.17
Some are embarrassed about the strength of the gospel as presented in Scripture. Many water the gospel down, believing that makes it more attractive. To those who believe Scripture is too harsh for the unbeliever, to those who water it down, Jesus said, "If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."18 When the gospel was shared fully,19 not watered down, the church spread in the face of persecution and was known for its power, not its words.20
The danger is compounded because we hear this heresy coming from highly regarded preachers and teachers in the Christian community. I believe they wouldn't deliberately mislead us. But preachers sometimes seem to place more trust in what they learn in their seminaries than they do in the clear and obvious teachings of Scripture. Some seminaries have been teaching this heresy as truth for generations. Another likely possibility is that some preachers and teachers have simply become careless in their language. I suspect their carelessness causes great joy in the powers and principalities of darkness and much sorrow in the Kingdom of God.
But we're concerned about a present-day heresy. Peter prophesied about a future time when there will be false teachers who will secretly introduce destructive heresies which even deny the sovereign Lord who bought them.22 Peter warned that many will follow their shameful ways and bring the truth into disrepute.23
Peter's prophecy is fulfilled in our time. The Mormons are one of the fastest growing sects in the world. The Jehovah's Witnesses are growing rapidly. The Roman Catholic Church continues to gain ground. All present Jesus, but a different Jesus than is presented in Scripture.24 All fulfill Peter's prophecy of false teachers denying the Sovereign Lord who bought them. And now an even more dangerous heresy is in traditional and evangelical Protestantism.
The destruction of the church, as a body, is also severe. When I hear of a notable Christian falling in a way that brings disrepute to the body of Christ, I suspect he really doesn't know or believe in the true Jesus of Scripture. On a less well-known level are the millions of those who claim to be Christians but live like the world.
Also, within the church body, are additional destructive heresies which are added because of the first false belief. It is the process of building on a lie; subsequent doctrines are necessarily false when the initial premise is false. The second part of this book, "A Saving Faith," will expose some of those heresies.
From her comment, it is obvious that mom has given her son the same message on innumerable occasions. From her language, she deems it important to get the message across to her son, even if she sounds like a nag.
Think of the use of repetition. If you tell someone something over and over (as that mom did to her son) you're probably trying to make an important point. On the other hand, if you mention something only once or twice, likely the subject isn't nearly as important to you.
The same principle applies in Scripture. You and I may repeat something out of habit or anger or impatience. God isn't subject to our frailties. When God repeats something, do you think he has a special purpose in mind? Do you suppose he especially wants us to understand what he repeats? God gives us multiple opportunities so that we truly will be without excuse if we fail to obey.
Why not jot down the three titles of Jesus you think God used when he told us how to be saved. He used only three.
The titles God gave Jesus in the Bible show the roles in which God wants us to know Jesus. There are eleven principal titles: Lord, Christ, Son of Man, Teacher, Son of God, King, Lamb, Savior, Prophet, Master, and High Priest.
As we look at the frequency with which they are used, let's ask ourselves whether God's repetition is intentional. The following shows the number of times each title is used of Jesus in the New Testament:
618 times as Lord27
543 times as Christ28
84 times as Son of Man29
42 times as Teacher30
37 times as Son of God31
35 times as King
32 times as Lamb
15 times as Savior32
15 times as Prophet33
11 times as Master34
7 times as High Priest35
Do those numbers surprise you? They did me. What an enormous difference in the times of usage of the various titles! Does God intend special truths from his repetition?
As we come to understand those truths, the falsity of the heresy will become obvious. As you look at the frequency of the titles used to describe Jesus, is there any question in your mind that two of the titles assume an almost overwhelming importance? We'll see why in chapters 2 and 3.
Is it conceivable that if salvation could be found by accepting (or believing or receiving or having faith in) Jesus as Savior in order to have salvation, that God would have omitted that title of Jesus from most of the New Testament? Or that God would have used the title Lord thirty-eight times as often, or Christ more than thirty-three times as often as the title Savior? Or that God would use other titles, such as Son of Man, Teacher, Son of God, King, and Lamb, each more than twice as often as Savior if our salvation is supposed to be in Jesus as Savior? The resounding answer must be: No! It isn't conceivable.
I believe that every word used in Scripture was purposefully intended to be exactly that way by God. If you agree, then, even without additional evidence, the minimal use of the title Savior should cause us to skeptically examine claims that salvation is obtained by believing in Jesus as Savior.
1. John 8:24.
2. What if we die
in our sins? Jesus came to provide a means by which we can be cleansed
from sin through his blood. Our sin alienates us from God.
To be saved, before our death we must have forgiveness of our sins through
his death on the cross.
3. John 3: 14-15:
Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must
be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal
life.
John 3:16: For God so loved the world that he gave his
one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish
but have eternal life.
John 3:18: Whoever believes in him is not condemned,
but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not
believed in the name of God's one and only Son.
John 3:36: Whoever believes in the Son has eternal
life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains
on him."
John 6:40: "For my Father's will is that everyone who
looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and
I will raise him up at the last day." Jesus' statement is restated by John
in his first letter: And this is his command: to believe in the name
of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us
(I John 3:23).
John 11 :25-26: Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection
and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;
and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe
this?"
Other changes occur to those who believe in him. They
will never be thirsty (John 6:35), streams of living water will flow from
within them (John 7:38), they are in the light (John 12:46), and their
sins are forgiven (Acts 10:43).
4. It is important
to make a distinction here, early in this writing. While the statement
is false that one can "accept" Jesus as Savior and have salvation, that
does not mean that all those people who use that phrase, or one similar,
are not saved. On the contrary, many of my friends misuse that phrase,
yet have lives that demonstrate that Jesus is their Lord. They are dedicated
to him and have the evidence of the Spirit in their lives. Nevertheless,
l believe there are millions that don't understand correctly, think they
have salvation, and do not because they don't have a correct object of
their faith.
5. John 13: 13,
"You call me Teacher' and Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what
I am."
6. Matthew 26:64.
The High Priest asked Jesus to say whether he is the Christ, the Son of
God. Jesus responded, "Yes, it is as you say."
7. Matthew 26:64.
8. Heresy is the
adherence to a religious opinion contrary to church dogma or an opinion
or doctrine contrary to the truth or to generally accepted beliefs.
I am using the definition, "An opinion or doctrine contrary
to the truth" - as revealed in Scripture. As the false doctrine is so widespread,
if one uses the alternative meaning, "contrary to generally accepted beliefs,"
the truth of Scripture might be considered the heresy.
9. A movement toward
or the promotion of worldwide Christian unity.
10. Galatians
1:6-9.
11. Paul found
the Galatians accepting a false gospel. What did he tell them? "If anybody
is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally
condemned!" (Galatians I :9).
12. A statement
in which two incompatible terms are used, making the meaning impossible
or ludicrous.
13. Hebrews 13:8.
See also Malachi 3:6: "I the LORD do not change."
14. All religions
except Christianity lead to false gods. The Old Testament pointed to Jesus,
but the Jews rejected their Messiah. As Jesus told the Pharisees, "You
belong to your father, the devil" (John 8:44). Jews who deny their Christ,
the Lord Jesus, follow their father the devil.
15. John 14:6.
16. 2 Timothy 4:3-4: For the time
will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit
their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers
to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears
away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
17. Luke 9:23-24:
Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny
himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to
save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save
it."
Romans 6:6: For we know that our old self was crucified
with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should
no longer be slaves to sin.
Ephesians 4:22-24: You were taught, with regard to your
former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted
by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitud e of your minds;
and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness
and holiness.
18. Mark 8:38.
See also Luke 9:26. As if responding to Jesus' statement, Paul said, "I
am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the
salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the
Gentile" (Romans 1: 16).
19. Paul stated, "I have not hesitated
to proclaim to you the whole will of God" (Acts 20:27).
20. Paul said,
"For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power" (I Corinthians
4:20).
21. The Gnostics
portrayed a different Jesus. They denied Christ's true humanity,
some claiming that Jesus only appeared to have a body, others that the
divine Christ joined the human Jesus at baptism and left him before he
died. The Apostle John denounced the heresy of Gnosticism (I John 2:22,
4:2-3) and offered proof of its falsity
(l John 1:1).
22. 2 Peter 2:1
23. 2 Peter 2:2.
24. For example,
see Kenneth Boa. Cults, World Religions and You. Wheaton: Victor
Books, 1977, page 70 re Mormonism, page 77 re Jehovah's Witnesses.
25. We must see
that these statements are not false in themselves. Jesus is our Savior.
He did die as a sacrifice on the cross so our sins may be forgiven. The
important distinction is that salvation is not obtained by believing
as those statements say. The next three chapters will reveal the proper
object of our faith.
26. Jesus is
not a title; it is a given name. Many Jews had it prior to Jesus' life
on earth. After his death and resurrection the name was little used. For
Jews who didn't believe, it was a reproach, reminding them of the Jesus
who was crucified, who claimed to be the Messiah. For Christians, the name
was too holy to be used.
"Jesus" means "God saves." Some have said the name Jesus
is equivalent to Jesus is Savior. To Jews, God (of "God saves") means God
the Father. This was Paul's interpretation in I Corinthians 8:6 where
he states, "For us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all
things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ,
through whom all things came and through whom we live."
27. There are
many more occurrences of the Greek word Kurios from which the title
Lord is translated. In context, the other uses mean "Sir," or "Master."
The New International Version of the Bible differentiates between the meanings
of Kurios. It lists 618 occurrences where the meaning is intended
to be Lord.
28. The second
most frequent title, Christ, is found 543 times in the New Testament.
It is from the Greek word Messiah and means The Anointed One. In a later
chapter, we'll see that it may mean any of three different subtitles.
29. Son of
Man is the title Jesus used to describe himself. Only once is it used
by another of Jesus; Stephen used it as he was being stoned. It has extraordinary
importance as it is used in fulfillment of the prophecy of Daniel 7:13.
30. Teacher
is a title that occurs only in the gospels.
31. Son of
God is the fifth most frequent. It occurs 37 times in only 12 books
of the New Testament.
32. Savior
is the seventh, occurring only 15 times in the New Testament when applied
to Jesus, appearing in only nine of the twenty-seven books. Nine times
it refers to God the Father as Savior.
33. Prophet
occurs only in the gospels and the book of Acts.
34. Master
is used 39 times by Jesus in his teaching and parables in which he,
arguably, is the master.
35. All seven
occurrences are in the book of Hebrews.
36. Romans 1:5.
This is not to suggest that the person responding to Jesus as Lord does
not feel gratitude to Jesus. On the contrary, because such a person
is indwelled by the Holy Spirit, he likely feels far more real gratitude
than the other person, having an even greater grasp of the grace of God
expressed through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus.