GOD'S ONLY JESUS (part 2)
Another movement similar to the Charismatic movement is Kenneth Copeland’s Faith movement. This group also teaches and promotes a false jesus. Their teachings about Him are among some of the worst blasphemies ever to come from the mind of man and the heart of Satan. The jesus of the Faith movement did not atone for the sins of man upon the cross. Here is that old familiar lie yet again. The physical death of the Faith movement’s jesus alone accomplished nothing. Copeland preached in a message entitled ‘What Happened from the Cross to the Throne', "...if it had been a physical death only, it wouldn’t have worked". Their jesus needed to go to hell and suffer torment there and be tortured by the Devil and demons in order to complete his atoning work. The jesus of the Faith movement had to die spiritually; his physical death was not enough to atone for sin. The death of the jesus of the Faith movement did not atone for the sins of man on the cross but in the pit of hell. The atoning sacrifice of this jesus was not finished upon the cross but was merely the beginning of the complete work of Redemption (see K. Copeland, ‘Believer’s Voice of Victory’, April 1982, p.10). The jesus of the Faith movement is also one who died universally for all men leaving their ultimate fate in their own hands. Its up to man now to choose if he wants to be saved or not. The Faith movement’s jesus has done all he can do, he can do nothing else to save man. Its all up to man now.
Again we see yet another group denying the physical death of Jesus, alone, the shedding of His blood, as being sufficient to do what was set out to be done on Calvary’s Hill. As with the Charismatics’ jesus, the jesus of the Faith movement needed to go to hell to suffer punishment at the hands of Satan and his demons to complete the work of atonement. The cross was not enough, but Jesus said on the Cross itself of His atoning work: "It is finished..." (Jn. 19:30). He did not say ‘it is beginning’. According to the Faith movement’s false gospel, Christ’s blood alone was not enough to atone for sin, more needed to be done and it can only become effective when man says yes to jesus. The jesus of the Faith movement had to die spiritually. This again is a direct attack on the sufficiency of Christ’s physical death to atone which the Bible clearly teaches was what was needed for the remission of sins: "...without shedding of blood is no remission" (Heb. 9:22); "...we are sanctified through the offering of the BODY of Jesus Christ once for all" (Heb. 10:10; see also Heb. 9:14; 1 Pet. 2:24). Again, like so many others, the Faith movement does not deny Christ’s death on the cross outrightly, it simply says that what He did was good but was not enough. A little more needed to be done but even with all this having been accomplished it comes to no avail if man does not choose jesus. More will be said on this later. One cannot have the True and ONLY Jesus if one believes in the jesus of the Faith movement.
Many people are under the impression that Seventh-Day Adventism is a Christian denomination which, though in error in some areas, does teach and promote the True Jesus of the Bible. Nothing could be further from the truth. The jesus of the Seventh-Day Adventists is yet another cleverly disguised counterfeit, a false jesus. The Seventh-Day Adventist jesus is almost identical to the True Jesus, but, as we have shown from the illustration of counterfeit notes, ‘almost’ 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 death and righteousness alone of the Seventh-Day Adventist jesus was not enough to save man but man must also keep the Sabbath day. The SDA jesus is another who died not for the elect of God but for every individual ever born and that ‘...this sacrificial work will actually benefit human hearts ONLY as we surrender our lives to God and experience the miracle of the new birth’ (p.350 ‘Questions on Doctrine’). The SDA jesus did not actually save anyone on the cross. Only those who choose him will benefit by what jesus did. Therefore, there are many for whom the SDA jesus died for who reap no benefit from his atoning death and will end up in hell. This is in total contradiction with the work of the high priest as defined in the Old Testament and who was a mere type of the Great High Priest, Jesus Christ (Heb. 4:14; 9:1-12).
Again we see yet another group claiming to be Christian, followers and teachers of Jesus Christ who actually deny God’s only Jesus and promote another jesus. The Seventh-Day Adventist movement attacks the truth of the cross of Christ and denies His actual atoning work for His own people on that cross. The SDA jesus did not cancel sin; he did not do away with the sins of his people by nailing them to the cross which is what the True Jesus did do (Col. 2:14). He did not obtain salvation for anyone but merely made salvation possible for those who would choose him. One cannot have the True and ONLY Jesus if one believes in the jesus of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church.
We have only taken a very brief look at what these various religious groups teach about their particular jesuses enough to show that the various jesuses they teach as the True Jesus of the Bible are, in fact, false jesuses, for they have not done what the True Jesus of the Bible has done and therefore could not be the same Person. If you would like a more detailed examination of the many false teachings of these groups, and others, this ministry has available, free of charge, individual listings of material which include video and audio tapes as well as books, booklets and articles which expose their teachings.
These and many other religious organizations who have taught and do teach and promote a false jesus all have one thing in common: they all deny the all-sufficiency of Christ’s atoning work on the cross for His own people. They teach that Jesus laid down His life for every individual ever born and that it is now up to each individual to make what Jesus did effectual in their lives by choosing him of their own free will. They deny that it is by the Death and Righteousness of Jesus ALONE which saves a man and entitles him to all of salvation. What lies at the very core of who Christ is and what He has done is denied by the smallest to the largest religious groups on earth many of which say ‘Jesus is Lord’ and which the world is convinced love Jesus and teach His doctrines. Most say that what Christ did was not enough but all agree that whatever He did do He did it for all men, thus leaving the matter of who is saved, and when, in the hands of man and that it is up to us now to make up our minds as to whether we want Jesus or not. The false jesuses of the world say they have done all they can do to get man saved and now they wait for man to decide. What a darkness the world is blinded by. What a sea of delusion it bathes in. The religious world believes in whatever jesus is brought to it because it does not know THE Jesus. If one has no idea as to what the correct answer to a particular equation might be and equally no idea as to how to arrive at the correct answer, then one can only ever come to and believe in an erroneous answer.
The most popular false jesus and the most deceptive of all is the Arminian jesus. This is the jesus that most who claim to be Christians, even so-called Protestant Christians, believe in and trust for their salvation. When they are presented with the True and ONLY Jesus they turn from Him and reject Him, choosing to cling to the ‘jesus’ they have and love. The Arminian jesus died for every single individual ever born. He died on the cross for the sins of every man ever born but nothing of what he did on the cross ever becomes effectual in the lives of those for whom he died until they, by their own free will, decide to accept this jesus and choose him as their god. If no one chose him then what he did on the cross was a complete waste of time and effort, a vain death, accomplishing absolutely nothing. And, whatever the Arminian jesus did do on the cross can end up being done in vain even for those who do end up choosing him because by their future sins they can undo all that their jesus did and eventually they can again find themselves in a lost state. And this is the jesus that most professing christians love and trust! None base their ‘salvation’ on the grounds of Jesus’ Death and Righteousness Imputed, ALONE, but on their FAITH in their jesus, in the fact that they chose him and are faithful in their obedience to him, coupled with what the Lord has done. It is because they believe that they judge themselves saved and not because of Christ’s work alone.
The True Jesus Christ Who is the Son of God and is indeed God the Son Creator of all is the Sovereign God Himself: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word WAS GOD" (Jn. 1:1; see also Col. 1:!5-18); "But unto the Son He saith, Thy Throne, O GOD, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of Righteousness is the Sceptre of Thy Kingdom" (Heb. 1:8). The Bible says that God can and does do whatsoever HE PLEASES. He never has nor ever will nor ever can fail at anything He does, for He is God. God is all Wise and all Sovereign, He is Ruler over all things and all are His servants (Psa. 119.91). He is everywhere at the same time, He is all knowing and no one can undo what He has done nor can anyone prevent Him from doing what He wills to do. The following is only a sample of the many Scriptures which bear these truths out: "But our God is in the heavens: He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased" (Psa.115:3). "...He doeth according to His will in the army of heaven, AND among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay His Hand, or say unto Him, ‘What doest Thou?’" (Dan. 4:35). God says of Himself: "...I AM God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel SHALL stand, and I WILL do all My pleasure... yea, I have spoken it, I WILL also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I WILL also do it" (Isa. 46:9-11). This should convince anyone that God does whatever He wants and whatever He wants to do He does!! It should convince anyone that whatever God sent the Son to do on the Cross and during His Life on earth HE DID DO right down to the last detail. "Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which He hath made crooked?" (Eccl. 7:13).
In light of all this evidence, it would be ridiculous to think for one moment that whatever God does or wants to do can be prevented or effected by man or is dependant on man and his alleged ‘free will’. The above Scriptures show clearly that God is a God Who does whatsoever He wills, and whatsoever He wills He does. God does everything with a definite and specific purpose and in accordance with his own will, not man’s; this includes salvation: "Who hath saved us, and called us with an Holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace..." (1 Tim. 1:9; see also Isa. 40:13,14). Everything God does has been predetermined by God Himself and so cannot but happen. The Bible does not say that salvation is for all who choose Him, but it is for all whom HE CHOSE, whom He wills to receive it: "...ye are a chosen generation..." (1 Pet. 2:9); "As Thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him" (Jn. 17:2), not to as many as have chosen Him. The True Jesus of the Bible, God’s ONLY Jesus, is One Who accomplished in the fullest degree ALL that He set out to do and will be received in full by all whom He died for. The remaining pages of this article will be devoted to identifying and distinguishing the Jesus of the Bible—God’s Only Jesus.
Jesus Christ is God Incarnate "For in Him (Christ) dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (Col. 2:9). Jesus Christ is the Son of God and God the Son: "For unto which of the angels said He at any time, Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee?..." (Heb. 1:5); "But unto the Son He saith, Thy Throne O GOD, is for ever and ever..." (Heb. 1:8). Jesus Christ is the Eternal Son of God and the Second Person of the Trinity (Gal. 4:4; Heb. 7:3 1 Jn. 4:9,14; 5:7). Nothing was created without Him (Jn. 1:1-3). Jesus Christ was sent into the world by God the Father: "But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son..." (Gal. 4:4). He was born in the city of Bethlehem in Israel (Lk. 2:4-7), of a Virgin (Isa. 7:14) named Mary, who married a carpenter named Joseph (Lk. 1:26-33),. At the age of approximately 30 Jesus began His earthly ministry (Lk. 3:23). He was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan river (Matt. 3:13-17). Jesus chose 12 apostles (Lk. 6:13). He preached and taught and performed miracles which provided undeniable evidence that He was indeed God (Jn. 2:23; 11:47; Acts 2:22; 10:38). He cast out demons with a Word (Mk. 1:34), and He taught doctrine which told of who He was and what He would do (Jn. 7:16). It was predetermined by God the Father that Jesus was to die on a cross on Calvary’s Hill for all the sins of all the people whom God had chosen before the foundation of the world (Acts 4:27,28; Jn. 17:2,6,7,9,11). Jesus obeyed the Law of God perfectly (Rom. 5:19). He was not a sinner but lived a perfect sinless life in order to establish a perfect Righteousness for all those whom the Father gave Him (Heb. 4:15). The Lord Jesus died for those people whom He calls His sheep and not for those He refers to as goats (Jn. 10:26,27). After three days and three nights He arose again (Matt. 12:40; Acts 2:41). He was Resurrected and now sits at the Right Hand of the Father in Heaven (Col. 3:1; Heb. 1:3). He has power and rule over all things ( Jn. 17:2; Eph. 1:19-23). Jesus Christ states that no man can come to the Father unless it is by Him "...I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me" (Jn. 14:6; see also Jn. 6:65). Jesus says of Himself that HE is THE Way and the Life and the Truth and that no man can be saved unless it is through belief in His Death and His Righteousness alone. ALL for whom the Jesus of the Bible died for, paying the debt incurred by their sin, WILL be saved. Jesus said: "ALL that the Father giveth Me SHALL come to me..." (Jn. 6:37), no if's, but's or maybe’s about it!! They will all come because of God’s choice of them, not their choice of God, and because they have all been taught of the Father (Jn.6:45). God teaches His people through His Gospel about His Christ. Jesus says: "...and him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out" (Jn. 6:37), because these are the ones whom the Father has given Him and who have been taught of God and who, therefore, know HIM the True Jesus. The Bible says God’s people love Him because HE LOVED THEM FIRST (1 Jn. 4:19). "As Thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to AS MANY as Thou hast given Him" (Jn. 17:2; see also Heb. 2:13). Jesus says, "...EVERYONE that is of the Truth heareth My voice" (Jn. 18:37). "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I MUST bring, and they SHALL hear My voice..." (Jn. 10:16; see also verses 4,5). No man or devil could ever thwart any plan of God’s, for then God would cease to be God. All of God’s elect will come to Him and not one shall be lost. They will all be given eternal life and will never return to a lost state again. The Christian simply believes the Words of His Savior: "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: And I give unto them ETERNAL LIFE; and they shall NEVER PERISH, neither shall any man pluck them out of My Hand. My Father, which gave them Me, is GREATER THAN ALL; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father’s Hand" (Jn. 10:27-29; Jer. 32:40). Obviously, then, all who have been elected, forgiven, and made alive unto God WILL NEVER fall away or perish and return to a lost state again for the life they have been given is ETERNAL! The True Jesus has paid the debt owed by His people for their sin IN FULL and so they are free forever from the demands of God’s Holy Justice. Their life is hid with Christ in God (Col. 3:3). The forgiveness of their sins—past, present and future—is an eternal forgiveness: What the law could not do Jesus Christ DID DO: "And by Him all that believe are JUSTIFIED from ALL THINGS, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses" (Acts 13:39). The reason Jesus came to earth was not to merely make salvation possible and then hope that some would choose Him, but to actually SAVE His people from their sins (Matt. 1:21; Lk. 1:77). Man lies dead in sin and can do nothing in and of himself to come to Jesus, His Way (Rom. 3:10-31). Without the Light of God’s Gospel which speaks of God’s Son, man, in his natural fallen condition, can only come to a false jesus.
All men are sinners deserving punishment in an eternal hell. All men have a debt which God’s justice demands and which they cannot pay. All men are without the perfect Righteousness needed in order to satisfy God’s Law. By the grace and purpose of God according to His own Counsel, He chose a people from every nation to become God’s own people, His elect. Man could never do anything to please God, and so this election was not based on anything man could or would do for it was made before the foundation of the world. God did not choose anyone according to their works—what He foresaw they would do—but according to His grace and mercy. God "...hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began" (2 Tim. 1:9; Eph. 1:4,5,11). As is detailed in the Old Testament, the high priest was directed by God to enter the Holy of Holies once a year with the blood of animals to make sacrifice for the sins of, not every individual ever born, but for God’s chosen people which at that time was the nation of Israel (Lev. 16:16,17). So, too, Jesus Christ, God’s ONLY Jesus Who is the Great High Priest—the Representative—of His people, entered the Heavenly Holy of Holies that which was made without hands, and poured forth HIS OWN BLOOD to Atone—make a covering, a Satisfaction—for the sins of God’s own people (Heb. 9:11-15). As the Great High Priest (Heb. 4:14) of His people, Jesus the Lord offered up His own blood on the behalf of His own people to atone for or make a covering for their sins, just as the Old Testament high priest who was merely a shadow or a type of the TRUE High Priest, Jesus Christ, Who was to come, offered up the blood of animals, not for the whole world, but for a particular people—the nation of Israel who were at that time God’s people (Heb. 9:7-16). The Atonement in Scripture was always something which was definite for the persons intended and represented by the high priest. It was not an indiscriminate atonement reliant on a person’s reception of it. The Bible knows nothing of such a thing. Notice how every false religion out there perverts the glorious Atonement work performed by God’s only Jesus. Jesus obtained redemption for all His people on the cross: "Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own Blood He entered in once into the Holy Place, HAVING OBTAINED ETERNAL redemption for us" (Heb. 9:12). Eternal life was secured by what HE had done and was not conditioned on what man would do, nor was it dependant upon man’s ‘choice’. Christ obtained eternal redemption for His people. Eternal redemption was not as a result of their ‘choice’ of Him but upon His Death on the Cross! "In whom we have redemption THROUGH HIS BLOOD, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His GRACE" (Eph. 1:7). The Gospel of Jesus Christ is just that: It is HIS Gospel, HIS Good News. Christianity is about CHRIST and the glorious love, grace and mercy He has shown. It is not about what man has to do to ‘get saved’; it is about what Christ has done TO SAVE His people!!
The false Arminian jesus died for every individual and what he did for them will only benefit them if they choose him. THE Jesus of the Bible died for the ones God gave Him and what He did for them was ratified not when they ‘chose’ Him but upon His death: "And for this cause He is the Mediator of the new testament, that BY MEANS OF DEATH...they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance" (see Heb. 9:14-16). These are two distinct persons we are talking about. They are not one and the same but very different. You cannot believe in both. You will either love one and hate the other; you will either love God’s Jesus or love the Arminian jesus. One will take you to heaven, the other will take you to Hell. The Bible teaches clearly that Jesus did not lay down His life for every individual ever born but for God’s chosen people, all whom He gave unto his Son. If you deny this then you must do away with Blood Atonement as it is taught in both the Old and New Testaments! "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the Church, AND GAVE HIMSELF FOR IT" (Eph. 5:25; see also Jn. 10:10-16). The True Jesus did not give His Life for the world but for the Church, His own people. The God-given responsibility of the high priest was not to represent the entire world but to represent the people of God EXCLUSIVELY. This is what the True Jesus did. This is God’s Testimony concerning Who His Son is and what His Son has done. We are describing, defining, identifying and distinguishing from all others who we mean when we say Jesus Christ. This is who He is and this is what He has done and THIS ONE and THIS ONE ALONE is THE Jesus of the Bible who saves people from their sins. If anyone comes to you preaching any other jesus, that person is at that point in time an accursed person; they are in a lost state which is evidenced by their clearly not knowing THE Jesus who is God’s only Begotten Son, and therefore present you with a rank imitation, a counterfeit jesus in whom there is no salvation.
What is most commonly lied about and falsely believed in is what Christ did on the Cross at Calvary. What most people who say they are Christians have never even heard of is the Imputed Righteousness of Jesus Christ. Many who even claim to be Calvinists and attend the most respected of reformed churches have never heard of Christ’s Imputed Righteousness. They cling to ‘the five points of Calvin’ as if they alone encapsulate the Gospel. Some who have heard of Imputed Righteousness still believe their faith needs to be added to what Christ has done in order for them to be saved. Many believe that they are saved because they believe the right doctrine, or, they believe their faith is the one condition they need to meet in order for them to be saved. FAITH IS NOT A CONDITION FOR SALVATION—IT IS AN EVIDENCE OF SALVATION!! The True believer believes the right doctrine because he is saved. False christians have another jesus whose grace and works alone was not enough to secure their salvation. There is nothing so important, so vital to a person’s salvation, than what that person says about the GROUND of their salvation. Many believe that they are saved because they have ‘faith in Christ’. Others believe they are saved because they have led a moral and religious life in addition to their ‘faith in Christ’. Many say that it is by Christ’s atoning death that they are now assured of salvation. Many believe that it is by Christ’s work and their faith that they are saved, or because they have obeyed certain commandments and always done what is right. But few there be who state that the ONLY ground of their salvation is the Death and Righteousness of God’s True Jesus ALONE: their sins imputed to Him and His Perfect Righteousness Imputed unto them as Scripture teaches: "For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the Righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor. 5:21). Most always add, in some way to some degree, something that they’ve done to what Christ has done as to the ground of their salvation. A saved man stands atop an apex in perfect balance with the Death and Righteousness of Christ for His people. Add the minutest teaching or practice to, or take away from, Christ’s Death and Righteousness alone as the ground of salvation, and you upset the balance. Man cannot stand before a Holy God with anything less or anything more than the Atoning Death and Perfect Righteousness of Jesus Christ Imputed. Add anything to what Christ has done and Paul the apostle says "...Christ shall profit you nothing" (Gal. 5:2). If you believe any part of salvation is conditioned on what you do in addition to what Christ has done you are "...a debtor to do the whole law" (Gal. 5:3) and are a believer in another gospel which tells of another jesus. You have not the Jesus of the Bible, you abide not in His doctrine. You have another jesus who did not do enough to save anyone.
The Bible teaches clearly that in order for any man to be saved his sins must be paid for in order to satisfy God’s justice, and God’s Law must be fulfilled perfectly, a perfect Righteousness established, if anyone is to reach heaven. It is God Himself Who has said that no sinner will escape punishment, He "...will by no means clear the guilty..." (Ex. 34:7), for "...the soul that sinneth, it shall die" (Ezek. 18:4). God’s only Jesus is the One Who laid down His life, the Just for the unjust (1 Pet. 3:18), on the cross at Calvary and took upon Himself the punishment for all the sins of all the people whom God elected unto salvation before the foundation of the world. Their sins and theirs alone have been nailed to His cross. They have been blotted out for all eternity. The sins of God’s people have been imputed (charged) to Jesus and they will never be charged to them. God’s Holy Justice will never demand payment from God’s people for the Lord Jesus has satisfied the demands of God’s Holy Justice once and for all. There is no debt left to be paid! "Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth" (Rom. 8:33).
God, in the richness of His mercy and in the love wherewith He loved His chosen ones, came to this earth and appeared as a Man Himself to live as a man, as a Substitute for His people, the perfect sinless life that none of us could ever live, in order that He might establish the perfect Righteousness of which man was in desperate need but could never produce: "...by the obedience of ONE shall many be made Righteous" (Rom. 5:19); Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, came to this earth approximately 2,000 years ago, born of a virgin, not of the seed of man but of the Seed of God. By means of the Holy Spirit of God, Jesus was conceived in the virgin Mary’s womb, free of any stain of sin, and He lived a perfect life in obedience to God and His Holy Law: "But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons" (Gal. 4:4,5). Christ did not come to redeem good people who had met or would meet certain conditions, but ungodly sinners who could not meet any of the demands of God’s holy law: "For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly" (Rom 5:6-10; 4:5). Everything Jesus did was pleasing to God (Matt. 3:17). Every thought, word, and deed were all perfect, and He remained obedient throughout His life on earth even to dying on a cross to atone for the sins of all those whom God had given Him. Jesus Christ was the Atonement that God’s chosen ones required in order to have their sins abolished and blotted out: "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God..." (1 Pet. 3:18). Christ’s suffering for the sins of His people means that He has paid the price for their sins and God’s justice is forever satisfied. The false arminian jesus didn’t do anything on the cross. He just made salvation possible for those who would choose him. Their salvation is conditioned on what they do and they stay ‘saved’ based on what they do. The sins of God’s sheep were imputed, or legally charged, to Christ’s account and nailed to His cross: "Christ hath redeemed US from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us..." (Gal. 3:13). "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). In this way, by way of IMPUTATION, God could and would remain Just AND be the Justifier of all those whom He had chosen to believe on His Son (Rom. 3:25-28; see also Rom. 8:29-31). Christ Jesus was the Propitiation, or Satisfaction for all their sins (1 Jn. 2:2). God’s Holy Justice was satisfied in Christ’s death for the sins of man for He was a Perfect Offering to God made on the behalf of all God’s chosen ones (Heb. 9:26-28; see also Eph. 5:2). He was and is their Savior, their Substitute, their Advocate, their High Priest; their Redeemer, their Mediator, their Surety, their Representative. Just as Adam represented the whole human race in the Garden of Eden, so, too, in His obedience and in His death on Calvary’s Hill, Jesus Christ represented all those whom the Father had given Him: "For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the GIFT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS shall reign in life by ONE, Jesus Christ" (Rom. 5:17; see also Jn. 6:37; 17:2; Heb. 2:13).
God the Father has laid on God the Son all the sins of all His elect: "...the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Isa. 53:6). Christ offered Himself to bear (carry away) the sins of His sheep: "So Christ was once offered to bare the sins of many..." (Heb. 9:28; see also Titus 2:14). "And ye know that He was manifested to take away our sins..." (1 Jn. 3:5; see also Matt. 1:21; Lk. 1:77). All the sins of all His people have been washed away in His own blood and are now removed as far as east is from the west (Psa. 103:12). "...Unto Him that loved US, and washed US from OUR sins in His own blood" (Rev. 1:5). The penalty for the sins of all His people has been paid IN FULL FOR ALL TIME: "...we are sanctified through the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ once for all" (Heb. 10:10; Col. 2:13). Christ Jesus the Lord, who is the Good Shepherd, said: "I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth His life for the sheep" and "...I lay down My life for the sheep" (Jn. 10:11,15). Christ so loved the Church that He gave Himself exclusively for it: "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself for it" (Eph. 5:25); "Who gave Himself for US, that He might redeem US from ALL iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar (special, one’s own) people, zealous of good works" (Titus 2:14). In illustrating the love of God for His people the apostle John, writing to Christians, said: "...He laid down His life for US..." (1 Jn. 3:16). And Paul the apostle speaking to Christians, said: "Christ hath redeemed US from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us..." (Gal. 3:13). Scripture says that Christ "...took on Him the seed of Abraham" and was "made like unto His brethren" (Heb. 2:16,17). Who is the seed of Abraham? "And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Gal. 3:29; see also Rom. 4:16). These are the ones whom Christ Jesus came to save. This is the Work of the True Jesus. Where there is remission of sins there is no future offering required or condition to be met in order to justify the sinner: "Now where remission of these (sins and iniquities) is, there is no more offering for sin" (Heb. 10:18). It is Christ’s death, the shedding of His blood, on the behalf of the sinner and not any condition which the sinner has to meet which ratifies the New Covenant: "...for this cause He is the Mediator of the new testament, that BY MEANS OF DEATH...they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance" (Heb. 9:15-17). The called of God are a special people, God’s own people, they will never experience the wrath of God for the Lord Jesus laid down His life for them: "For God hath not appointed US to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for US..." (1 Thess. 5:9,10). The elect have an appointment with salvation made by God Himself! This is Jesus Christ. These teachings identify the True Jesus, the only Begotten Son of God: Who He is and what He has done, and distinguish Him from all counterfeits, from all the false jesuses of all the false religious groups in the world.
The Righteousness of Christ Jesus the Lord, the Bible teaches, has been charged to the account of all God’s elect. Their salvation is not because of anything they have done or abstained from doing, but is purely on the grounds of the Righteousness of Jesus which has been imputed to their account. No sin will ever be charged to the account of God’s people but only the Righteousness of Christ will be charged to them so that they may walk into the Holy Presence of God knowing their sins have been charged to Christ Who has satisfied the demands of God’s Holy Justice, and that they are clothed with the Robe of Christ’s very own Righteousness!! "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the Robe of Righteousness..." (Isa. 61:10). David rejoiced and counted blessed those "...unto whom God imputeth righteousness WITHOUT WORKS" (Rom. 4:6), that is, without having met any prior condition to merit that Holy Righteousness. David also said: "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity..." (Psa. 32:1,2). The Gospel is the Good News of Salvation conditioned on the Atoning Blood and Imputed Righteousness of Christ alone. What a Gospel message; what a glorious Jesus is this True Jesus, God’s Only Jesus!!!
All of God’s elect who make up His Church for whom Jesus laid down His life will repent of ever having trusted in anything they themselves did which they believed in some way recommended themselves to God. Every false jesus they ever believed in and confided in and trusted will be totally rejected when God Himself reveals the True Jesus, His own Son, to them. They will never believe that any of the false jesuses they trusted in previously provided them with a sure salvation. They will never believe that they were saved whilst trusting in a false jesus. Once they see and believe in THE Jesus of the Bible they will recognize that all the while they had believed and trusted in another jesus which was preached to them by a false teacher led by another spirit, promoting a false gospel they were in a lost state and bound for hell. Anyone who believes they have the TRUE Jesus but says that they honestly believe that they were actually saved while believing and trusting in another jesus is a fool and there is no light in that person. They have no idea what they are saying and are yet to understand that salvation is to be found ONLY in THE Jesus who said "...I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father but by ME" (Jn. 14:6). No other jesus but THE Jesus is THE Way to God; No other jesus is THE Truth and no other jesus is THE Life but THE Jesus, God’s Only Jesus. "You cannot reconcile the god whom you worshipped, the Christ whom you served, before (believing) THE Gospel, with the True God and His Christ".
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' etc. The characteristics, the attributes, the history and the redemptive work of the jesus you choose must be in accord with the Jesus of the Bible Whom God Testifies to or you have the wrong jesus. One cannot identify the True Jesus if one has not heard and believed in the True Jesus. If you do not KNOW Him; if you cannot recognize the True Jesus; if you cannot identify and distinguish the True Jesus from the counterfeits, how can you say you believe in the True Jesus?
The apostle Paul warned Christians to mark those who come preaching another gospel and another jesus by another spirit, for though these men called what they preached ‘the gospel’ and said they were preaching the Jesus whom Paul preached they did not know HIM and therefore did not serve HIM! "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. FOR THEY THAT ARE SUCH SERVE NOT OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple" (Rom. 16:17,18). How can those who do not serve THE Lord Jesus possibly be teaching you about God’s ONLY Jesus?? Do not be deceived! There is ONLY ONE True Jesus and He is Jesus Christ the Lord, Who is the Son of God and God the Son. He is the One Who has had all the sins of all His people imputed to Him and Whose very Righteousness has been Imputed unto them. When someone comes to you preaching ‘jesus’, ask them to tell you what their jesus has done. By this, by their identification of who their jesus is and what their jesus has done, they will be defining exactly who they are talking about and there will be no room for confusion as to who they mean when they say ‘jesus’.
The Scriptures speak plainly for all to understand: "Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, HATH NOT GOD. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, HE HATH BOTH THE FATHER AND THE SON" (2 Jn. 9). To those who do not receive the True Christ of God’s ONLY Gospel, Jesus Christ says: "And ye have not this Word abiding in you: for Whom He hath sent, Him ye believe not....ye have not the love of God in you. I am come in My Father’s name and ye receive Me not..." (Jn. 5:38, 42,43). "If any man love not THE Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema (accursed)" (1 Cor. 16:22). "He that hath THE Son hath Life; and he that hath not THE Son of God hath not life" (1 Jn. 5:12).
"If there come ANY unto you, and bring not THIS DOCTRINE, receiveth him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds" ( 2 Jn. 10, 11).