The Christian Arsenal
Fallacies About Jesus
Fallacies about Jesus
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There are some easy ways to spot a cult. You do not have to learn every doctrine of every cult to be an effective witness or to be able to recognize a cult. There are a few key areas that you can look at that will help in discerning a cult. For example, what a group says about the Bible, God, salvation, man, and particularly Jesus Christ. One of the easiest ways that a cult can be spotted is to find out what they say about who Jesus is. The following statements are representative of the majority of false claims that are made about Jesus. Along with these misconceptions we have listed the truth about Jesus according what God has revealed to us in the Bible.
Jesus was only a man or a great prophet, He was not God...
Many world religions, cults and schools of thought in liberal Christianity today will actually sound like they are being very complimentary about Jesus. They will say that He was a great teacher or prophet. Some call Him an advanced spirit medium or even a wizard. Some call Him the greatest creation of God. All of these titles are either inadequate or false. Jesus was God in the flesh. He was the Creator. No other title or description is correct or acceptable. No other title or description leaves Christianity in tact as the one true religion.
John 1:1-5 , 1 John 1:1-4 , Colossians 1:15-20 & 2:9 , Philippians 2:6-11
Jesus was not born of a virgin...
This is an essential doctrine of the Christian Faith. If Jesus was not born of a virgin then, He was not who the Bible said he was. He would not have been Emmanuel "God with us." If then He was not God in the flesh, He could have not died as a sacrifice for our sins and consequently we have no salvation available to us. This one seemingly small doctrine that so many are so willing to throw out or compromise on is 100% essential.
Isaiah 7:14 , Matthew 1:18-23 , Luke 1: 26-35
Jesus was created by God...
Some maintain that Jesus was the first and greatest creation of God and that there is nothing and no one else above Him. Some movements claim that Jesus started as Michael the Archangel and became Jesus the Christ when he was born to Mary. As great as this sounds, it falls pitifully short of the reality of scripture. John 1:3 plainly states that "all things that were made were made by Him" The Bible does not say "all other things". Jesus is God. He is fully God and fully man.
John 10:30-38 , Matthew 1:18 , John 17:5 & 24, Colossians 1:15-20
John 1:1-3 , Philippians 2:6-11 , Hebrews chapter 1.
Jesus is not the only Son of God...
The term sons of God is found in scriptures 11 times. Genesis 6:2&4, Job 1:6 & 2:1, 38:7, John 1:12, Romans 8:14&19, Philippians 2:15, 1 John 3:1&2. These refer to angels in some cases and to Christians or Godly men in others. There are those that will say that Jesus was not special being God's son because we are all God's sons or God's children. In John 3:16, we have the term "only begotten" Son. The Greek word here is monogenese. John uses this term 5 times to describe Jesus. It carries the meaning of a unique, special or out of the ordinary. In John 1:14, Jesus is called the "only begotten" of the Father. The term only begotten finds explanation in some part by the Hebrew word yachid that is translated in the scriptures as "only one" "only beloved" or "darling". These terms speak of a deep relationship between a father and a son and not a mere fact that one has produced an only child. Jesus is God's unique one of a kind dearly beloved before the foundations of the world Son. While we may be heirs and joint heirs with Jesus, and sons of God...there is only one Son of God and that is Jesus Christ!
John 3:14-17 , John 3:36 , Hebrews 1:1-14
Jesus died for our sins but that was not enough...
There are those who believe that the sacrifice Jesus made at Calvary was inadequate to secure a person's salvation. They teach that something in addition to Christ's atonement is necessary. However the Scriptures reveal that salvation is a gift from God according to the Apostle Paul in Romans 6:23. The word of God clearly teaches that faith and repentance are what is required to be saved. There are no further baptisms, steps or processes to go through that can finish or aid in one's salvation. To suggest that one has to do something or can do something to earn their own salvation would imply some of the following: First, it is implying that what Jesus could not complete everything necessary for mankind's salvation on the cross. Second it implies that man some how is capable of making up for the alleged deficiency of Christ's atonement. Third, the assumption has to be made that it is up to the "individual movement" to invent these rules and requirements since they are not found in God's Word.
Romans 6:23 , Romans 10:3-10 , Ephesians 2: 8-9, Hebrews chapter 9
Jesus never said that he would come again...
The scriptures listed below speak of Christ's return. The language is very clear form each of these Biblical writers. This is verified in Scripture by angelic witnesses, human witnesses, divine revelation and Christ's own words. Still, there are some groups who claim allegiance to Christianity who openly deny that Christ is returning. To deny this fact is a blatant disregard for the truth of the Bible. It also forces the person to accept a method of interpretation that would make it both possible and convenient to merely dismiss anything that you were personally uncomfortable with. This is the plight and the plague of liberal Christianity.
Matthew 24:1-30 , 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 , Acts 1:11 , John 14:2-3
Mark chapter 13 , Revelation 11:21 to 20:6
Jesus was not physically raised form the dead...
Follow this hyperlink for the response to this erroneous line of thought.
1 Corinthians 15:1-23 , Luke 24:36-53 , John 20:1-31
Jesus is just one way to God, there are others...
Many will say that Christians are arrogant when they maintain that Jesus is the only way to God. It must be noted though that Christians are not the ones who make this claim. Jesus Christ himself is the one who makes this claim. Jesus is in a very unique position to make this claim. He is the creator. The message that He preached and the things that He said were validated by the miracles that He did. His life and ministry were prophesied hundreds of years before hand. Unlike other religious leaders who were born and died. Jesus was born died but He rose from the dead and lives today!
John 3:14-17 , John 14:6-7 , 1 Timothy 2:5-6
Jesus isn't needed because there is no sin...
Today psychologists, philosophers and New Age cults will tell you that there is no sin. "There are only appropriate or inappropriate choices." It is just a matter of education to get everyone to make appropriate choices." Sin is a reality that the world denies but, the Bible is full of examples from Genesis to Revelation of the inherent evil of the heart of man. Jesus is the only cure for it. Mankind keeps insisting that it is getting better and better as a species. The truth is that we are deteriorating spiritually, physically, morally and socially. Even so Lord Jesus come quickly!
John 3:14-17 , Romans 3:23-30 , Romans 6:23 , 1 Corinthians 15:1-8
Jeremiah 17:9 , Genesis 6:5 , Judges 2:10-11 , 1 Kings 14:22 , Revelation 20:7-10
Jesus was not mentioned in the Old Testament...
Follow this hyperlink to WTVU for an exhaustive study.
Jesus never said we had to do anything except ...
" love and accept everyone"...
Jesus is many times seen like a "Hippie" of the 1960's. He is depicted by some as a "Flower Child Prophet of Love and Peace." The Gospel is referred as the "Gospel of Peace" in Ephesians 6:15. 1 John chapter 3 tells us we are to love one another. ( This is telling Christians to show love to other Christians, read it closely and you will see that 1 John is written to Christians ) Combine this with today's "Tolerance Movement" and "Political Correctness" and you have a very distorted view of the teachings of Jesus. Jesus is seen as someone who taught that we should love every one. He did teach this. Love, however, does not mean accepting another person's religion or lifestyle as valid or equal in truth as your own. Love does not mean that you can not tell someone the truth when they are wrong. Love does not mean that you are to never stand for what you believe. Love does not mean that you never mention God or Jesus because it may offend someone. If you look at the life of Jesus you will find that Jesus was not politically correct, tolerant to sin, or silent when it may offend someone. He spoke the truth in love!
Matthew 28:19-20 , Luke 18:22 , Luke 14:26 , Matthew 3:7 & 16:24
Revelation 2:1-3:22 , 2 Timothy 2:15 , James 1:12-14 & 21-22 , Romans 12:1-3
Jesus was a social and political activist , he was not concerned with sin...
This line of thought is present in many forms. The pseudo-scholars of the "Jesus Seminar" have come up with this type of conclusion. Jesus is seen by them as a political activist, who after the death of John the Baptist, found himself as the leader of a political dissention movement. They claim that all this talk about sin and Jesus dying on the cross is taking away from His real mission which was political reform. Liberal Christianity in it's milder avoidance of the sin issue sees Jesus as a teacher of a moral code, a social worker, a builder of self-esteem, a freedom fighter, an advocate for the poor and oppressed, or just a good example for us to try to follow. While Jesus was concerned with with all of the aforementioned things, His purpose for coming to Earth was to bring us salvation form our sins. Many churches have gone about trying to change the world with one of these better ideas while completely ignoring why Jesus himself said he came to this world. The only way to improve the world is to deal with sin and Jesus is the only answer to mankind's sin problem.
Luke 19:10 , John 18:37 , Luke 4:43 , John 1:29 , Mark 2:1-12 , Romans 6:23 , Subject of the book of Romans , Hebrews 9:26 - 10:12 , Ephesians 5:1-6 , Mark 1:15 Mark 6:12 , Luke 13:3-6
Jesus never said anything about Hell...
This point is not difficult to refute. Read the Bible passages below. Look at John 3:16 "that whosoever believes in Him should not perish..." Those who read the Bible and find no mention of Hell or future retribution for the unsaved are simply not paying attention to what they are reading. If there is no Hell then why was it that Jesus came, suffered and died? To save us from nothing? That does not seem to fit in with the overall teaching of the Bible.
Matthew 5:22-30 , Luke 16:2-31 , Matthew 15:42-50 , Mark 9:43-47
Who is your Jesus ? (click here)