Christ First Forum

by **LdyinChrist** » 26 Nov 2009, 16:25

I'm not sure if this is the proper place to put this so forgive me if it isn't

I'm afraid this is something that most of us have done and the church's we attend, but it's something to really think about.

ANOTHER JESUS

John.8:46 Which of you convinceth (can convict) Me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe Me?

Whether or not Christianity turns out to be THE ONE TRUE RELIGION depends entirely on the CREDIBILITY of Jesus Christ.

There is an immense difference between "believing IN" Jesus and BELIEVING Jesus. A child who is raised in a Christian home is likely to SAY that they "believe IN" Jesus: BUT WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? How did they know that there ever was a Jesus? What do they know ABOUT Jesus? What little children know about Jesus is what their parents and other adults tell them. I think it is FAIR TO SAY that little children are rarely told the WHOLE TRUTH about Jesus Christ.

Matt.19:13 Then there were brought unto Him little children, that He should put His hands on them, and pray: and His disciples rebuked them (who brought the children).

14. But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto Me: for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven.
Jesus DOES NOT tell us to COMPEL or FORCE our children to come unto Him; BUT RATHER, He tells us to forbid them not. Why do you think that EVEN His own disciples thought that it was INAPPROPRIATE for little children to come unto Jesus Christ? The word Suffer used in this place is the Greek APHETE: which means [to permit; tolerate; endure; TO SUFFER]. WHY would a PROFESSING Christian ever forbid their child to come unto Jesus Christ? AND WHAT, I ask you, is there for YOU to suffer if your child becomes acquainted with Jesus Christ? Ask a little child who attends Sunday School to tell you what he knows about Jesus Christ, and what you will hear is a ROMANTIC DESCRIPTION of a "nice man" who was ALWAYS NICE, OBEYED HIS PARENTS, WORKED MIRACLES, and HELPED EVERYONE who ever came to Him. Ask a little child about WHAT JESUS TAUGHT US, and he is likely to tell you that "Jesus taught us to LOVE everybody", and "Jesus taught us to always tell the truth", and "Jesus taught us to say our prayers". If you ask a little child about the people that DIDN'T LIKE Jesus: you will be told about BAD WICKED PEOPLE: people with UGLY PERSONALITIES; people who are SO OBVIOUSLY EVIL that they couldn't fool a pious soul even for a minute. In the END, the "Jesus" that is usually presented to little children is not much different than ANY OTHER PERSON that their parents want them to admire and respect. They say the SAME THINGS to their children about Jesus as they would say about Grandmother and Grandfather, EXCEPT, that Jesus is "better". THINK ABOUT IT.

We tend to withhold the "hard facts of life" from little children because we hope that by doing so, we can preserve their happiness. Loving parents do not tell their children about their own fears and sorrows, for they KNOW that fear and sorrow will come soon enough. You may be consumed with insecurity because of MONEY PROBLEMS; you make desperate prayers in the night; you weep in private; you curse the cause of your problems; you complain bitterly about God or man, BUT YOU DON'T TELL the little children, DO YOU? You wish for yourself that YOU COULD LIVE in THEIR WORLD, where EVERYTHING that is CRITICAL and NECESSARY is taken care of by SOMEONE ELSE. We DON'T WANT THEM TO KNOW that it's possible to STARVE TO DEATH, or to be HOMELESS, and to FREEZE TO DEATH in the cold. We don't want them to know that it's possible to GET SICK, STAY SICK, and only get WORSE and WORSE until THEY DIE. We don't want the little children to know that "Uncle So and So" is a drunkard; or that he beats his wife. We don't want the little children to know that Daddy is UNFAITHFUL to Mommy; and that Mommy often contemplates SUICIDE. We try, AS LONG AS IS POSSIBLE, to shield the little children from the UGLY REALITY of this HARSH and COMPETITIVE world. We suffer at the prospect of their FINALLY having to learn that THE WORLD that they have come into is a RAT RACE: in which they will find themselves engaged in a desperate TUG OF WAR with EVERYONE ELSE over MONEY, PRESTIGE, and COMFORT.

So we DECEIVE our children, and describe for them a world that DOESN'T EXIST. We teach them that if they work hard, they must succeed: NOT TRUE. We teach them that mankind is essentially good: NOT TRUE. We teach them that they can be ANYTHING THEY set their minds to be: NOT TRUE. We teach them that EVIL MEN always ACT LIKE DEVILS: NOT TRUE. And we teach them about a "Jesus" that NEVER EXISTED; a "Jesus" who never did or said anything that Mom, or Dad, or the Pastor, or the Policeman, or the President wouldn't like. No, NO! We wish to keep them insulated in a "pretend" world: where in order to shield them from the EVIL, we find it necessary to shield them from THE TRUTH.

So......FINALLY, the little children begin to grow up.....and they spend THE REST OF THEIR LIVES finding out that they have been lied to. There IS NO Santa Clause. Daddy WAS NOT a good man. When you work hard, you get used. If you can CHEAT CLEVERLY, you win. Evil people are publicly admired and rewarded. AND....the "Jesus" they were told about when they were little children has very little in common with the Jesus of the Bible.

When little Joey was only 4 years old, he thought the world of his Uncle Joe; he was proud that he was named after his Uncle Joe. BUT NOW, little Joey KNOWS that Uncle Joe is a drunkard; and little Joey can see the bruises on his Aunt Felicia's face, AND HE KNOWS WHY THEY'RE THERE. Little Joey got a job and he worked real hard: but instead of a promotion, he got fired, because the owner's son, who was lazy and irresponsible, felt threatened by him. One thing after another happens to PROVE to little Joey that his parents LIED to him about almost everything in the world. And also, when Joey finally begins to read the Bible, he learns that his parents AND his Sunday School teachers LIED to him about Jesus, TOO.

They never told him that Jesus EVER said anything like this:

Mark.9:47 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, then having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
because in their view, "this kind of Jesus" is too harsh and demanding, and doesn't understand how we are "saved by grace". Besides, they are not so sure that they have met this requirement themselves. You can safely presume also, that they never told little Joey that Jesus ever said anything like this:

Luke.12:51 Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:
because they want little Joey to believe that Jesus always brings families, friends, and communities, together. They also never told little Joey that Jesus ever said anything like this:

Luke.16:15 Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for THAT WHICH IS HIGHLY ESTEEMED AMONG MEN IS ABOMINATION IN THE SIGHT OF GOD.

because they want little Joey to think that he lives in a "nice" old world, where goodness and truth are always esteemed among men. No, they never told little Joey that Jesus said this either:

Matt.6:19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal.

BECAUSE they want Joey to be "financially responsible", and to KNOW that WHEN he grows up, he will have to provide for himself. And OH! They CERTAINLY never told little Joey that Jesus said THIS:

John.15:19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world HATETH you.

BECAUSE they always wanted Joey to believe that IF HE WAS a "good" Christian, EVERYONE would like and admire him. And OF COURSE, they NEVER told little Joey that Jesus said THIS:

Matt.24:4-5 ...Take heed that NO MAN deceive you. For many shall come in My name, saying, I (Jesus) am the Christ; and shall deceive many.

BECAUSE they are themselves the VERY PEOPLE that Jesus was warning about. They say "Jesus is Jesus" alright, but THEN, they describe to little Joey a FALSE JESUS, a "make believe" Jesus, a "Jesus" who shares little more than a name with THE REAL JESUS: a PHONY JESUS THAT NEVER DID AND NEVER WILL EXIST. They have ALREADY told little Joey what a "good" Jesus would do and say, and the Jesus of the Bible isn't ANYTHING like that "good Jesus" they have described. Were ANYONE ELSE to come along saying THE SAME THINGS that Jesus actually said: they would be labeled as CRUDE, INSENSITIVE, IRRESPONSIBLE, REBELLIOUS, ANTISOCIAL: a SPAWNER OF INSURRECTIONS, a DESTROYER OF FAMILIES, a WET BLANKET, a SOUR and NEGATIVE PESSIMIST: an INSANE MAN preaching destructive false doctrine: motivated by DELUSIONS OF SELF-IMPORTANCE and the need to make trouble where none was.

Most people have been taught by their parents what a "good Jesus" would be like: BUT, the Jesus of the Bible says the kinds of things that they have been told to avoid, refuse, despise, and reject. "Their Jesus" SAVES EVERYBODY who IS WILLING TO MAKE SOME KIND OF VERBAL CONCESSION to Christian doctrine; but the Jesus of the Bible says:

John.8:53 ....Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you.

Certainly, little children are not able to face up to and understand everything Jesus said: but to DESCRIBE a "Jesus" to your children who CONDEMNS and DISAGREES with the Jesus of the Bible, is to TRAIN YOUR CHILDREN to be the ENEMIES of Jesus Christ. YES, there is ANOTHER JESUS: and ACTUALLY, there are as many "other Jesus's" as there are INSINCERE and DISHONEST Religious Pretenders that "like" to call themselves Christians, while ignoring, contradicting, or explaining away everything the Bible says Jesus said.

When Jesus said Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; he DID NOT ask you to "cover" for His "lack of sensitivity" to the needs and minds of children. He did not tell you to "make up a nice Jesus" that you wouldn't have to apologize for. Yes, there is something for YOU to suffer if your children become familiar with THE REAL JESUS: they may even decide that they don't want to be Christians at all! They may even see YOUR HYPOCRISY, YOUR FAULTS, and YOUR DISHONESTY; and so you forbid them from coming to THE REAL JESUS, and INSTEAD, you make up your own "custom built Jesus"; a "Jesus" DESIGNED to YOUR specifications; a "Jesus" who ALWAYS CONFIRMS and "goes along with" YOU. Those poor little children! Surrounded by FALSE PROPHETS from the day they are born: FALSE PROPHETS that they have no power to refuse or resist: THEIR OWN PARENTS.

Matt.19:14 But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto Me: for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven.

Jesus says that little children are more suited to hear from Him than their parents are. For OF SUCH is the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus IS NOT saying that simply being young guarantees entrance into heaven: for if that were the case, we could guarantee their salvation by KILLING THEM ALL as soon as we can: lest by growing older, they end up in hell. Jesus is describing a QUALITY that will be found in EVERY PERSON who will eventually get to Heaven.

Matt.18:3 ...Verily, I say unto you, Except YE be converted, and become AS little children, ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.

This is pretty CLEAR CUT, wouldn't you say? If you are not converted, and if you do not become AS little children, ye shall NOT enter into the kingdom of heaven. You see, little children do not have to EXPLAIN everything so that it "fits" into their "life plans" or their philosophy. When a little child hears Jesus say, Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods, ask them not again, he KNOWS perfectly well what that means (Luke 6:30). ONLY THE GROWN-UPS find it necessary to "explain" the things that Jesus said. To be AS a little child is to TRUST and BELIEVE Jesus Christ, without demanding that He "explain" what He "really meant"; instead of obeying what He really said. The attempt to escape or "explain away" the SIMPLE MEANING of the teachings of Jesus Christ is to try and CREATE "some other" Jesus: ANOTHER JESUS.

2Cor.11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

4. For if he that cometh preacheth ANOTHER JESUS, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not (originally) accepted, ye might well bear with him.

It is possible then, that someone may then come preaching ANOTHER JESUS: and WHAT will be the fate of those who embrace this OTHER JESUS? Shall it be well with them? Would you suggest that it DOESN'T MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE "which Jesus" that one believes in? How can we know whether THE Jesus that WE believe in is THE REAL JESUS, or just an IMAGINARY "Jesus"?

The Great Dream
http://philologos.org/__eb-tgd/ch06.htm

by **Jeani** » 26 Nov 2009, 23:02

Many parents were bringing children..to Jesus for Him to place His hands on them and pray for them.

But the disciples felt this was a waste of Jesus' time.

They began rebuking those bringing their children.

Apparently the disciples had already forgotten what Jesus said earlier about the 'worth of children' and the seriousness of 'causing them to fall.'

Jesus rebuked the disciples, telling them to let the little children come and not hinder them.

The kingdom of heaven is not limited to adults who might be considered to be worth more than children.

Anyone who comes to the Lord in faith is a worthy subject for the kingdom.

This implies that Jesus had time for 'all the children', for He did not depart from the region till He had blessed them all.

Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it... Mark 10:15

Whoever will not receive God's kingdom as a 'gift' now with the trustful attitude of a child will never enter it.

God's kindgom is not gained by human achievement or merit; it must be received as God's gift through simple trust by those who acknowledge their inability to gain it any other way.

God bless you, Ldy.

by **Remnant** » 27 Nov 2009, 08:39

Libby, This is a great post and full of little tidbits to ponder.

One of the biggest lies that children and young Christians have been led to believe is the one sightedness Jesus. That He is love and there is no such thing as judgment, wrath and punishment.

by **Carmela** » 27 Nov 2009, 09:37

Too many churches today are preaching another Jesus. A Jesus that is full of love and forgiveness. A Jesus that wouldn't harm a fly. They have made up their own Jesus because that's what people want to hear. They don't want to hear about their sin and the consequences thereof. Some of these churches are mega churches. . sending thousands of people down the wrong path. Children who are never told about the REAL Jesus, will be drawn to these ear tickling churches and have their souls doomed. Really good post, Libby!

Christ First Forum

Another Jesus

Another Jesus

Re: Another Jesus

Re: Another Jesus

Re: Another Jesus

Who is online