A DIFFERENT “JESUS”

Scripture speaks again and again of the fear of God: “Fear the Lord and depart from evil” (Proverbs 3:7). “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil” (Proverbs 8:13). “In mercy and truth atonement is provided for iniquity; and by the fear of the Lord one departs from evil” (Proverbs 16:6).

When there is no fear of God, people have to invent a gospel of convenience.

The world has concocted a gospel in which there is no God and therefore no heaven or hell. There is no afterlife, with nothing and no one to answer to.

Where does Jesus figure into this gospel of convenience? He is very much a part of it — but it is another Jesus altogether! This “different Jesus” is presented as the essence of human love, a very tolerant person indeed. He embraces all religions, accommodates same-sex marriage, and declares that there is no such thing as good or evil. There are no sinners to this Jesus — and so there is no mention of sin, not even deviant behavior. His message is that you do not need to change because there is nothing wrong with you. There simply is no judgment or wrath in him.

Paul called this “another gospel” (Galatians 1:6). And he warned that those who preach it would “pervert the gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:7). As you might imagine, it is a seductive gospel, appealing to many. And multitudes, especially young people, are caught up in it. This explains why growing numbers of Christian youth accept immoral behavior and same-sex marriage. Even many evangelical churches are adopting this seductive gospel. It is all happening just as Paul warned: “God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie” (2 Thessalonians 2:11).