Misrepresenting Jesus: Don’t Do It!
I’m going to talk off the top of my head today, but with my heart firmly centered on what I believe God wants Christians to show the world today — His love. Lately, I’ve been hearing several accounts of people who are misrepresenting God, offering a picture of Him that is far different than what the Bible shows us.
Almighty God has revealed Himself in the flesh through Jesus Christ and through His word, the Bible. As followers of Jesus we should accurately reflect who He is, not distort the facts.
Three stories have come before me lately, each of which I find to be disturbing:
- A Florida pastor plans to burn another religion’s holy book in protest of the September 11 terror attacks. I have a problem with this action for two reasons: God doesn’t call us to burn books and He certainly doesn’t want Christians to do “in your face” activities designed to stir up anger in others leading to who knows what. People are not our enemies; Satan is. 2 Corinthians 10:4 explains that position perfectly.
- A satellite evangelist (as compared to a TV evangelist) is making claims that all Christians should be wealthy. He also says that we have a covenant right to good health and prosperity. I suppose that means friends of mine who have had a brain tumor, have lost a loved one to cancer or are out of work are in sin. Or at least not applying their faith. Certainly, God can and will prosper people, but that’s His decision. Psalm 34:19 shows us that the righteous are afflicted.
- Locally, a conference is being held by “emergent” church leaders who seem to be saying that God saves people who are Muslims and Buddhists, without indicating that these people need to be called out from their belief systems. Certainly, God is calling everyone to be saved, but he is calling them to Himself and away from practices that have harmed them including false teachings. Is not Jesus “the Way, the Truth and the Life?”
The following passage serves to remind us how we should live our lives: “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” (Colossians 4:5-6)
That’s the best way for us to “win” people to Jesus Christ — living our lives above reproach without adding or taking anything away from the Bible.
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Matt,
Amen to everything you said!
Thank you for your support, Lillie. I think it is important for Christians to tell the truth, but in love always.
You are absolutely correct! Too often we put our own thoughts and opinions into what God said, and that is when we distort and misrepresent Him. Instead we should seek to follow what He says instead of what we think he means. I agree about the FL pastor wanting to burn Qurans. I wrote about it on my own blog and backed it up with historical references and scripture. check it out and comment! Blessings to ya!
Christian´s last [type] ..Sunday Fishing Lesson
Matt, your article is sound. Glory to Christ forever!
[...] follow up to an article I wrote two weeks earlier covering some of the same subject matter. In, “Misrepresenting Jesus: Don’t Do It!,” I indicated how our behavior can have a tremendous impact on how others view God, perhaps even [...]
Christian: Thank you for sharing your comment. It bothers me what people do in the name of religion. It makes me sick when they imply that Jesus endorses certain ungodly behavior.
Joseph: Thanks for checking in! I try to stay spot on with this site and will keep offering encourage to the church to navigate the narrow way.