You and I are not the Christ.
Even John the Baptist, whom Jesus said, “among those born of women no one greater than John the Baptist has appeared,” proclaimed that he was not the Christ (Matthew 11:11; Jn 1:19-20).
“He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, ‘I am not the Christ.’”
John 1:20
Only Jesus is the Christ (“Christ” is Greek for Messiah).
However, popular authors like Richard Rohr claim that you and I are the Christ, too. Why? I do not know. But most of the New Testament letters warn us that harmful teachings would be promulgated. Therefore, unless we thoughtfully test their words alongside the Scriptures, we will might believe them readily (Matt 7:15; 1 Jn 4:1-4; Gal 1:6-9).
“For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray.”
Matthew 24:5
Per an interview in 2019, Rohr asserts: “Jesus was objectively Christ from his birth in Bethlehem, his conception in Nazareth, just like you and I are objectively Christ.”🚩 [1]
Did you catch that “just like you and I are” part? Given that the YouVersion Bible app promotes a Rohr devotional, and John Mark Comer quotes Rohr on his Practicing the Way webpage, this is genuinely concerning! [2]
Per the earliest eyewitness accounts of Jesus’s life, death, and bodily resurrection, Jesus not only claimed to be God by what he said, but also demonstrated he is God by his actions. [3]
Jesus, fully God, never ceased being God when he added upon himself a complete human nature (Phil 2:5-8). His incarnation was an incredible miracle— an extraordinary act of love, on our behalf!
“He suffered as God because only God had the power to save; He suffered as man because only man owed the debt.” – Michael Horton
As you read above, some will attempt to persuade you that Jesus is merely an example of faith. But the earliest historical evidence shows that Jesus claimed to be more than just a model of faith — Jesus is 💯 the our object of faith.
Faith is trusting in who He is and what He has done on our behalf (his work). His perfect, sinless life replaces our sinful life. His death pays our debt. His life gives us new life. And his bodily resurrection makes a way to God, which only he could make…on our behalf (John 24:6; Acts 4:12). Essentially, the Judge came down and took our place.
“But to all who did receive him [Jesus], who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,” – John 1:12
“In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” – 1John 4:10
- https://lnkd.in/gxiciSdv
- https://lnkd.in/gvD3dGn8
- Bowman’s & Kimoszewski’s H.A.N.D.S. Acronym: https://a.co/d/dmOqUPf
Picture: ESV Study Bible: https://a.co/d/crBeMDR
Hold Fast Apologetics 