Identity Theft

If someone stole your identity, how could you get it back?

Identity theft is the 21st Century crime. My dictionary defines it as “the fraudulent acquisition and use of a person's private identifying information, usually for financial gain.”

Maybe you’ve already had your identity stolen. I have. And it’s hard to get it back.

Several years ago someone emptied my bank account by posing as me on the Internet. Two months ago I began receiving 30 telemarketing calls a day. Someone tried to harass me by signing me up for information from online companies.

My tormentor even went so far as to sign me up for a long distance service I didn’t want.

Now each of those companies thought I was someone I was not—either a potential customer or, in the case of the long distance company, an actual customer. But I wasn’t.

Someone with a hidden agenda was misrepresenting me and I had to convince the companies who I really was. And the same thing has happened to Jesus Christ.

Now hold on just a minute. Jesus Christ suffered from identity theft?

Yes. And if those who misrepresent him fool us, it will result in more than a financial loss!

There are those today who tell us that you can become a god like Jesus. Others say he was less than divine. That he was just an ordinary man but a great teacher. Or he was a prophet like Buddha or Mohammed. Some refer to a sacred mushroom as “Jesus.” Really!

You owe it to yourself to discover the truth. Why? Because where you spend eternity rides on your answer to two questions: 1) “Who is Jesus Christ?” and 2) What will you do with Jesus?

The Bible gives God’s answer to both questions. First it calls Jesus the “Word of God.” It says, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.”

Not “a god” but “God.” And if anyone tells you differently, they have stolen Jesus’ identity.

Listen to Jesus words: “Before Abraham was born, I AM!” The words “I AM” translate a special holy name for God in the Jewish Bible—what Christians call the Old Testament. And since Abraham lived around 2000 B.C., Jesus was saying he existed before Abraham.

Another time Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.” Those who heard him understood he was claiming to be the Creator God of the Bible. They told Jesus they were going to stone him “Because you a mere man claim to be God.”

So be careful where you get your facts about Jesus. Even some groups calling themselves a “church” have tried to steal Jesus’ identity and misrepresent him. But the truth is easy to find.

Your best source is the Bible itself. Don’t take my word for it. Pick up a Bible and read what it says about Jesus. Get a reliable modern translation. Avoid groups claiming to be the only ones with the truth or the right translation. Run if they won’t let you question what they teach.

A good place to start is in the New Testament Gospel of John. John was one of Jesus’ friends and records what he saw as an eyewitness. Plus he doesn’t have a hidden agenda.

What should you do with Jesus? John tells us: “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

The truth is that through Jesus Christ you can live your life the way God intended. You can experience true forgiveness for your failures. You can find a lifelong purpose. And you can have an assurance and a peace about eternal life that is available nowhere else.

The Bible says Jesus is the Son of God who died for sin and rose from the dead. Trust in him.

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!

Mistaken Identity

A woman saw a star from her favorite soap opera on a New York City street. Grabbing the celebrity’s arm, the fan shouted at her, “How could you treat your husband the way you do? He loves you and you’re so mean to him!”

The star looked at the woman with a mixture of amusement and bewilderment and said, “Excuse me but I’m just an actor!”

Sadly the fan mistook the actor for the character in the program. The result is that she was embarrassed and humiliated.

The same thing happens with Jesus. Some people mistake Jesus for someone else.

Hold it just a minute. How could you mistake Jesus for someone else?

Well, some think he’s just a baby in the manger scene at the Sunday School Christmas program. Or they think he’s just the man on the cross in the Easter play, a great teacher or a martyr for a good cause. But Jesus is more than just an infant in a manger, an actor in a play, a great teacher or a martyr. He’s the real deal. He’s the Son of God.

Now some people think Jesus never claimed to be the Son of God. They believe he was just a rabbi, a great teacher whom other people called “the Son of God.” But when the Jewish High Priest asked him, “Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God,” Jesus answered, “Yes, it is as you say. But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

Now that’s not something a “great teacher” would claim to be. Others did call him the Son of God but, if Jesus was just a good teacher, he should have straightened them out.

To claim you’re the Son of God if you’re not would make you either a liar or a lunatic. And neither of those would make a good model for people’s lives. But what some of the people of Jesus’ day didn’t reckon with was that he was telling the truth. His miracles, his messages and his resurrection from the dead demonstrated and confirmed his deity.

People today make the same mistake. They fail to see who Jesus really is.

The fact that Jesus is who he claimed to be changes everything. It confronts everyone who hears this about him and forces them to make a decision. They must decide whether or not to believe and trust in him.

Someone once asked Jesus, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” He answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

It is not enough to just understand. It is not enough to just agree. Jesus said we must believe in him--to trust and rely on him to save us and forgive our sin. To voluntarily and personally choose him to be our Lord, our Savior and our God. To obey him and live for him.

If you mistake Jesus for somebody else, you will lose a shepherd for your soul, a provider for your life and a protector for your family. You will also miss out on his church, a place where you can be loved and accepted for who you are. And where you will be encouraged to be all that God made you to be. You will pass up the purpose for your life.

If you confuse Jesus for someone he is not, the result will be more than brief embarrassment. It will cost you eternity.

But to find Jesus--to discover who he really is--and put your trust in him is no mistake.

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!