Imitations of Christ

Thomas A’ Kempis (1380-1471) wrote a remarkable book, Imitation of Christ.   It’s a devotional outlining the qualities Christians should find in their lives.  We should all be imitators of Christ.  But, of course, there is another meaning to “imitation.”  “To imitate” can also mean it is not the genuine article.  It is that type of imitation I’d like to look at today.

There are imitations of Christ, fake Christs which look much like the original but are not really the same.  Many people will say they believe in Jesus and begin to list many facts about Him.  The Jehovah’s Witness, for instance, will tell you that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, escaped to Egypt, returned and lived in Nazareth, and did the majority of His ministry in Galilee.  They will also seem to agree with us doctrinally saying Jesus is divine, the only son of God, that He died on Calvary, rose from the dead, ascended into heaven where He sits at the right hand of God, and He is coming back to judge the world. 

That sounds like the Jesus you and I know, doesn’t it?  So, why then do we call them a cult?  It’s the definition of terms where we differ.  The Jehovah’s Witnesses believe Jesus’ being the Son of God means only that He was the first and greatest creation of God.  Being divine means only that Jesus is a heavenly creature, specifically the Archangel Michael.  When they say He rose from the dead, they don’t mean He rose bodily but as a spirit.  So, you see, the Jesus of Jehovah’s Witnesses is an imitation of the Biblical Jesus.

The Mormons tell us Jesus is also the Son of God, that He is the second Person of the Trinity, they will say Jesus has existed from all eternity and will exist for all eternity, yet is the Mormon Jesus the Jesus of the Bible?  Well, when a Mormon says Jesus is the Son of God, he means that Mary was sexually impregnated by God the Father, a physical being, and Jesus is their son on earth.  Now they believe Jesus pre-existed from all eternity as they believe all of us have existed from all eternity as intelligences.  Then Elohim, God the Father, had spirit children in heaven among which were Lucifer and Jesus.  Lucifer and Jesus each presented a plan for man’s salvation to the Father, and Jesus’ plan was chosen.  Lucifer got ticked off and is now the devil.  However, don’t miss the fact the Mormon Jesus is the brother of Lucifer.

When a Mormon tells us Jesus is the Second Person of the Trinity, his definition of the Trinity is three separate gods (actually among a pantheon of gods), the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit a spirit creature.

Muslims believe in a Jesus as well.  They will tell you that Jesus is the Messiah and will return one day, that He was virgin born.  He did miracles

What Muslims do not believe is that Jesus died on the cross (or anywhere else).  They believe Allah made someone else look like Jesus, and that man was crucified in His place.  They don’t believe Jesus is God the Son, Second Person of the Trinity.  For them, God is only one person and never had a son.  They believe Jesus did not rise from the dead since He didn’t die.  Jesus was taken up into heaven by Allah.

So, there are many imitations of Christ out there.  We must be careful.

2 Corinthians 11:3-4 (ESV)
³  But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
⁴  For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.