Which Jesus do you serve?

I thought I would start this whole blog thing by posting something that characterizes my life and what I believe. I wrote this and put it on my myspace and now; I shall now share these thoughts with the www.fill in the blank.blogspot.com world! This one is called: "Which Jesus do you serve?"

The most fundamental difference between Christianity and any other religion is the person of Jesus Christ, who He is, and why He came to earth. I am not talking about the simple belief in His existence... most religions will tell you that Jesus Christ did, indeed, walk this earth; furthermore, they will even tell you he performed miracles or that he was a prophet. Muslims believe that Jesus was the Messiah, Allah's appointed prophet (Koran, 4.171). Mormon's will tell you that Jesus is the literal son of god and his goddess wife. Jehovah's Witnesses present Jesus Christ as a secondary "god," created, not eternal,the Archangel Michael in heaven, and a good man on earth.

What we need to know, however, is who this Jesus really is because He can't be "all of the above." My name is common: Jessica Clark. I work at State Farm and there are 3 or 4 other "Jessica Clark's" who work for State Farm. Just today I got an email from one of them saying they had accidently been sent an email that should have come to me. Now, just because we have the same name does not mean that we are the same person. It is safe to assume that myself and the other "Jessica Clark's" all have different DNA and while we may have similar characteristics, we do not have exactly the same personalities. Consequently, I am not the same person as the other "Jessica Clark's" who work at State Farm. With Jesus, we can NOT ascribe Him not only DIFFERENT characteristics but contradictory characteristics and then assume that we all serve the same Jesus Christ. Jesus can not have been born of "god and a goddess" as the Mormon's theology says, yet be the same Jesus who was born of imaculate conception through the Holy Spirit to a virgin named Mary. Jesus can not be a secondary "god" like Jehovah's Witness will say, yet be THE One and Only, True and Living God. So who is Jesus?

Most of the above religions use the Bible as at least one of their "scriptures" so let's go there to see who Jesus is... (I would encourage you to read the context of these verses in your spare time because not all verses refer to Jesus as "Jesus"... but the context will help you see that Jesus is, indeed, the One being talked about).

Jesus is God: John 1:1-2 says- "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God." Titus 2:13, "...looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great GOD and Savior Jesus Christ..."

Jesus is one part of a triune God (the Trinity): 1 John 5:7, "For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one."

Jesus was born as a man (as in human, not a full grown man) to a virgin, conceived by the Holy Spirit: Matthew 1:18-19, "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit." Isaiah 7:14, "The Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel."

Jesus was God's One and ONLY Son: John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave his Only begotton Son, that whosover believes on Him shall not perish but have everlasting life." (this is important because Mormon theology teaches that Jesus and Satan are brothers).
I could keep going but it is late and to really give you a feel for the context, I would have to quote the entire Bible. =)

The next important question that I will leave you with is this: Once you know who Jesus is, what next? Is it enough to simply believe in Him? James 2:19 tells us: "You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe- and tremble." Believing is not enough. Romans 9:9-10 says: "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Here, we see that one believes UNTO righteousness and confesses UNTO salvation.

The reality is that Jesus is the ONLY way to the Father. And not just ANY Jesus... the Jesus of the Bible... the One who was born of a virgin by immaculate conception of the Holy Spirit... the Jesus who is God's ONLY Son... the Jesus who IS the One and Only God incarnate.

Acts 10-12 says: "then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed... Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

Which "Jesus" do you serve?