The False Christs and the True
Matthew 24:4-5, 21-24
The Word of God warns us plainly and
repeatedly that in the last days, the days in which we now live, many false
Christs would appear, that many would claim to be Christ who are impostors,
false Christs, and deceivers, and that many false prophets would arise pointing
us to these false Christs, saying, “Lo,
here is Christ, or there.” As you care for your soul, as you care for the
souls of your family, as you care for the souls of perishing men and women, and
as you care for the truth of God and the glory of God, I urge you to give
earnest heed to the words of the Son of God in Matthew 24:4-5, 21-24.
“Take
heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am
Christ; and shall deceive many...For then shall be great tribulation, such as
was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but
for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened. Then if any man shall say
unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise
false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders;
insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”
The plain fact is, there are many
false Christs, many antichrists, by whom the souls of men are deceived and
damned. I want to be as charitable, kind, and gracious as I can; but charity,
kindness, and grace will not allow me to be silent while immortal souls are
deceived and God’s glory is trampled beneath the feet of men. If you trust a false Christ you cannot be
saved any more than you could be saved by trusting a tadpole. We are called
of God to trust, love, follow, and obey the true Christ and him only. Salvation
is promised to none but those who trust the true Christ. Therefore, we are
warned in our text to Take heed that no
man deceive you.” We must take heed to the teachings of Holy Scripture,
lest we be deceived by some false Christ.
We
know about the Christ of the liberals. He was a social do-gooder. “Of
course,” we are told, “he is not God.” The virgin birth, the incarnation, the
resurrection, are all things that must be understood allegorically. In fact,
the Christ of the liberals is considered by many to be a man of very
questionable moral character. Any who are deceived by liberal theology and the
Christ of the liberals are willingly deceived. We are not deceived by the
Christ of the liberals. Only a prating fool would pretend to be a Christian
while teaching what liberals do concerning Christ. The Christ of the liberals
is a false Christ. All who trust the Christ of the liberals are lost.
We
also know about the Christ of the various cults. He is represented to us as
a good man, a prophet, a teacher of morality, the first and greatest creation
of God, or even a sort of secondary god. But the Christ of the cults is
neverrepresented as the true and eternal God. Their Christ receives his
existence from another god, one who is greater than he is. This, of course, is
not the Christ of the Bible. We are not deceived by him. The Christ of the
cults is a false Christ. All who trust the Christ of the cults are lost.
We
know about the Christ of Roman Catholicism. The papists profess that Jesus
Christ is God, that he came into the world as a man, that he suffered the wrath
of God as a substitute for sinners, that he died, was buried, rose again the
third day, ascended back to heaven, and that he is coming again. But the Christ
of Romanism is not a complete Savior. The Christ of Rome cannot save sinners
without their own good works, the intercessions of priests, and the sacraments
of the church. The Christ of Rome is not the Christ of the Bible. We are not
deceived by him. Though many are damned by the darkness of Roman Catholic
idolatry, that is not a danger and deception by which any who read these lines
are likely to be deceived. The Christ of the papists, we know, is a false
Christ. All who trust the Christ of Rome are lost.
However, there is a false Christ
much more dangerous than the antichrists of the liberals, the cults, and the
papists. There is a false Christ by whom the souls of men have been deceived
for years, by whom millions are being deceived today. In fact, I am compelled
to say, the vast majority of those who profess faith in Christ are followers of
this false Christ who will ultimately lead them to eternal ruin. This Christ,
this antichrist, is such a dangerous and deceptive Christ, that our Lord tells
us he would deceive the very elect, were it not impossible for God’s elect to
be deceived (Matt. 24:24). He must be identified. The Christ I speak of is the
Christ of Arminian, freewill, works religion.
Few think that I am uncharitable
when I denounce the false Christs of liberals, cults, and papists as
antichrists and warn men that following those false Christs will result in
everlasting damnation. Yet, whenever I boldly assert that the Christ of
Arminian, freewill, works religion is a false Christ and that all who trust him
are lost, I am castigated as an evil man. Be that as it may, as a watchman upon
the walls of Zion, I am responsible to warn you of the danger of this
antichrist.
The Christ of Arminian, freewill,
works religion is extremely dangerous because in many ways he appears to be the
true Christ. The freewillers and workmongers of this age tell us that Christ is
the true God, in every way equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit. They even
assert that he saves by grace alone, without the works of man. They insist
vehemently that good works play no part in their salvation. The devotees of
this Christ will have nothing to do with the Christ of the liberals, the cults,
or the papists. But “take heed that no
man deceive you!” Do not be fooled. The Christ of Arminian, freewill, works
religion is not the Christ of the Bible. He is a false Christ. All who trust
this false Christ are lost, too.
Be
sure you understand the issue. The issue is not what or how much does a
person have to know to be saved. The issue is who. Who must I know? The answer to that question is plainly stated
in John 17:3. We must know the true God and the true Christ. Let me make five
comparisons of the false Christ of modern religion, the Christ of Arminian,
freewill, works religion, with the Christ of the Bible. When you have
considered these five comparisons in the light of Holy Scripture, I have no
doubt that you will see the obvious distinctions between The False Christs and the True.
I.
The Christ of modern, freewill, works religion loves everyone in the universe
and wants to save them. We are told
that Christ loves all men alike, desires the salvation of all men alike, and is
gracious to all men alike. That makes the love, will, and grace of Christ
helpless and useless. But that language cannot be applied to the Christ of the
Bible. The true Christ, the Christ
of the Bible, the saving Christ loves his people, wills and prays for the
salvation of his people, and is gracious to his people, the people
unconditionally chosen unto salvation from eternity, whom he came to save (Ps.
5:5; 7:11; 11:5; Matt. 1:21; 11:27; John 10:16; John 17:9-10; Acts 13:48; Rom.
9:21-24; Eph. 1:3-6).
II.
The Christ of modern, freewill, works religion tries to save everyone. We are told that he offers salvation to every sinner and
does everything he can to save them all; but that his offer is rejected and his
work is frustrated by the will of those who refuse to come to him and be saved.
The Christ of the Bible does not
merely offer salvation. He performs it! Grace is not an offer. It is an
operation! The Son of God effectually calls to himself all his elect, his
sheep, and sovereignly works salvation in them by the irresistible power and
grace of his Holy Spirit. Not one of them will be lost. Is this, or is it not the teaching of Holy Scripture? (Psa. 65:4;
110:3; Isa. 55:11; John 5:21; 6:37-40; 10:3, 25-30; 17:2; Phil. 2:13)
III.
The false Christ of Arminianism cannot regenerate and save anyone who does not
first choose to be saved by him. We
are told that man has a freewill, but that Christ’s will is bound by and must
wait upon man’s will because it would not be right for him to violate man’s
will! The true, saving Christ does
violate man’s imaginary freewill; and
I am very thankful that he does. Had he not violated my freewill, I would be
lost or in hell now! The same is true of you. He sovereignly regenerates and
saves every chosen, redeemed sinner. His operations of grace are totally
independent of the will and choice of the sinner. Apart from his work of grace
in us, spiritually dead sinners never would or could believe on him and come to
him in faith. Faith is not our contribution to the work of salvation. Our faith
in him is the result, not the cause of God’s saving operations. “Let God be true, but every man a liar” (John
3:3-7; 6:44, 65; 15:16; Acts 11:18; Rom. 2:4; 9:16; Eph. 2:1-4, 8-10; Phil.
1:6, 29; Col. 2:12; Heb. 12:2).
IV.
The false Christ of modern, Arminian, freewill, works, man-centered religion
died on the cross for everyone in the world, to make it possible for everyone
in the world to be saved, but actually secured no one’s salvation by his death.
We are told that Christ by his
death made it possible for all men to be redeemed, justified, and saved, but
that his death has no efficacy and saving power for anyone until they believe
on him. Thus, we are informed that the Son of God died in vain for all who
perish in unbelief. Though he tried to save them, he failed! The Christ of God is not a frustrated
failure! He died for God’s elect and effectually put away our sins by the
sacrifice of himself. Having satisfied the justice of God for us, he obtained
eternal salvation for us. We were and are forever pardoned, justified, and
sanctified by his blood (Isa. 42:4; 53:8; Matt. 20:28; John 10:14-15, 26; Acts
20:28; Rom. 5:9-10; Eph. 5:25; Heb. 9:12; 10:10-14; I Peter 3:18; Rev. 5:9-10).
V.
The false Christ of Arminianism loses many who have been saved by him because they do not hang on, hold out, or persevere to
the end. Among the heretical
Baptists of our day, some do grant that the sinner has what has come to be
called “eternal security.” But it is not security based upon the will, work,
and purpose of God in Christ. It is not security based upon the blood of
Christ, or the operations of his Spirit. According to the freewiller, all these
things are done for all people alike. So their doctrine of “eternal security”
is a declaration of security based upon the choice and will of man, not the
choice and will of God. The true Christ,
the saving Christ, the Christ of the Bible preserves his chosen, redeemed,
called ones by his almighty grace, so that they cannot fall away and perish at
last. We are kept in life, grace, and faith by the immutability of his will,
the power of his blood, the efficacy of his grace, the seal of his Spirit, and
the perfection of his intercession (Mal.3:6;John 5:24;10:26-29;Rom.8:28-39;I
Pet.1:2-5;Jude 24-25).
At first glance, the Christ of
modern, Arminian, freewill, works religion may seem to closely resemble the
true Christ, the Christ of Scripture. But he does not. The one is a false
Christ, antichrist. The other is true, the Christ of God. One is weak and
helpless, waiting upon and bowing to the will of man. The other is the
sovereign Lord, who wills what he pleases and does what he will! The one is
supposed to be able to save with your cooperation. The other is able to save
without any cooperation on your part. His salvation produces your cooperation!
Those who believe on and serve the
false Christ of freewill, works religion do not believe on and serve the Christ
of the Bible. They are deceived. They are lost. And they shall forever perish
under the wrath of God, unless they come to know and trust the Christ of God,
who saves his people from their sins by himself. We must, as we fear God and care
for the souls of men, have no fellowship with and give no credibility to
Arminian, freewill, works religion (II Cor. 6:14-7:1; Rev. 18:4). We must, in
these days of darkness, deception, and delusion, proclaim the Christ of God in
all his saving fullness, grace, and glory. He alone is able to save (Rom.
1:15-17). Let us ever adore, praise, and extol the Lord Jesus Christ alone and
completely as our great Savior (Isa. 59:16)
Grace Baptist Church of Danville
2734 Old Stanford Road - Danville, Kentucky 40422-9438
Donald S. Fortner, Pastor Telephone 606-236-8235