Antichrist

1 John 2:18,22 (The) antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist…

I am spiritual. I believe in God. I just don’t see the need for Jesus. It is not uncommon to hear this from those who very much want to have faith in God but for whom Jesus is a stumbling block. For some reason, Christ seems to be the most offensive thing about Christianity.

It is tempting for me to just let this slide. I want others to come to know you God, so is it that big of deal that I say the name of Jesus? Can I not just call you God? John reminds me that there is no Christianity without Christ and that anyone who denies the Christ is by definition anti-Christ.

As Christians, the world sees us as ignorantly exclusive, claiming to know the only way to God. So, it should not surprise us that the world will object to the one who claimed to be The Way. This world will never be focused on Christ and thus, this world will always be anti-Christ. This does not mean that this world will be anti-god. The world will still want God so it will manufacture many paths around Christ in an attempt to get to God. These paths again, by definition are all anti-Christ.

This exclusive claim of Christ to be the only way to God is really, I think, Christ’s greatest offense to the world. The world very much wants to believe that all roads lead to God and that everyone gets there in the end. We want to believe this too. It is just easier to get along with the world if we cave on this little detail.

John reminds us that as Christians, this is not what we believe. As Christians, we are by definition pro-Christ. While others deny Christ, we are to focus our lives on the Christ. He is the center of our faith and if we want to know God, we need to know Jesus. We do not get to one without the other.

Some will see Jesus as the door to the father and some will see Jesus as the stumbling block that they just cannot accept. This choice then, defines if I am pro-Christ or anti-Christ. Jesus descended to earth as the Christ, died for my destructive ways and redeemed me to God. He is The Way and I will therefore focus my life on him. I will boldly be pro-Christ.