Do You Follow Christ or Anti-Christ?

Christ warned us that after he went away, many others would come claiming, falsely, to be the Christ. Our task is to clearly recognize those who claim to be of Christ but, in reality, are not.

To that end, it’s helpful to remind ourselves who Jesus was and what Jesus said. If we can clearly recognize the original, then we will never accept anything, or anyone, who takes the name of Christ but stands opposed to His character or His teaching.

So, if Jesus is the Prince of Peace, then the anti-Christ is the Prince of War.

If Jesus heals, the anti-Christ sheds blood.

If Jesus says we should love our enemy, the anti-Christ says we should torture them.

If Jesus commands us to bless those who curse us, the anti-Christ suggests we go to war against them.

If Jesus says we should pray for those who persecute us, the anti-Christ says we ought to oppress and imprison them.

If Jesus tells us to care for the poor, the anti-Christ says we should just ignore them, or displace them, or criminalize them.

If Jesus says his disciples will not fight, the anti-Christ creates weapons and tells us it’s our right to use violence.

If Jesus says we should turn the other cheek, the anti-Christ says we should destroy those who oppose us or insult us.

Now, I have to ask you: Who does the Church resemble most?

Are we of Christ, or are we of the anti-Christ?

Do we follow those who contradict our King? Or do we recognize their attempts to nullify His commands?

Do we turn our backs on His teaching? Or do we keep our eyes on the One who said “Love your enemies. Turn the other cheek. Bless those who curse you. Do good to those who hate you.”?

If we are not following Christ, then we are following the Anti-Christ.

No one can serve two masters.

Make your choice.

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Keith Giles is the author of “Jesus Untangled: Crucifying Our Politics To Pledge Allegiance To The Lamb” and co-host of the Heretic Happy Hour Podcast which you can hear on iTunes and Podbean. He and his wife and their two boys live in Orange, CA where they are part of a house church where no one takes a salary, Jesus is the Senior Pastor and 100% of the offerings go to help the poor in the community.