Written by Pastor Jayson Pagan
They called the golden calf JEHOVAH.
They called it Elohim.
Aaron himself called it Yahweh.
Yahweh delivered us from Egypt.
Yahweh saved us.
Yahweh healed us.
Right name, but the wrong way.
They committed sexual sin and danced and worshipped a god that would allow such worship, and then called that god Jehovah.
Paul told the Corinthians “you happily put up with anything people tell you even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach”.
That’s a problem.
The name is right, but the way is wrong.
The name is right, but there is no commitment.
The name is right, but the teachings are not accurate.
We don’t need a new Jesus.
We don’t need a social Jesus.
We don’t need a worldly Jesus.
We don’t need a psycho-self-help Jesus.
We don’t need a Jesus that accommodates everyone and everything.
My Jesus demands repentance.
He asks me to deny myself and take up my cross.
He asks me to love a pure life.
He insists that I need his Spirit to empower me to live godly in this present world.
My Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.
If you preach a different Jesus, you keep his name, but you no longer say he requires change and transformation and commitment and dedication.
That is not an authentic and genuine conversion, but it appeals to a much larger audience.
And it leads to a watered-down church.
They sing of Jesus.
They dance.
They gather.
They do good works.
But their Jesus is not my Jesus.