Another Jesus?

In Pastor Hal’s message on Sunday, I loved the discussion about “another Jesus” in 2 Corinthians 11:4. He made the point that this not about a different name but about a different identity, mission, and message being attached to the name Jesus. He said, “Can I preach Jesus out of the Bible and preach a message that brings damnation rather than justification? Can I? It’s done all the time, isn’t it?”

The very nature of false religious systems is to supposedly preach Jesus while also redefining who He is, distorting what He accomplished at Calvary, and perverting what is required to be reconciled to God. This counterfeit Jesus inevitably leads to another spirit and ultimately another gospel, which corrupts the simplicity that is in Christ.

The danger is subtle: the same name is preached, but the message becomes complicated with the addition of the law, works, rituals, or a reliance on emotions to feel secure. What do all of those things say about the cross? All those additions to the gospel perverts His perfect work of atonement to somehow be incomplete — all of which results in a different Jesus – a Jesus who cannot save you and who demands more than faith to be saved.

Changing the gospel changes who Christ is.

The gospel is not simply information about salvation. The gospel is also the revelation of who He is, His nature, and why He did what He did. The gospel tells you that Christ loved you so much He died for you and took on your penalty for all of your sins. He was buried. He arose from the grave, and now He’s offering you eternal life by faith alone.

Paul never treats the gospel as detachable from Christ’s identity:

• “The gospel of Christ” (Rom 1:16)
• “The gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24)
• “My gospel” (Rom 16:25)
• “The preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery” (Rom 16:25)

When Hal talked about, “another Jesus”, he was operating on this Pauline principle that who Jesus is cannot be separated from what His gospel declares Him to be.

If you’re preaching a different gospel, you’ve robbed Christ of His true identity as a God of grace and love. You’ve also robbed Him of His all-sufficient work at Calvary, because the true Jesus of the Bible is a God who satisfied the demands of justice for all of your sins, and God will let you become justified and reconciled to Him by nothing more than grace through faith (Eph. 2:8-9). The true Jesus of the Bible is a God who will forgive all your sins (Col. 2:13; Eph. 4:32). If you change the gospel, you are not merely changing God’s prescribed method of justification — you are redefining the Lord’s very nature.

Grace vs. Works isn’t just a salvation issue – it’s also an identity issue.

How does a gospel that is not by grace through faith alone give Jesus a different identity? Because grace says something definitive about who Jesus is that works-based systems deny. Grace declares Jesus as the sufficient Savior. Paul’s gospel declares:

• Christ’s work is finished (Rom. 6:10)
• Christ’s payment is complete (Rom. 3:25)
• Christ’s righteousness is imputed (Rom. 4:5-6)
• Christ alone is the basis of acceptance (1 Cor. 15:1-4)

The Lord’s identity under grace is the all-sufficient, once-for-all, victorious Redeemer done for you out of the overwhelming love and grace in His nature.

A works-based gospel redefines Jesus and His work as insufficient. The moment works, law, surrender, endurance, sacraments, repentance-as-performance, or emotional experience are added, Jesus’ identity necessarily shifts. Now Jesus becomes a partial Savior, a co-redeemer, a starter but not a finisher, and One who makes salvation possible but will not secure it. That is not the same Christ who exists in the Bible.

Paul says, “If righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” (Gal 2:21). If God’s grace is denied, then Christ’s death and resurrection loses all its meaning. That isn’t just a soteriological problem. That is a Christological problem, too.

Hal’s second category — mission — flows directly from the Lord’s identity. Christ did what He did because of who He is. The cross is presented as the climax of His humility (Phil. 2:5-8). Giving Himself is presented as love’s inevitable expression (John 15:13, Gal. 2:20, Eph. 5:2). The cross is grace embodied, not merely grace demonstrated (2 Cor. 8:9, Titus 2:11-14). His submission flows from His faithful obedience to the Father’s will (John 10:17-18, Heb. 10:7, Matt. 26:30). Christ’s sinlessness made substitution possible (Rom. 3:25-26, 1 Pet. 2:22-24). The ransom language emphasizes personal cost in Him acting out His attributes of mercy and compassion (Matt. 20:28, Heb. 2:17, Luke 19:10).

Even beyond His nature, His payment for all of our sins was all-sufficient. What He accomplished is a finished work (Col 2:13–15). He secured your redemption (Eph 1:7).

He’s not a God of half-measures.

His mission was inseparable from His identity.

This is why Paul says: “We preach Christ crucified” —not Christ trying, Christ meeting you halfway, or Christ finishing if you comply with all His rules.

A works-based salvation completely perverts the Lord’s mission and character. In that system, He’s a God who helps but does not complete your salvation. He offers redemption but does not actually secure it for you even though He endured unimaginable suffering for all your sins on a cross. He invites you to come to Him but forces you to do all the hard work to maintain your salvation. Plus, this means He’s up there waiting for your participation in a good works program before He’ll finalize your justification.

If that’s true, tell me – WHY DID CHRIST EVEN DIE ON A CROSS?

Different Gospel → Different Message → Different Jesus

The gospel is a theological mirror of God’s nature. Whatever the gospel says salvation requires tells you who Jesus really is. If the gospel requires works on your part → Jesus is insufficient. If the gospel requires law → Jesus is incomplete. If the gospel requires endurance to the end → Jesus died for nothing.

Paul will not tolerate the identity of another Jesus presented in those false gospels. That’s why Galatians is so sharp. That’s why “accursed” is used. To change the gospel is to change Christ Himself, because the gospel defines His identity, declares His mission, and reveals the all-sufficiency of His payment for all of your sins.

A gospel not rooted in grace through faith in Christ’s all-sufficient sacrifice for all your sins – denies who Christ is, distorts what Christ did, rewrites why Christ came, and ultimately replaces Him with “another Jesus.”

If you walk away from believing that you have a perfect standing in His grace, you’re not just walking away from a dispensational point of view – you’re walking away from who Christ truly is.