Same Name, Different Person
June 17, 2026
"For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.”
2 Corinthians 11:4 (NIV)
There is the Santa Claus Jesus who gives you anything you ask for, the moment you want it.
There is the cosmic Jesus who already lives inside everyone and just needs to be recognized. There is the inclusive Jesus who delivers salvation whether you ask for it or not.
And then there is the tolerant Jesus, probably the most popular one right now, who loves you so completely that he does not care what you believe, how you live, or what you do with the life he gave you.
Paul warns the church in 2 Corinthians 11:4, "If someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached… you put up with it easily enough." That last phrase is not a compliment. Paul is alarmed at how quickly people accept a substitute when the packaging looks familiar.
What makes this so difficult to catch is that false prophets use the same name. They say Jesus. They talk about love and grace. They just remove the parts that cost something, like repentance, like holiness, like the narrow road. They keep the warmth and strip out the weight. The result is a Jesus who is easy to follow because He never actually asks you to change anything.
Open your Bible to John 14:6 today and read what Jesus actually says about Himself. Then ask whether the Jesus you have been hearing about lately makes the same claims. The real Jesus is the most loving figure who ever lived. He is also the most demanding. Both are true, and you need both.
The name Jesus is not enough. You need the Jesus of the Bible.
Prayer: Father in Heaven, hallowed be Your name. Teach me to honor Your Word and Who You are, not who others say You are, or even who I want You to be sometimes. I want to know You as You are–holy and near. Correct any version of You I've been carrying that doesn't match Your Word. In Jesus' Name, Amen.