There are a lot of people talking about Jesus these days. However, I have to wonder if some of them ever bother to pick up a Bible. Because many of the modern day views of Jesus contradict what the Scriptures say about him.

Some will insist that Jesus only preaches on love. However, the Jesus we read about in the gospels also preaches on holiness and the wrath of God. He says in Luke 13:5, “…unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

Many preachers today will tell you that Jesus promises prosperity—some call it “the health and wealth gospel”. They maintain that followers of Jesus can expect to have continual health and nice, fat bank accounts. Jesus doesn’t promise this. As a matter of fact, he says in John 16:33, “…In this world you will have trouble…”

Others claim that Jesus never says anything negative, that his teaching is always positive and uplifting. It is true that many of Jesus’ sayings are truly encouraging and inspirational. But it is also true that Jesus often warns against sin, judgment and hell. Consider Matthew 5:29-30—“If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.”

Some people believe that Jesus was universally loved and accepted by the world. But the Bible says that he came unto his own and his own did not receive him (John 1:11). Jesus himself warns in John 15:18, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.” Rather than being loved and accepted, Jesus was despised and rejected by the world.

There are those who think that Jesus only exists to serve their will. They treat the Son of God as if he were their own personal butler. But Jesus doesn’t serve our will; he serves the will of God. Consider John 4:34—“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”

Finally, many people are under the wrong impression the Jesus would never offend anyone at any time for any reason. The real Jesus offended a lot of people with his truth. You don’t get nailed to a cross because you never offended anyone!

Like I said earlier, there are a lot of people saying a lot of things about Jesus, and many of them simply don’t know what they are talking about. They have either invented their own “Jesus”, or they have bought into someone else’s distortion of who Jesus really is. Be very careful what you believe about Jesus! Don’t get your information about Jesus from sources that prove themselves to be unreliable. Let the Bible inform you about Jesus. We must take him for who he really is, not some fairy tale that others have chosen to believe. Devote your life to studying the gospels in order to become familiar with the real Jesus. Then you won’t fall for anyone’s false view about Christ.