Pull out a credit card. Yes, a credit card. Look in the bottom corner, and we’ll see our name boldly embossed in the plastic. When we’re using our plastic, we want people to know who we are. We can even get custom cards with our alma mater or our grandchildren pasted right on the front.
Look at me, it screams, making sure we’re us; and we willingly pull out our ID cards to show we are who we say we are. We have the right to use our card.
It’s all about proving our identity. If someone else uses our card, we want someone to notice. They’ve stolen our identity, and we want them held accountable. If they charge up bills in our name, we cry, “I am the real me! They are a fake! Can’t you tell?”
Matthew 7:15 starts off with:
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves…”
The false prophets claim to have their names on the resurrection of the King, but we know better. Only Jesus can make that boast.
2 Peter 2:15 tells us:
“Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam…”
Balaam didn’t give his life on the cross. Only Jesus can brag, “I am the Christ, and all men must come through me!”
Revelation 21:8 makes man’s claims to truth transparent:
“But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
God will hold those accountable who use his name for their own purposes.
Identity thieves in this world often live well for a time. Bernie Madoff, Charles Ponzi, and even Sarah Howe in 1880, who offered an investment opportunity strictly for women, only to disappear into obscurity with the funds. Yet, they weren’t the savvy investors they claimed. They offered something false, and their investors lost everything.
Jesus is our ultimate investment. When he says, “I am the Christ,” we can take it to the bank, confident our souls are secure.
The Word breathes truth we can depend on in Acts 4:12:
“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
When we want to be sure, we want Jesus. When he says he is the Christ, all creation backs him up.
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