Many say it’s easier to spot a counterfeit $100 bill by knowing the features of a genuine one. For example, if you look at recent genuine bills, you’ll find the words “the United States of America” printed in crisp, tiny letters on the lapel of Benjamin Franklin’s coat. Any normal printing process would have muddied those into a wavy ribbon of ink. You could spot a fake bill that had lots of similarities to the real thing by its tiny shortcomings. Anything short of the high quality original is a fake. Even if it’s missing just one key feature, its value drops from being able to buy a delicious meal for the family to buying a one-way ticket to about twenty years in federally-provided cement-block housing and orange jumpsuits.
There are lots of muddied portraits, blurred images and counterfeit biographies of Jesus Christ. I’m not talking about religious icons but about the fuzzy ideas so many have about who the Lord Jesus Christ really is. Little bits and pieces of truth like “He was a good man,” “He lived many years ago and then died on a cross,” and “He was a great teacher” get jumbled together with fatal errors. Wouldn’t you like to really know the One who made you? After all, Jesus Himself said, “This is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ” (John 17:33And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. (John 17:3)).
Here are six characteristics of the genuine, living Son of God known as Jesus Christ.
1. Perfectly transparent: You’ve heard of hidden agendas, double meanings, being stabbed in the back, false pretenses and hype. Consider this: “Who art Thou? And Jesus saith unto them, Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning” (John 8:2525Then said they unto him, Who art thou? And Jesus saith unto them, Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning. (John 8:25)). The Lord Jesus Christ was absolutely perfectly consistent in everything He said and did. He never told so-called white lies or pretended to be anything that He wasn’t. He never blocked the shining out of the light of God. No one else can claim anything close to that beautiful perfection.
2. Flawless behavior: The best of people “mess up” once in a while. We say “nobody’s perfect,” “we need to cut them some slack,” “let them grow up,” “be charitable” or “allow for growth.” In business or parenting, the boss or parent needs to let the employee or child “learn from their mistakes.” But here’s what God’s Word says about Jesus: “Who did no sin” (1 Peter 2:22). What would it be like to personally get to know the One who would never misrepresent you behind your back? How would you like to find someone who never cut you off on the road, never took a share that wasn’t His, never slacked off on His share of the work, never “flew off the handle”? Would that perfect behavior expose your “good guy/girl” image for what it is — a counterfeit of the true character of God? Would you be tempted to search for flaws or assume that the portrait of Christ had been retouched to remove flaws and weaknesses?
3. Never misled anyone: Consider this phrase carefully: “Neither was guile found in His mouth” (1 Peter 2:22). The word “guile” is a lot softer than “lying” to most ears. There are lots of ads that misrepresent a product. The advertiser gets us to pull off the road and into the parking lot with the big sign advertising “kids eat free” only to notice the “Tuesdays after 8 p.m.” in small print as we are walking into the restaurant with our family. But Jesus Christ never had the slightest shade of that in more than thirty-three years of living on this earth. Not once, not ever, did He present anything as different than it really was.
4. Never had unclean thoughts: Some people who are able to “keep from flying off the handle” or manage to show pretty decent self-control would be terribly embarrassed to have their thoughts spread out on a big screen TV for passersby to read. But of Jesus it says, “Who knew no sin” (2 Corinthians 5:2121For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)). Not once did He wish for something that wasn’t His. He never seethed inwardly when His earthly parents misunderstood Him. There was never a trace of irritability when the crowds pressed up against Him, making it hard to move — not even a flash of irritation across the brain that had to be refused.
5. Has no ability to sin: All great winning streaks come to an end. Top-notch athletes eventually have a bad game or “go through the motions.” And they all gradually wear down physically to the point where “they just can’t bring it” like they used to. But Jesus Christ can’t sin. There’s nothing in Him that wanted, wants or will ever want to displease God the Father. Their agreement is always perfect, consistent and pure. Here’s the way God’s Word states that fact simply: “In Him is no sin” (1 John 3:55And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. (1 John 3:5)).
6. Has no need to ever change and never will: Many people who get married discover they have some adjustments to make. I never really had any sense of how selfish I was until the first year of my marriage. But Jesus Christ doesn’t need to change. We wouldn’t want Him to. That’s why it’s a delight to hear the words, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:88Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. (Hebrews 13:8)). There’s no person, product, place or partner that doesn’t need that continual tweaking to make it better. But the Lord Jesus Christ is literally perfect. Any change would be to create a flaw. I’m so thankful that can never happen.
After years of disappointments with people, including many Christians, and, let’s be honest, with ourselves as well, it may be hard to believe that all this perfection can be found in a person. Read and carefully listen to what is said about Jesus Christ in the Word of God. Thoughtfully consider the books of the Bible that tell about His life in detail — Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. If you do so, you’ll discover a true portrait of a perfect man. “O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him” (Psa. 34:88O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. (Psalm 34:8)).
The more anyone honestly looks at Jesus Christ, the more they will see how utterly unlike Him they are. God won’t accept anyone into heaven with a character inferior to Christ’s in any way. Look back at the six characteristics listed above. Have you ever, in any way, come up short in any of them? Because Jesus Christ came to earth, died on Calvary’s cross, shed His blood to make a full payment for sin and rose again from the dead, God can offer to make you just like His Son. There is no other way to enter heaven. No promises of reform, good works or efforts to do better have any value to Him. The only payment for sin He accepts is the genuine work of His Son. Everything else, however good it looks to an untrained eye, is counterfeit. “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:77But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)). Will you present to God the only “currency” He accepts, the blood of Jesus Christ, or are you planning to present a counterfeit, your own good works? How you answer will determine where you spend eternity.
With the huge number of counterfeits around us, it’s a wonderful thing to find Someone we can have confidence in. Find out more about Him in Certainty in an Uncertain World.