WWUTT 460 Superman Works?

Comparison Between Superman and Jesus Christ

What's with the constant comparisons between the character of Superman and Jesus Christ? And how do we respond to a person who advocates for a gospel of works righteousness? The answers to these questions when we understand the text.

Many of the Bible stories and verses we think we know, we don't. When we understand the text as an online ministry committed to teaching sound doctrine and exposing the faulty, visit our website at www .utt .com.

Now here's our host, Pastor Gabe Hughes.

Thank you, Becky. It's Friday when we take questions from listeners, and you can submit your questions by email when we understand the text at gmail .com. This first one comes from Chase in New Mexico.

He says, Pastor Gabe, I listened to your response to the Wonder Woman movie and your opinion of her as an icon for girls. I did not know that Margaret Sanger was one of the influences behind the creation of her character.

Mind blown. Yes, indeed. I've been a fan of Superman since I was a kid, as was I or as as am I anyway, and was curious to know your opinion of the cinematic version of that character with constant comparisons to Jesus Christ.

Yeah, quite frankly, I find it rather silly to see these comparisons between Superman and Christ as the two are nothing alike. Superman was sent to Earth by his parents to save him from the destruction of Krypton.

Jesus is the creator of Earth who came to save us from the wrath of God. Really, the two stories are nothing alike. Superman has an origin story. Jesus doesn't. He has no beginning and no end. The two most recent cinematic adaptations of Superman are the worst purveyors of these messianic comparisons.

And I'm speaking mainly of Superman Returns, which was directed by Bryan Singer and Man of Steel, directed by Zack Snyder. Now, Superman Returns was a continuation of the Superman saga that was started by Richard Donner in 1978.

The iconic film starring Christopher Reeve, still the best Superman, by the way. But Donner's film had no blatant comparisons to Christ. Like if you saw that in the movie, you had to read that into the script.

But they didn't like show you here's Superman and he's like Jesus. But Singer's movie, on the other hand, was full of those messianic illusions showing things like Superman walking on water, getting stabbed in his side, dying and falling backward in the shape of being crucified, being resurrected again.

And here's another thing about Singer's Superman, which came out in 2006. Do you know what other really religiously controversial film came out that year in 2006? The Da Vinci Code, a story by Dan Brown, which insinuated that the historic Jesus was married and had children.

What Superman Returns about this Christlike character who has a child with Lois Lane? That's a secret. Nobody knows about it. They really were about the same topic. And Bryan Singer was not shy about any of that.

He fully admitted all of the messianic illusions that were present in Superman Returns. Zack Snyder's Superman in Man of Steel is even more blatantly messianic, to the point that he goes into a church to talk to a priest.

And over his shoulder, as Superman is talking, there's a stained glass image of Jesus. And when he reveals himself as Superman to the world, he's 33 years old, just as it is said that Christ was 33 when he died.

The comparisons are constant. And all of these things completely miss what made Superman so iconic. Why is he such a popular character beloved by children ever since his first publication in 1938? And that publication, by the way, Action Comics, number one, became the standard for comic book superhero lore.

It began with Superman, a superpowered strongman with a cape who disguised himself as a reporter, Clark Kent, who wore glasses and a hat and a suit. Mild-mannered, white-collar worker who underneath his clothes was a superhero.

Who was Superman a representation of to a kid? His dad. When a boy looked at his dad, he saw Superman. That was the appeal for kids. And just to emphasize how much the most recent versions of Superman have missed the boat, they eliminated the mild-mannered reporter character of Clark Kent almost entirely.

These films completely miss what has made Superman so great over the decades. And the Zack Snyder films are so dark and brooding, they're not even for kids. And I hate that all this stuff that was made for kids has now been remade for adults who refuse to grow up.

So Superman, Batman, Transformers, the Ninja Turtles, GI Joe, Wonder Woman, since we started mentioning that, this is what Warner Brothers thinks their comic book movies need to be thanks to the success of the Dark Knight Batman movies.

Now they need to make all their characters this way, including lighthearted, bright and cheery comical Superman. And by the way, these messianic comparisons between Superman and Christ are not just artistic liberty.

They do this to be a cash grab. They know that they're going to attract the conservative Bible Belt section of America who's going to look at a Superman on a screen and say, oh, look how neat they they compare him to Jesus.

How cool is that? It's an irreverent, silly myth. First Timothy four, seven, and which we in which we are instructed to have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. What does irreverent mean? Means disrespectful.

And so that's what we have when you have these these messianic comparisons between Superman and Christ. It's not attractive. It's not alluring. It's not complimentary in any way. Again, it's Hollywood trying to get your bucks, Christian.

That's why it is they do that. But there are no messianic comparisons between Superman and Christ. The movie version of Superman will never be better than the first hour and a half of the 1978 film Superman.

The movie that is the best cinematic adaptation of Superman there will ever be. The tagline to that movie was, you will believe a man can fly. And when you watch that movie now, you still believe that a man can fly.

What they what they did with the special effects in that movie are still incredible. Even, you know, almost 40 years later, I like what one of my brothers said about the most recent version of Superman.

Richard Donner's Superman will make you believe that a man can fly. Zack Snyder's Superman will make you believe that a man can level an entire city. OK, this next question comes from Chris, and I didn't catch where Chris is from.

He asked me this question on Twitter. He sent me a link to a video and he said, is this video about deception in the church actually a deception? And that's the name of this short film. It's called Deception in the Church.

And at first it starts out by dogging on sinner's prayer evangelism. And I'm kind of watching it going, OK, yeah, that is a deception in the church. But then he goes to talk about how the penal substitutionary atonement is what is the deception in the church.

So I'll play about a two minute clip here and then respond to it.

Penal Substitutionary Atonement and Works Righteousness

Imagine you are in a courtroom and you've broken God's law, the Ten Commandments, and you are guilty before God and deserve hell. But then Jesus comes in and says, wait, no, I'll pay their fine. Since Jesus did not break the law at all, he can pay your fine and he can take your place.

You get Jesus Christ's good record and he gets your bad record. Makes pretty good sense, right? I mean, it's what I believed and I taught for quite some time. But the true question is, is it biblical?

Does the Bible line up with this belief? Is this the holiness that we must have in order to enter into the kingdom of heaven? Let's take a look at what the Bible says. Now, we already know Hebrews 12, 14, that without holiness, no man shall see the Lord.

And Matthew 5, 8, blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Let's take a look at John chapter 5, verses 28 through 29. Marvel not at this, for the hour is coming in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice and shall come forth.

They that have done good unto the resurrection of life and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation. See how it says that those who have done good go to the resurrection of life and those who have done evil go to the resurrection of damnation.

According to modern Christianity, Christians will sin till the day they die, but they'll still go to heaven because they're covered in Christ's righteousness. But according to John 5, 28 through 29, those who do good go to the resurrection of life and those who do evil or do sin go to the resurrection of damnation.

Okay, so in case you're not picking up where he's going, he's advocating for works righteousness that you can be righteous by your own works. And he's saying that it is a false teaching of the modern church to say that Christ has taken our sin upon himself and has given us his righteousness.

And though to our core we will still be sinners, we will be accepted into heaven because of the righteousness of Christ. He's saying that that is a false message and that is anti-biblical. Now when I was watching this and I heard him start quoting King James, instantly red flags are going out.

So I decided to contact this young man. His name is Colin Retkowski. And I emailed him and I said, greetings, can I ask what church you are associated with? So he emailed me back and he said, we are not a part of a church building because we as believers are the church.

God's people worship him in spirit and truth. And then made a reference to John 4, 20 through 24. So I'm going, all right. And I'm thinking based on this guy's answer, he doesn't attend church. That's basically what I'm hearing.

When you ask somebody what church you attend and they respond with, well, church is not a building. That's true. And I agree. But a person gives you that kind of response because they don't want to admit that they don't go to church.

So I pressed him again and I worded the question a little bit different. I said, greetings, Colin. What is the name of the church you attend? Of whom you are members and with whom you regularly worship?

I was curious to know if there's a statement of faith. I looked on your, they lied website and that's the name of the website and did not find one. So then Colin emailed me back and he said, I do not attend church.

I do need a statement of faith on the website. If there's anything in particular you would like to know, I would be happy to share. So then I've emailed Colin back in response to the stuff that he was talking about in his video and his claim to not be attending church.

And here's what I said, Colin, please receive this message in a friendly tone. It is in the love of Christ that I write to you. I find it really ironic that a person who is preaching salvation by works, which is what your deception in the church video is advocating, doesn't attend church.

You are not righteous. And the Bible says that anyone who thinks they are without sin is deceived and the truth is not in him. First John one, eight, there is no one who does good and no one who is righteous.

Romans three, 10 through 12, Romans four, five says, but to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Now, I don't typically quote the King James, but I figured he would not receive anything that I said if I didn't give it to him in the King James.

So that's why I quoted it there. So I continue on in the email. There is no other way a man is saved, but by grace through faith alone, Ephesians two, eight and nine. The righteous works that we do are evidence of that faith that we have been transformed and are made righteous by Christ, that we are being sanctified by his grace.

But those works do not save us. The righteousness that we have is not acquired by any work of our own. It comes from Christ. That's Romans three, 21 through 22. The fact that Christ took our sins upon himself and placed his righteousness upon us is not some teaching of the modern church as you say it is.

It comes from the Bible and it has been taught by the church from its very inception. Irenaeus in his second century work against heresy said that justification is by faith. Said Jerome in 347 to 420 AD regarding Romans 10 three, God justifies by faith alone.

Augustine in his work on nature and grace said there is no other way a man is redeemed except by faith and the sacrament of the blood of Christ. What you are espousing is a different gospel, which Paul condemned when confronting the works righteousness the Galatians had fallen into.

Whoever teaches a different gospel is said to be accursed, Galatians 1, 8 and 9. If it is a shared work between righteousness and faith that you believe in, that's what the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches teach.

They likewise believe in a false doctrine that is not the gospel of justification by faith. It is out of love and concern for your soul that I share this with you. Your rebellion against the truth of God's word and any biblically historical orthodoxy is compounded by your refusal to be united with the brothers in any kind of ecclesia, that is, the church.

If a person loves Jesus, they will desire to be unified with his body. If they do not love his body, they do not love God. I hope you will consider these two videos, both of which only 90 seconds long, and think more carefully about this false doctrine of works righteousness that you are clinging to.

In the two videos that I link to, which you can find in our What Library, you don't have to go to church to be a Christian and don't go to church be the church. Of course, what those two videos are advocating for is that you do have to go to church.

If you are a Christian, you will obey the command of Christ, and his command is that we would gather and we would eat and drink of the Lord's table together, that we would celebrate together in the sacrament of baptism, and that these are things that we do in regular fellowship with one another, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, making music in our hearts to God, as is talked about in Colossians chapter three.

All of these instructions that are given to us to be a part of the church, the body of Christ and whoever is opposed to that union does not love God. They hate God. If you hate the people of God, you also hate God.

Let's take a moment now, actually, and that's as far as my correspondence with Colin has gone. I would like to pray for him that the email that I've shared with him would penetrate his heart and would turn him from this false doctrine that he believes in to the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

As D .A. Carson has said, there is no better remedy for false doctrine than the Bible. So let's lift up Colin in prayer. Our Lord God, I thank you that this young man has such a desire to want to obey God, but he has misunderstood the words of the text and is has been deceived by the enemy to believe something that the Bible does not say.

He thinks that the way that a person is saved is by being righteous and they can be righteous in and of themselves. But you have said clearly and plainly in your word that there is none righteous and any righteousness that we can claim only has come to us by Jesus Christ, who by your grace and your mercy and your love has saved us from the sinful wretches that we are, has taken the sins upon Christ and has imputed upon us his righteousness so that when you, God, look at us, you see not our sinful likeness, but the likeness of Christ, the righteousness that we are clothed in by his love and grace.

And I pray that that message is something that Colin would hear in the email that I have sent to him and he would see in the pages of scripture, repenting of false teaching and coming to know the truth of Jesus Christ.

It is by your power and your grace that we turn from the snare of the devil after being captured by him to do his will. And we are granted with repentance according to the gospel of Jesus Christ. And I pray we would all walk in this.

None of us too proud or boastful in what it is that we have done, but giving glory to you for what you have done. And we pray these things in Jesus name, amen. Next week on the broadcast, we're going to begin a study of the book of Jude.

Jude's Doxology and Ministry Updates

And in conclusion today, I would like to close with the doxology that Jude writes at the end of that letter. He says the following now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy to the only God, our savior through Jesus Christ, our Lord be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority before all time and now and forever.

Amen. You've been listening to When We Understand the Text with Pastor Gabriel Hughes. We feature dozens of videos covering a variety of biblical topics on our website, www .utt .com. Many of those videos are only 90 seconds long and address subjects like the gospel, election, the trinity, end times, discipline, the church, and much more.

All of these videos are free, available for ministry use. Again, our website is www .utt .com. And while you're there, send us an email and let us know what this ministry has meant to you. Here once again is Pastor Gabe.

Thanks, Becky. When We Understand the Text is a free online ministry that is started through First Southern Baptist Church of Junction City, Kansas, where I am pastor. We live in a very transient community because of Fort Riley, which is right next door.

And in the month of June in particular, we'll have a lot of families that will move out and some new families that will come in. But sometimes it takes a little while for those new families to find a church and then even get themselves settled and feel like, hey, this is my church family and I'm going to begin to contribute.

So July is typically a really tough month for us. We're finishing up June and we've just said goodbye to some very dear families that have been wonderful for our ministry at First Southern Baptist. And so as we're kind of looking for those other families that are going to come in, we need some help picking up the slack.

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We do get emails from all over the world, from people who have benefited from either the videos or the podcast. It is reaching far and wide by the blessing of God. And I thank you so much for your loyalty and faithfulness to this ministry also, as we continue in faithfulness to sound teaching of the Word of God.

Romans 10, 17 says, faith comes by hearing and hearing through the Word of Christ. When we understand the text.