Knowing…
“To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said,
‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.
Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'”
John 8:31-32
One church is right and the others are wrong.
There is only One God and only one Bible. From the beginning of Christianity there has been a fight within God’s church. Instead of unity among different local churches, pride has risen its head and said, I’m right and you’re wrong. The truth is that only the Bible is right. We become right by wanting only the Truth of God’s Word. And we stay right by humbly acknowledging our need for God’s help in understanding it.
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All religions are equal in God’s eyes.
Our God is a jealous God (Exodus 34:14). The Bible says there is One Mediator between man and God, and that is Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5). Not Buddha, not Confucius, not Muhammad, and not the Pope. Only Jesus claimed to be God (John 10:30). God is who we desperately need to hear from. Only His words are truth.
“They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.” Romans 1:25
(see Romans 1:18-25, also Jesus Christ)
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Everyone will end up in heaven eventually.
“Jesus replied, ‘Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.’”
John 3:3
“Nothing impure will ever enter it [heaven], nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” Revelation 21:27
“And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1 John 5:11-12
(see Salvation)
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Only bad people go to Hell.
The Bible says that we are all “bad” in God’s eyes. We all need God’s salvation.
“’…There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.’
‘Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.’
‘The poison of vipers is on their lips.’
‘Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.’
‘Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know.’
‘There is no fear of God before their eyes.’” Romans 3:10-18
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The Bible is full of errors and contradictions.
The Bible is either written by man, and therefore subject to man’s limited knowledge, or it is written by God, and therefore as perfect as God in its original writings.
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,” 2 Timothy 3:16
“Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” 2 Peter 1:20-21
Errors and contradictions are reserved for man’s writings. God’s Word is as holy and flawless as God Himself.
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The events in the Bible are only stories, not historical fact.
There are many places in the New Testament where it is clearly stated that Jesus is telling a parable. However, every place in the Bible where symbolic or figurative language is used, behind them there is a literal truth. From creation to the kings and prophets, and on to the beginning of the church, is factual history. There are countless examples where a given individual’s ancestry is stated for several generations back in order to leave no doubt as to their identity. Jesus’ human ancestry is stated in Matthew and Luke all the way back to Adam and Eve. Throughout the Old Testament dates are clarified by a certain year of a king’s reign. In many examples the month, day, and year of a certain king’s reign are given. God didn’t sneak any made up stories into this clear commitment to accuracy. Remember, the Bible states in 2 Timothy 3:16 that “All Scripture is useful…”
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Jesus was the Son of God, but not God.
The title, Son of God, can create confusion as to Jesus’ identity. But the title was very clear when Jesus was upon this earth. “…Jesus said to them, ‘My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.’ For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.” (John 5:16-18) And in John 10:30 Jesus declares, “I and the Father are one.” Paul adds in Colossians, “The Son [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Colossians 1:15-17
Before that night in the manger in Bethlehem, Jesus eternally existed as the third person of the trinity. Jesus is the example we should seek to follow. “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!” Philippians 2:5-8
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A saint is a person who is or was especially holy.
“Although it is true that in experience some believers are more “holy” than others, yet in their position before God all believers are “sanctified,” i.e., saints by virtue of what they are “in Christ” (Unger’s Bible Dictionary). A saint is a person who has placed their faith in Jesus Christ for their salvation. They have been set apart by God from those who have not yet made this step of faith. A very strong Christian and a struggling one are equally saints in God’s eyes. The New Testament letters were addressed to saints—those first believers—who were, for the most part, struggling in their new life with Jesus as their Savior. Becoming a saint is never from what you do, but from who you know (by faith)—Jesus.
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If I do enough good things, that will make up for the bad things.
It is wrong thinking about God and about our sin nature to believe that going to church, reading the Bible, or showing kindnesses to people around us will gloss over our problem with a corrupt nature. The truth is in God’s Word.
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8,9) God doesn’t want any boasting in heaven. It’s all about God. Even the faith to believe in Jesus comes from God.
“For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.’” (Galatians 3:10) Jesus took the curse that you and I deserve: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.’” (Galatians 3:13) A curse remains on you and I until we place faith in what Jesus did when he suffered death on that cross.
“…no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.” Romans 3:20
Doing “good things” requires God’s perspective: “Then they asked him, ‘What must we do to do the works God requires?’Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.’” (John 6:28,29) Trusting in Jesus, and Him alone, for our salvation creates a desire to do “good things” not for a futile attempt to get into heaven, but to please and bring glory to the One who has saved us for heaven.
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