1 John 2:23

The 7th Test of Christian Behavior

1 John 2:23 No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

How many of you have been told, or have overheard someone saying, that all the people of the world worship the same God, including Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims? Or, have heard that religion comes in many forms and names but it all points to the same God?

Is this true? Have you considered your position on this?

Every person on the planet was created in God's image and has that image stamped in their heart. The One True God, Creator of heaven and earth, is a relational God who created us to be in relationship with him. We all have a innate desire to worship and be in relationship with God. It's part of who we are.

However, not everyone fills that desire correctly. There is only One who can satisfy that longing, and complete us as the individuals we were created to be. There is only One that can fill us up, and it is found in the eternal Trinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

So, someone professing a non-christian faith, for instance, may be filling their 'image of God' void by worshipping and adhering to a god-like religion, but it is not a relationship that will bring them salvation. Although, faithful to their god, it clearly states in the bible that salvation is only found in Jesus Christ. If you do not know Jesus Christ, acknowledging him as your personal Savior and Savior to the world, you will not receive eternal life in heaven. It's that simple.

I have heard Christian Pastors (and I use thee term loosely here) state the possibility that all faiths might lead to heaven. I have heard Christians (again, I use the term loosely) wonder if we are being too restrictive in denying salvation to others outside of the Christian faith. How can you be a believer in the way of Jesus Christ and have these worldviews?

If you believe the bible to be God's Word without error, then you have to believe and trust in the very fact that there is only one way to heaven and that is through a belief in the saving power of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We cannot make up our own ending or stretch the rules just because we 'want' everyone to go to heaven. Believe me, no one wants all of us to go to heaven more then God himself, but He is clear, there is only one way to get there. I've have also heard the rational given that God wants none to be lost, so they project that God will save us all, regardless, of if we got religion right or not.

Don't you see, this is allowing your thoughts and reasoning to be taken captive by the great deceiver! This is the handiwork of Satan. If Satan can get us to believe that God doesn't really care about the specifics, and we all will find our way to eternity with God regardless of our beliefs, then, he can persuade us that evangelizing is unnecessary. If we buy into Satan's lie, it gives us justification not to lift a finger to further the kingdom of heaven or to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world. It also allows us to be slack in the discipline of following the way of Jesus in our own life. You see, less believers in Christ, means more for Satan, and believers who don't take their faith seriously risk great peril for themselves! If Satan can capture a believers thoughts in this area, he has a foot in the door to further deception. The more your heart is taken captive by Satan, the further away you grow from God.

Satan propels this damaging lie in the world by using men and women of faith. Imagine the destruction and erosion of faith that happens, when he convinces an agent of God, namely Christian leaders, into believing these lies! When a person who has been trained in the Christian faith falls victim to these lies, they bring numerous lay people down with them, because they trust these men over God himself. A Christian who isn't reading the bible for themselves, or maturing in their faith in their own right, will rely solely on the faith or words of their Pastor, or maybe even their parents. To do so, subjects them to the straying hearts of mere men, and not the solid, unchanging truths of God himself. You can go down the slippery slide too easily if you are following someone else's lead instead of the lead of the real head of the Church, Jesus Christ.

We must be in the Word to be able to discern Truth.
We must trust the Word of God to be the only truth, despite our human feelings or rational.
We must put our trust firmly in Jesus Christ, not men.
We must examine our thoughts against what the bible says, in order to protect ourselves from being taken captive by the evil one.
You must stand up and speak out when lies are propagated, especially in the church, by gently using God's Word to recapture their thoughts back for Christ.
And, pray for yourself, for fellow Christians, and most especially, for your church leaders, that God will protect their hearts and minds from the evil one who seeks to destroy!

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No one gets to the Father except through Jesus.