My Musings

Friday, November 24, 2006

Absolute Immutable Truth: Do All Roads Lead To Heaven?

Throughout the world there are literally thousands of systems of belief. The range of these beliefs varies more than the emotions of an ill-tempered woman. Consider a few of the belief systems: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Scientism, Atheism, Agnosticism, Judaism, Mormonism, Cults, Tribal Religions, etc. The list, of course, could be expanded to include thousands of other beliefs and denominations.

These various religions have created lines of division among people since the inception of time. These lines of division have been so strong at times that people have hated, murdered, and gone to war in the name of religion. The Catholic Church justified martyring millions of people throughout the dark ages. The Muslims justified raising armies, conquering cities, and slaughtering those who would not conform to their religious beliefs. At one time the Catholic Church and the Muslim nations raised armies and fought against one another in the crusades.

As modern theologians look at the divisions created by all of these beliefs, they begin to cry out for us to come together. Modern society seems to beg of us to lay aside our differences and fellowship with people regardless of what they believe or disbelieve. There are now fellowship circles in which people from Protestant churches, Catholic churches, and Islamic mosques are all invited to participate.

This logic seems commendable when compared to the violence created through religious divisions, but there is a major flaw with this modern trend. Some religious beliefs are simply mutually exclusive. An atheist cannot demand that there is no God and be accepted as right as long as a Christian demands that there is a God and he is also accepted as right…although men try to do it.

This, of course, is countered by the ecumenicalism which states that it does not matter what you believe in as long as you are sincere. They place faith at a higher level than the object of the faith. According to their teaching, a man who worships a frog should be respected for his beliefs as much as a man who worships the true and living God, Jehovah. As the old adage goes, “All roads lead to heaven!”

ALL ROADS DON’T LEAD TO HEAVEN!!! It simply doesn’t matter how sincere you may be in your misguided faith, unless it is placed in the Lord Jesus Christ, it will not amount to a hill of beans when you leave this earth. The object of my faith, the Redeemer of Mankind, is what enables me to enter into the realms of glory when I die, not the sincerity of my faith. My faith only has to be as strong as a tiny mustard see if it is in the right place. On the other hand, a man may have faith as large as the Titanic, but if it is placed outside of Christ then that man will soon find himself crashing into the iceberg of God’s eternal damnation.

God’s truth doesn’t change just because the sludge between people’s ears tries to make it change. It doesn’t matter what the mind of men may conger to put their faith in, it simply won’t change the truth. A man can launch himself from atop a large building and shout at the top of his lungs, “I don’t believe in gravity!” Gravity will not step aside to accommodate this mans misguided faith, no matter how strong that faith is. That man, trying to break the law of gravity, will simply break himself against the law of gravity. The same is true of God’s eternal immutable truths. We cannot change or break God’s truth, but we can break ourselves against it!

“For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar!” ~ Romans 3:3-4

Getting lost people to believe this should be the goal of every Christian. Getting them to understand that they must place their trust in Jesus Christ is our great commission. It also seems to be our greatest commission.

Getting saved people to believe this should bring about one of the greatest revivals in America. Could you just imagine if Christians would stop arguing with the preacher about every little thing, would get into the Word of God, and would believe and practice every word of it? How often do saved people doubt God and his Word?

“How happy would it be, if all people would regard this as a fixed principle, a matter not to be questioned in their hearts, or debated about, that God is true to his word! How much doubt and anxiety would it save professing Christians; and how much error would it save among sinners!” ~ Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

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