Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?” And He said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate [Matthew 7:13], for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’ then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’ There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out. They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God [Revelations 7]. (Luke 13:23-29)
We have to be sure that we believe in the ONE TRUE & LIVING GOD! We have to be sure that we ...no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, (Ephesians 4:14) “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ (Matthew 7:21-23) How devastating to get to the end of this life and find out: 1. that God is real; 2. there is a heaven and hell; and 3. that we were told all of this before we died but were too stubborn, proud or high-minded to believe The Truth. As Christ told about the rich man who died and went to hell, So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom [Paradise, heaven]. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades [hell], he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’”(Luke 16:22-23, 27-31)
Over 33% of the world's population profess to be of the Christian faith (see World Faiths and Religions). But within that number are many false religions. In the first part of this study, we explained how many people of the world had created their own gods, counterfeits or false gods, eventhough the True God made Himself known to all people through the children of Isreal and the scriptures, and has put the knowledge of himself in all human beings. Well, it's even worse then that the Jews also followed after these false gods many times throughout their history, but then when claiming to believe in God and returning to Him, they proceded to create a false religious system based on all kinds of self-imposed beliefs: Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. (Colossians 2:8) The Apostle Paul even acknowledges his belief and participation in this system: They knew me from the first, if they were willing to testify, that according to the strictest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee. (Acts 26:5)
Jesus explained very clearly to the Jewish religious leaders that they were not following nor teaching the commandments of God the right way: Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God”— then he need not honor his father or mother.’ Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ [Isaiah 29:13]” When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear and understand: Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.” Then His disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.” (Matthew 15:1-14)
If a majority of the Jews couldn't get Christianity right, how can they now and we non-Jews get it right? Thank God that He spells it out through His Son, Christ Jesus, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life." (John 5:24) Before becoming a part of any religious group, make sure their teachings and beliefs are based on the entire Word of God, as the Apostle Paul summarizes completely: Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins [John 1:1-34] according to the Scriptures [see From A-Z, Genesis - Revelations], and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures [Isaiah 53:4-12, Psalm 16:10, Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, John19], and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles [Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 19-20]. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time [Acts 9:1-31]. But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death [Genesis 3], by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. (I Corinthians 15:1-8, 20-22)
Many of us may have experienced being a part of a denomination or group that wasn't right. God is very pleased that we removed ourselves from under false teaching. BUT, that does not mean we shouldn't go somewhere (see Why Go To Church?). Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:23-25) Wherever we go, lets be sure they teach the whole Word of God, “Whatever [God] command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it. (Deuteronomy 12:32), and that we Guard what was committed to [our] trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge— by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith. Grace be with you. Amen. (I Timothy 6:20)
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