Some False Doctrines
Once Saved Always Saved (OSAS) by Bryan Gibson
The Rapture by Dave Brown
Jehovah's Witnesses Predicting the End -- Again by Bryan Gibson
The Work of the Holy Spirit by Dave Brown
Fortune Tellers and Respected Gurus by Bryan Gibson
False Prophets (Ezekiel 13) by Bryan Gibson
Blinded by Human Reasoning by Bryan Gibson
If Sincerety is all that Matters by Bryan Gibson
The Majority View by Bryan Gibson
Return to Bible Subjects Articles page
Once Saved, Always Saved?
by Bryan Gibson
Click here for an article on this subject on the main web site.
The doctrine goes by different names: “once saved, always saved”; “impossibility of apostasy”; “once in grace, always in grace”; and “perseverance of the saints.” Is it possible for a Christian to fall from grace? We would urge our readers to carefully examine the following passages and draw your own conclusions. These are not just cherry-picked proof texts. In fact, they represent by a small sample of warnings against the saved falling away, which occur in virtually every book of the Bible. We urge you to try to prove us wrong – find three chapters of the New Testament in a row that do not have a warning against Christians falling into sin. We know that if you accept this challenge you will become convinced, that while such might exist, they are extremely hard to find (and what does that prove?). Please consider:
- Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off (Romans 11:20-22).
- Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall (1 Corinthians 10:12).
- You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace (Galatians 5:4).
- Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons (1 Timothy 4:1).
- For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame” (Hebrews 6:4-6).
- For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?...‘For yet a little while, And He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.’ But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul (Hebrews 10:26-29, 37-39).
- For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: ‘A dog returns to his own vomit,’ and, ‘a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire’ (2 Peter 2:20-22).
- You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; {18} but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever (2 Peter 3:17-18).
- Take heed, brethren, lest haply there shall be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief, in falling away from the living God: but exhort one another day by day, so long as it is called Today; lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin: for we are become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our confidence firm unto the end: while it is said, Today if ye shall hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation (Hebrews 3:12-15).
Editor’s note: I appeal to you, is it too much to ask, when your entire salvation and eternity is at stake (and it is!), for you to go back and read these passages again. This time ask yourself: does it make any sense that a once-saved person can do literally anything (e.g., become a Jihadist and crucify little children) and still be saved? Is that the least bit reasonable? When you pose such an example to a OSAS zealot, they will say: “Well, that person never was saved to start with.” Then our question to them is: how do you know that YOU were saved to start with? If ANYONE who plunges to the depths of sin was "never saved to start with," how do you know that YOU were saved to start with? How do you know that your sins do not disqualify you from ever being once-saved? Please think this through. And then think about the justice of God, and ask yourself once again, does OSAS make any sense at all. If in doubt, re-read the passages given above one more time, and then test your salvation in the way that the Holy Spirit gave us in 1 John 2:3-6: "And hereby we know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keeps not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoso keeps his word, in him verily hath the love of God been perfected. Hereby we know that we are in him: he that saith he abides in him ought himself also to walk even as he walked." May God bless your search for the truth. – dave brown
The Rapture
by Dave Brown
Click here for a commentary on Revelation 20, which if used to justify the rapture false doctrine.
Preface: As seen in virtually all articles on this site, our goal is to establish the truth (or falsehood) of given doctrines strictly by what the Bible says, and this subject will be no different, as given in the article below. However, God has given us common sense and we are compelled to use it in many cases, especially to establish what obvious reality is in our present world. The original use of the word “rapture” had nothing at all to do with religion; in brief, it was a feeling of being “beside oneself” in ecstasy. “The rapture” might be interpreted as the abstract feeling that resulted from this ecstasy. It did not have this meaning at all until John Nelson Darby (1800-1882) applied this word to a resurrection event, no earlier than around 1830. This false doctrine was further popularized by the 1909 publication of the Scofield Reference Bible. The promotion of this false doctrine fit well into the schemes of some of the richest bankers in our world, who have used it to push political thought to promote wars on this planet, from which they have multiplied their wealth exponentially. We urge you – DO NOT TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT!!! There are adequate resources for you on the Internet to determine the truth of this matter. Our purpose for bringing it up is to pose the questions: Is it not strange that a doctrine that is so central to modern “Christian evangelical” faith systems did not even exist before 1800? And, where did the money come from to promote this false doctrine? And, why would such money be invested its promotion? You owe it to yourself to answer these questions, which are easily determined with a few simple Internet searches. Do not believe all that you read on the Internet, but the rules of evidence do apply.
Many use biblical words (such as fellowship, church and Christian) in ways that they are never used in the bible. While not sinful in and of itself, when done to infer biblical authority for worldly and unscriptural practices, this is dishonest.
What about the other side of the coin—the use of a term that is totally foreign to the bible as though the Holy Spirit inspired it? Such is the case with the popular religious term “the rapture.” (Check any complete concordance, it is not there.)
A decade or so ago, I was attracted to the John Ankerberg TV program (1/15/95) by the promise that they were going to give “Biblical evidence for the rapture.” Perhaps I had missed something, and if this had a Biblical base, I sure would love to find out what it is.
The first two speakers spent considerable time elaborating on John 14 and 1 Corinthians 15: 51-57, which describe heaven and the end of time. The definition of rapture is “very great joy,” and no one disputes that there will be very great joy (rapture, if you will) in heaven. But these teachers were not even beginning to address the various doctrines of “the rapture.” Why were they being so elusive? Please search these passages and see if you can find any reference to the rapture or anything like it there. Would you not expect a doctrine that has become the center point of evangelical thought to have some basis in these end times passages?
A third speaker used 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. When he quoted verse 17 he said “... caught up or raptured ...” Ahhh, this had a shred of validity. The New Webster’s Dictionary indicates that the word rapture is derived from the Latin “rapere, raptum to seize and carry away.”
The speaker indicated that the word rapture meant to be “caught up, snatched.” However, this is the meaning of the Latin root, not the English word. Several other English words, including the word rape, are also derived from these Latin words, but that does not define their English meanings in the Bible. We cannot apply a modern day derivation of the meaning of a word to its meaning in the scriptures.
So to accurately use the word rapture (“very great joy”) to describe the events of 1 Thessalonians 4:17, we must find a Greek word with that meaning in this passage. Using various Greek sources, we see that the Greek words chara, agalliasis, or euphrosune indicate joy. Properly qualified, one of them would come close to the meaning of our English word rapture.
But the word used in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 is harpazo, which means, “to snatch or catch away.” Such could range in meaning from: snatching a person away to a surprise birthday party, to: snatching them away to kidnap them for ransom (or something even worse). In other words, this Greek word has the meaning of physically grabbing and moving with no reference to the reason or the emotions involved whatsoever. So in no way should the English word “rapture” be used to describe the events of this passage. It merely means that those who are still living on this earth when Jesus appears in the clouds at his coming will be moved supernaturally up to meet Jesus in the air – no more and not less. And finally, to turn it into a noun by calling it “the rapture” (with all of its preposterous assumptions) is intended to mislead, and thus it is sinful. The Bible does not give it this event this name, and neither should we.
This passage is simply describing what will happen at Christ’s second, next and last coming. Why can’t we be satisfied with using the same words that the Holy Spirit used? Our attempts to “help” God in this regard inevitably mislead and deceive. When they go beyond that to create and promote theories that have no Bible-basis, they become extremely counter to the salvation of souls.
Jehovah Witnesses Predicting the End—Again
Preface: The following is from OpinionJournal.com, June 27, 2006. While it is obviously dated, there is nothing new about their predicting a date for the end of the world. This practice goes back to around the year 1900 when they obtained great financial success from this ploy, and subsequently learned that they can apply it again and again with total impunity from their followers. Back around 1972, I had an intensive discussion with Jehovah’s Witnesses in which one of them confessed to me that they had been taught that the end of the world would be in 1975. I asked him about previous predictions, and he said that it was too late for errors now and that those making these prophesies had now matured, and they could not be wrong. I asked him if I could meet with him after 1975, and if we met in 1976, would he still hold to his faith in the Watchtower Society? He said that he could not even entertain that thought. When people get to the point that they cannot even entertain the possibility that their “prophets” could be wrong, they are without hope – this, even if their prophets happen to be right. Is your faith in man or in God? Actually, the older this article is, the more convincing it becomes.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the Jehovah's Witnesses are going door to door with more urgency than usual:
It's a scene that's playing out across the county and across the country as Jehovah's Witnesses, in an unprecedented effort, seek to invite as many people as they can to their annual convention.
The yearly gathering of Witnesses, a Christian faith founded in Pittsburgh 136 years ago, is a huge worship celebration. This year, it has special significance because Witnesses are seeking to get out the word to millions of households that Armageddon, or the end of the world, is imminent. Or, as the invitation says: “Deliverance at Hand. “
The signs are everywhere, Mr. Hickok said.
“World wars have ruled the current generations. Fear is dominant, especially with the rise of terrorism. There is a breakdown in family structure. The magnitude and frequency of earthquakes is growing. There is an increase in pestilence, such as AIDS.”
If deliverance is at hand, why are the Witnesses holding a "yearly" convention instead of a "final" one?
The Work of the Holy Spirit
by Dave Brown
Click here for additional articles on the subject of the Holy Spirit.
There is probably no other subject that causes greater controversy today than exactly how the Holy Spirit influences the Christian. Much of this is caused by speculation involving things that have not been revealed. It is impossible to present all of the passages that deal with this subject, and every Christian should give this subject intensive study. Our goal here is to present some basics to put this study into perspective. We urge all who are interested to get their concordances and walk through all of the passages on this subject. It will take a while, but it will be worth it. You might start with those in the New Testament.
The Holy Spirit is given to all Christians. Acts 5:32 states: “And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”
As long as we are saved and allow it, the Holy Spirit dwells in all Christians. Romans 8:9: “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” In this passage, the Holy Spirit, Christ and the Spirit of God and used interchangeably, showing that they are spiritual, not physical, and that they are one and the same.
These statements imply to many that the Holy Spirit is interacting directly with every Christian, imparting to them new revelation or guiding them directly. Yet, no such conclusion is inferred by these verses, nor can we see this elsewhere in the New Testament. In the first century those who had such miraculous gifts was limited; it did not include all Christians. What this tells us is that we can be full (filled up) with the Holy Spirit even though we do not have miraculous capabilities. In the first century the miracles had two purposes: (1) to reveal new revelation not previously revealed, and (2) to confirm that what the Apostles and Prophets were stating to be from God was, in fact, from God.
The essence of the gift of the Holy Spirit is not the mechanism of revelation (and its confirmation), but the revelation itself. It is the gospel, not the miracles, that is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16). The Holy Spirit miraculously revealed the truth in the first century, and confirmed this truth by miraculous gifts (Mark 16:20; Hebrews 2:1-4). It was not the revelation, nor the confirmation, but obedience to the truth that resulted in their salvation. When we read the scriptures we can get the same understanding of this truth that Paul had (Ephesians 3:4).
Similarly, the context of Romans 8 gives us insight into what this indwelling of the Holy Spirit is. Romans 8:10-11: “And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwells in you.” The indwelling of Christ is used interchangeably with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, indicating that both terms are being used metaphorically.
Going back to verse 4 in Romans 8, we see that the result of this indwelling is obedience: “That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” When we are obedient to the truth it is by the power of the Holy Spirit, for without the revelation of the truth, this would be impossible. We absolutely could not come to the right conclusion without God’s revealed word, which was delivered to us, through the Apostles and first century Prophets, by the Holy Spirit.
It is quite clear that all Christians in the first century did not have miraculous powers, even though they clearly had the indwelling (the gift) of the Holy Spirit. Luke makes it quite clear that many of these miraculous powers were limited to the apostles (see Acts 2:43; 4:33; 5:12). Now, some Christians who were not apostles did receive miraculous gifts, but these were imparted by the laying on of the hands of the Apostles (Acts 8:18). And this imparting was not universal as shown in
1 Corinthians 12:27-31
27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and severally members thereof.
28 And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, (divers) kinds of tongues.
29 Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all (workers of) miracles?
30 have all gifts of healings? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?
These rhetorical questions prove that not all Christians had miraculous spiritual gifts.
There is much to be learned from the church that apparently had more miraculous spiritual gifts than any other—Corinth. A careful reading of 1st Corinthians (as opposed to say, Romans) indicates that these miraculous gifts did not give this church any advantage. It was a very troubled church with many, many problems. In fact, the gifts themselves had become a matter of jealousy and thus sin. Of course, not caused by the gifts themselves, but by the attitude of those who were either legitimately receiving the gifts or else were falsely claiming to have them. We can see the problem: how could they really tell? It was a very confused situation there at Corinth, and explains the reason that no Christians have miraculous gifts today.
The problem that they had is identical to what we are describing above. They valued the miracle itself over the truth that was being delivered and confirmed by it. Notice 1 Cor 13:8-10: “Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away.”
Paul looked to a time when these spiritual gifts would no longer be necessary, i.e., the full-grown, perfect revelation would be a reality. At that time there would be no need for the “parts” and they could “put away these childish things” (1 Cor. 13:11). As are many childish things, they had a purpose for the church in its infancy, but once God had spoken and the truth was revealed and written down, there was no longer a need for ongoing miracles.
Does this mean that the Holy Spirit does not help us at all today? Not at all. For example, James 1:5:
"But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and upbraids not; and it shall be given him." We show great wisdom when we ask God for it. He does not give it to us miraculously, where we can see it and display it as a proof of our inspiration (as was true in the first century). Instead, it is given by what we call Divine Providence, the supernatural working of God but in an invisible way. The individual may have a strong assurance that God has answers his prayer (for wisdom or anything else). But there is no way that that assurance can or should be used as proof for others. Their faith must come through their hearing of God’s word (Romans 10:17); their faith should not stand on the testimony of others that God is working through them. When it does we have a cult of personality, and this is not the authority that we are to stand on today.
Click here for an article on the sufficiency of God’s word, that the Bible provides all the we need for salvation and our spiritual welfare today.
Fortune Tellers and Respected Gurus
by Bryan Gibson
Preface: No doubt this article is dated. But its subject matter is still very applicable. We have seen some of the most spiritually minded people give way to such superstition, and thus, we feel we would be remiss in not republishing this article. – Dave Brown
It’s not that people don’t want help or guidance—they’re just looking in the wrong places. Instead of turning to the Scriptures for God’s eternal wisdom, people will write Ann Landers, or her sister Abigail Van Buren, or they may even give Miss Cleo a call to get a tarot card reading.
Ann and Abby (as well as some of their modern day counterparts) may occasionally give some good advice, but if it’s a matter of any great importance, we should be looking for principles from God’s word. For example, people constantly write to them for marriage advice, but since God designed the marriage relationship, shouldn’t He be the one we turn to for help? (See Matthew 19 and 1 Corinthians 7.)
Miss Cleo—now that’s another matter entirely. We’ve got no business consulting someone like this. What she does sounds a lot like sorcery—a practice condemned in Galatians 5:19-21. Ask King Saul how God feels about consulting a medium. Do you remember that story? We won’t recount the whole story, but here’s how it ended. “So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had committed against the Lord, because he did not keep the word of the Lord, and also because he consulted a medium for guidance. But he did not inquire of the Lord” (1 Chronicles 10:13-14).
I’ve got a theory about why so few people consult the Bible for guidance. Sure, there are some who don’t believe it contains the inspired word of God. But I don’t think that’s the main reason. People don’t turn to the Bible for guidance because it takes effort. People like to get their answers quickly and in a condensed form. They don’t want to put forth any effort themselves. Make no mistake about it; getting answers from the Bible does require effort. God’s teaching on any given subject is not always found in one place—you have to keep searching diligently. But the reward will be well worth the effort. “Yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God” (Proverbs 2:3-5).
I’ll be the first to admit that I need help and guidance, because I certainly don’t have all the answers. But I know where I’m going to look for it. When Jesus asked the apostles after many of his disciples had turned away, “Do you also want to go away?” Peter’s reply was, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). The words of eternal life—we won’t find them in an advice column or in a tarot card reading, but we will find them in the Bible. It’s time to open it and start reading.
False Prophets (Ezekiel 13)
by Bryan Gibson
Ezekiel 13 has quite a bit to say about false prophets. Although this passage was written long ago, its application to today should be obvious. False prophets still bear many of the same characteristics, and the Lord’s attitude toward them is still the same. Please consider:
- They prophesy “out of their own heart” (13:2, 17).
- They “follow their own spirit” (13:3).
- They say, “Thus says the Lord,” when the Lord has said nothing (13:6-7).
- They “hunt the souls of my people” (13:18).
- By lying, they are “killing people who should not die, and keeping alive people who should not live” (13:19).
- They have “made the heart of the righteous sad…and strengthened the hands of the wicked” (13:22).
- They say, “Peace,” when there is no peace” (13:10, 16). In other words, they make people feel comfortable when they should not.
It is no wonder then that the Lord says, “I am indeed against you” (13:8).
Blinded By Human Reasoning
by Bryan Gibson
The apostle Paul wrote about those whose minds had been blinded to the truth (2 Corinthians 4:4). Different things can cause this problem, but one very common cause is what we refer to as human reasoning. Sometimes we fail to see the truth because we are relying too much on our own reasoning (Proverbs 3:5-7). If it seems “foolish” to us, we reason that it cannot be the truth. The Lord certainly knew this would be man’s tendency. “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14). What can we do to keep from behaving as the “natural man,” to keep human reasoning from blinding us to the truth?
Obviously, we need to understand the place of human reasoning—the place our thoughts have in relation to God’s thoughts. Reasoning is certainly vital to our understanding of the Scriptures (Hebrews 5:14), but we need to be careful that our reasoning doesn’t take us away from the truth, that we don’t reason our way out of what is plainly taught. We need to let these inspired words ring in our ears: “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9). We may not always understand everything the Lord says; it may not always “make sense” to us. That shouldn’t surprise us, because after all, He is infinitely wiser than us. Sometimes we approach the Scriptures as if we’re trying to get God to agree with us. That’s the wrong approach . Our job is to bring our minds and lives into agreement with His will. Approaching the Scriptures with humility is the key to seeing the truth that we must believe and practice. “The humble He guides in justice; and the humble He teaches His way” (Psalms 25:9).
The story of Naaman in 2 Kings 5:1-14 illustrates our principle very well. Naaman went to the prophet Elisha’s door, hoping to be healed of his leprosy. Instead of coming out himself, Elisha sent a messenger to Naaman with these words: “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean” (v. 10). A simple command, right? A little too simple for Naaman, evidently. Here is how Naaman reacted: “Indeed I said to myself (note the human reasoning—BG), ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy. Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?’ So he turned and went away in a rage” (vv. 12-13). Fortunately for Naaman, his servants intervened and persuaded him to go and wash in the Jordan (vv. 13-14). Naaman came very close to rejecting the truth, because it did not agree with his own reasoning. For Naaman, the story ended on a good note; for countless others, the ending is tragic, because they never do come around to the truth.
One passage that many have “reasoned to death” is Matthew 19:9: “And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.” This passage seems “too hard” to many, and so the human reasoning begins. When some people get through “explaining” this passage, people can divorce and remarry as many times as they wish, for whatever reasons they wish, and still be pleasing to God. But the passage says what it says, and no amount of human reasoning can change it. The teaching of Jesus is right; it is what is best for us; and we must humbly accept it and practice it.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil” (Proverbs 3:5-7).
“Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise” (1 Corinthians 3:18).
If Sincerity Is All That Matters
by Bryan Gibson
If sincerity in religion is all that matters, then the terrorists who are indiscriminately killing anyone and everyone for their perceived god are doing the right thing. After all, no one can argue that they are not sincere. Is anyone who is civilized willing to go along with that? Of course, not. However sincere they may have been, they are extremely wicked and evil.
So if sincerity did not excuse these people, by what reasoning can we say that it excuses other people? Over and over again, we hear that it doesn’t matter what you believe, as long as you are sincere. These terrorists evidently believed they were doing the right thing, but we know they were wrong. Isn’t it possible that others could be in the same boat—doing things they believe to be right, but which are in fact very wrong? Sincerity is an important virtue, but only when it is coupled with truth (1 Corinthians 5:8).
Read carefully these words from Proverbs 14:12: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” There is a big difference between that which seems to be right, and that which is actually right. That which only seems to be right leads to death. That which we know to be right leads to life. We must carefully (and sincerely) study God’s word so that we can know what is right—so that we can be assured that we are pleasing Him in all that we do. That, in fact, is what a sincere person does—he seeks after the truth.
Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 spoke of those who instead of believing the truth, believed a lie. The passage is plain. Those who believe a lie will be condemned. Revelation 22:15 talks about those who will be left outside the heavenly city, those who will not be allowed entrance. Included among those left outside—“whoever loves and practices a lie.” It won’t matter if they practiced this lie sincerely. They will be lost forever.
It does matter what we believe. The apostle Paul, before he was converted to Christ, persecuted Christians. He thought he was doing the right thing; his conscience was clear (Acts 23:1). But what sets Paul apart from so many today is that when he did discover the truth, he turned his back on the “lie” he was practicing and obeyed the truth.
It’s time for people to stop claiming that sincerity is enough, to stop saying that everyone is entitled to their own beliefs. A belief that is contrary to truth is a lie, and we’ve already seen the consequences of believing and practicing a lie. One’s false beliefs may never lead him to hijack a plane and kill thousands of people, but it can sure lead his soul to hell.
“Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth!” (Joshua 24:14).
“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” (Matthew 7:21).
The Majority View
by Bryan Gibson
In the articles above we looked at several things that can blind people to the truth, e.g., human reasoning and feelings of the heart. Let’s look at another one in this article. People can sometimes be blinded to the truth by what we might call “the majority view.”
Sometimes, when presented with the truth, people will respond with statements like these:
- “That’s not what the majority of people believe.”
- “That’s not what most commentators say about that passage.”
- “Most churches that I know anything about don’t teach that.”
- “Did you realize there’s just a small minority of people who believe the way you do?”
What people often fail to understand is that people in the right have always been in the minority. Think about Noah, who in the midst of an ungodly generation, “walked with God.” Think about Joshua and Caleb, two of the twelve sent to spy out the land of Canaan. They stood alone in their conviction that with God’s help they could conquer the land that God had promised to them. And then there is the plain teaching of Jesus in Matthew 7:13-14: “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
God’s word says what it says, regardless of how few or how many believe it. When I teach that baptism is for the remission of sins, and thus, it is essential for salvation, I realize I’m in the minority. But God’s word still says it (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16; 1 Peter 3:21). When I teach that divorce is forbidden, except for the cause of sexual immorality, again, I realize I’m in the minority. But that is exactly what Jesus said (Matthew 19:3-12). When I teach that we must worship God in song without instrumental music, I’m still in the minority. But I have yet to find any authority for these instruments in the New Testament. More points could be added, but you can see where we’re going with this. Study God’s word diligently and carefully, looking for the truth and nothing but the truth. When you find it, hold fast to it (1 Thessalonians 5:21), and don’t be swayed by the “majority view.”
What are the conditions of salvation given by Jesus?
Return to Bible Subjects Articles page