Twenty two years go while sitting in my office, I overheard a conversation between a visiting psychiatrist and the psychiatrist I was working under. As they were conversing the visiting psychiatrist asked:.
"What was your most difficult case?"
"I had a patient who lived in a pure fantasy world. He believed that an uncle in South America was going to die and leave him a fortune. All day long he waited for a letter to arrive from an attorney. He never went out, he never did anything, he merely sat around and waited for this fantasy letter from this fantasy uncle. I worked with this man eight years."
"What was the result?"
"It was an eight-year struggle. Every day for eight years, but I finally cured him... then that stupid letter arrived!"
Reality is, the letter mentioned above was “truth.” It was the truth that man had waited 8 years for. However, until that letter arrived – at least as far my boss was concerned – “truth” didn't exist. Truth was a fantasy. Truth was the fabrication of a “mentally challenged” individual who needed to be cured. And even when that “truth” turned up in the mailbox – my boss was still uncomfortable with it. It's the same with people today. Many have difficulty with the idea of truth as strange as that may sound. Something inside tells us IF we ignore “TRUTH” we do so at our own peril. There are consequences to setting truth aside. But why do people still blatantly ignore the truth? Or why do people have difficulty with morality? Why do they reject a standard of what is “right and wrong?” Why do they prefer shades of gray to black and white? I thought about these questions as I was writing this blog and then it suddenly occurred to me, the problem is not with the TRUTH. Everybody has their own standard of truth. Everyone has a standard by which they decide what is right and wrong. The problem is NOT that people reject TRUTH –They are rejecting someone else’s truth. They are rejecting some else’s right to decide what is right and wrong. They want to be the authority. They want to be the ones who decide what is moral and what isn't. People will accept only what they WANT to hear. They will agree only with the authority they wish to obey. In reality, the real authority they want in their lives is - THEY themselves! They are the MASTERS of their lives and many times people will agree with “truth” ONLY when “truth” agrees with them. It's the same when it comes to religion. People will choose the religion that fits how they want to live. Some want no Savior, others want to believe they come back again as plants or animals, others want to worship cows as sacred, others believe just be kind and you're safe, others it requires good behavior, some believe we're all gods and therefore you're automatically saved, etc.
When it comes to faith, there is no TRUTH outside of God's WORD. GOD is the beginning and end of TRUTH. Everything else outside that is opinion; conjecture. Let that sink in! There is only one Truth (Gods Word) but there are thousands of opinions. As a couple of examples, believing cows are sacred is an opinion. Creating a Hindu god in the form of a cow and naming that god, Devi, is not mentioned anywhere in the Bible. I'll tell you what is in the Bible... Romans 1:23 " And they changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things." You've heard a lot of people believe in reincarnation. The idea itself sounds great, I admit. Why not come back and learn again and get it right. Reincarnation is a process of self-improvement to make oneself good enough to be accepted by God. If you fail, just come back and try again until you reach perfection. First of all, according to Truth, we can never be good enough by our own works or goodness to secure a seat in heaven. Secondly, do you realize the Bible exposes reincarnation as false? It does. I've known many people living in their own truth, their own conclusions, their own opinions, who tell me no where in the Bible does it say reincarnation is a lie. Well, I'd have to agree to this much - although God's Word doesn't say it in that way, it says it this way in Hebrews 9:27, "It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." Well, not only are those words crystal clear.... we die ONCE, but that Biblical verse just annihilated a "made-man truth." God's Word is clear. Christianity is the only belief that recognizes the hopeless gap between man and a Holy, Righteous God, teaching that salvation can only be obtained through God's grace and is not achieved through any human effort as all other religions teach. Jesus said "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). What He was saying was this… “I (Jesus Christ) am the Master.” No one else will serve to be the authority you can trust to give you total truth all else is opinion.
I can't be that master and neither can you. No President, no congressman, no man made religious authority can give you total truth. But Jesus can. Only Jesus HAS the truth because ONLY Jesus IS the truth. Again, people will accept only what they WANT to hear. They will agree only with the authority they wish to obey. BUT in reality, the real authority they want in their lives is- THEY themselves. They are the MASTERS of their lives. They decide their own right and wrong. The apostle John wrote that, ready for this?? ..."THE WHOLE WORLD lies under the authority of the wicked one" (1 John 5:19). No one is good on his own, regardless of benevolent deeds, kindness, church attendance, good behavior, etc. These "things" don't qualify you to be good enough. They don't abolish your sin nature! Paul warned that people will "follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons"(1 Timothy 4:1). From the beginning Satan has been deceiving humanity! Don't be embarrassed. I was deceived. We've all been deceived. In the garden Satan convinced Eve saying, "ye shall be as gods." I can name several religions that adhere to that opinion. Don't you find it interesting that to be "divine" AS GOD is a common thread among many religions, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Mormonism, etc? Oh, the lukewarm Christians aren't off the hook either. There are MANY false preachers who are easily recognizable if you are a true follower of Jesus because the Holy Spirit bestows on us His discerning Spirit. I need not call out the bad apples among us. Scripture even makes sure that we know Satan and his servants will masquerade as "ministers of righteousness" (2 Corinthians 11: 13-14). Satan's hoisting of false religions has been a very effective lie since it mixes in some truth. A lie mixed with truth is like rat poison which contains 99% good food and 1% poison. It's that 1% of disguised poison (or lie) that will kill you.
Why is it so hard to consider God's Word as TRUTH? Why are people so reluctant to give up their own opinions? I'm going to be honest with you. I would still be a Catholic today, still confessing my "sins" to a man behind a curtain and still believing I need ashes placed on my forehead 46 days before Easter to celebrate Ash Wednesday as do Anglicans, Lutherans, Presbyterians, and others. I would still believe baptizing an infant only a few days old eliminates "original sin" as Catholicism teaches. Nothing destroys our sin nature but the Blood of Jesus and even then you have to be old enough to know and commit to a relationship with Him. Infants can't do that. The facts are, I would still be participating in Novena on Thursday nights and the Stations of the Cross. I was following the opinion, ordinances, and traditions of men (Mark 7:8). I'm not against Catholics don't misunderstand. I'm against what they taught me. It was and still is a lie. Scripture teaches that sin has separated us from a Holy God. Remember, "THE WHOLE WORLD lies under the authority of the wicked one" (1 John 5:19) unless or until you're saved through Jesus Christ. The Bible informs us "All have sinned" ... not some, not a few, not just the crooks ... ALL (Romans 3:23, 1 Kings 8:46, Ecclesiastes 7:20, Isaiah 53:6).
If you doubt the Word of God, ask yourself why would Jesus lie to us? For what purpose? Why did He hang, suffer, and die a cruel, ruthless death, if He was lying and not who He said He was? Can you walk on water? Heal the blind? Cure leprosy? Create the sun, moon, or stars? The only way to reconcile ourselves with Him is for us to confess we are guilty of sin (again, we are all under the authority of the wicked one the moment we are born) and then to confess, repent, and turn to Him for His forgiveness and grace. Many will not want to give up their own truths and opinions to hear this, but as one who has been shown and accepted Truth, you must be told because the Bible makes it very clear that if you do not accept Jesus, who has paid the debt of your sins as The Truth, your own unbelief which is YOUR truth will result in spiritual death. Jesus can wash cleanse, and absolve all sin committed by your rotten choices and mistakes but not if you reject the Truth for your own opinion you hold as truth. Therefore, the Bible says you will be judged according to the Law that was written from the time of Moses. And since no one has ever been able to keep every commandment (the Law) that rejection will render you guilty of sin. You can read in 1 Corinthians 6:8-11 if you are guilty of any of the sins listed in that verse. If so, you will be condemned since there will be no Jesus standing there with you as your propitiation, the One who can satisfy the wrath of God against sin. He is the only one who satisfies the justice of God.
Finally, Since God WILL NOT FORCE ANYONE to love Him (you have a free will), His Holy nature leaves no other choice but to separate the unrepentant, the unbelieving from Him forever since these cannot enter the Holy of Holies! The destination is eternal separation in hell. This may seem harsh and intolerant', but it is TRUTH according to God's Word of Truth. It is not my opinion, it is God's warning. Without judgment and punishment to the "wicked" (again, we are born under the authority of the wicked one), God could not remain true to His Holy and Righteous character. If what the Bible says is true regarding the spiritual warfare that is going on with Satan and his servants, the fact that there are other religions should certainly be no surprise, nor should it be a surprise that the Bible (The TRUTH) is attacked by non-believers far more than any other religious book. For those with their own opinions that oppose the written Word --THINK ABOUT WHAT I JUST SAID-- those who reject the Bible as His Word of TRUTH, are in trouble. Jesus emphatically warned His followers of the many counterfeits and false prophets who would come to try to lead men astray (Matthew 24:11, Mark 13:22, etc). The other religions and opinions of the world have been an effective tool of Satan in his quest to blind us of our need for a Savior. Are YOU of the opinion you don't need Jesus in order to be saved? Look closely at this wording from 2 Corinthians 4:4 (emphasis mine) "The god of this age (Satan) has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that THEY CANNOT SEE THE LIGHT OF THE GOSPEL of the glory of Christ, who IS THE IMAGE OF GOD." What is your opinion, your truth?
Until He Comes,
-Pat-
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