According to Whom?

Everyone lives within a belief system of some kind. Many, if not most, people live under a belief system that says that if a person in basically good, (according to standards set by society) if they live by the golden rule (do unto others as they would do unto you) that God will be pleased (or at the least satisfied) with them when die. Accordingly, heaven will be theirs. Or their belief system may dictate that if they belong to the right group, Christian or otherwise, and if they obey the rules laid down by the particular sect, that upon death they will enter eternal bliss. Why? Because they have obeyed all the rules that they were taught. There is, of course, another belief system that says this life is all there is. When you die you fade away into nothingness. There is no life, there is no consciousness, and there is no reward or punishment. “You only go around once in life, so go for all the gusto you can.” While there may be many belief systems I guess I will mention just one more. There is the belief system that would hold to reincarnation. You keep coming back, trying to get it right. With so many belief systems out there how do we know what to believe? Are there any sure answers? Are we left without real hope?

I believe there can be only one standard by which all things are measured. If we have many, who would know what is right and what is wrong? We, as a human race, would always be guessing, hoping we’re in the right place, with the right group.

I want to propose three questions in order to know what standard is right. The first question I would ask was asked by Elijah to the nation Israel. It is found in I Kings 18:21. “Elijah went before the people and said, ‘How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal is God, follow him.’” The question is, what God are you going to follow? Every man follows a god. If you object and say, ‘I follow no god, for there is no god.’ Then your god is man, or self. You set your own destiny or you believe the teachings of men that teach there is no god. Your god is self, or the wisdom (if there is such a thing) of man. If there is a God and He is the God of the Bible we must follow Him and we are indeed accountable to Him for He claims to be our Creator. This introduces us to the second criteria. Is the Bible the Word of God? Jesus said of God’s Word. “Sanctify them by the truth; Your Word is truth.” John 17:17. “Saith the Lord” appears 854 times in the King James Bible. No matter what translation you use, the point is the same, God claims to be speaking, these are His words. II Timothy 3:16 tells us, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” That would include both the Old and New Testaments. Finally, Christ said, “I tell you the truth..,” 79 times in the NIV. Once again, I would say, in any translation the point is the same – Christ claimed He was speaking Truth. Let’s review – if the God of the Bible is our Creator (and He is) then we must listen to Him. If the Bible is His Word (and it is) then we must live by its standards. This leaves the last point. Is Christ who He claimed to be? He said, “I and My Father are one.” John 10:30. Forty-seven times Christ used the words, “My Father” when speaking of God. Thus He claimed to be the Son of God. And God said He sent His Son. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16. That’s God's birth announcement to the world. So, if Christ is the Son of God, (God sent Him) the Savior of the world, (whoever believes in Him) we must listen to Him.

Now, having said all of that, where are we at? I think we must come to the logical conclusion that there are not many voices to listen to but one voice – the Voice of God. God says, “…man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.” Hebrews 9:27. Not only does that tell us that we will all face judgment, but we can now scratch reincarnation off our list of teachings. He also goes on to say that, “we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written: ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before Me; every tongue will confess to God,’” Romans 13:10,11. Philippians 2:9-11 tells us, “Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him a Name that is above every name, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father.” This brings us to our final point. How do we get to heaven? How do we know we can experience eternal bliss? By keeping the Ten Commandments? Let’s see, we read in Galatians 2:16, “by observing the law no one will be justified.” How then, by doing good works? Ephesians 2:9 says, “not by works, so that no one can boast.” In Titus 3:5 we find, “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done..” No, works don’t work either. So, how are we saved? Jesus Christ said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6. John 3:36 tells us, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.” To ‘believe in’ means far more than just believing in an historical fact. It means trusting Christ as your only means to heaven. John 1:12 says, “Yet to all who received (to trust in your heart) Him, to those who believed in His Name, (who He really is – the Son of God) He gave the right to become the children of God.” There is only one standard by which all men will be judged and that is the Word of God