Bringing the Word of Life Q & A

Question: What difference does it make what religion a person has if he does the best he can?
ANSWER: It makes all the difference in the world. Christianity is true; other religions are false, though they may have elements of truth in them. The Lord Jesus Christ declared, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man comes unto the Father but by Me." The Lord Jesus did not offer any hope for the followers of this world's religions. He was not very open-minded. In fact, He was very narrow, for He told us, "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it" (Matt. 7:13-14).

Many are very sincere about walking down the broad way, but their sincerity doesn't change its dead end: destruction.

Around the world there are multitudes of "sincere" people who worship idols. But God declares that He will make them like the idols they worship. Their idols cannot speak or hear or see, and the deceived worshipper of an idol does not see or hear the truth. "He maketh a god, even his graven image: he falleth down unto it, and worshippeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me; for thou art my god. They have not known nor understood: for He hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand. And none considereth in his heart, neither is there knowledge nor understanding ... He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?" (Isa. 44:17-20).

It does not make a lie any less a lie to believe it sincerely. In fact, the more sincerely a person believes a lie the worse off he is. I may believe that poison is food, and believe it sincerely, but it will kill me if I take it just the same as it would if I had known it was poison. If I get on the wrong plane and the plane is going the wrong way, it will not take me to my desired destination no matter how sincerely and earnestly I believe it is going to that destination. It is the truth that sets men free when they believe it, and not even truckloads of sincere faith in an error will set you free. Indeed, the more earnestly you believe error, the more it will enslave you.

It is the most foolish idea in the world today that it does not make any difference what a person believes if he is only sincere. What a person really believes determines what a person is, and if he believes error, he will be wrong, not only for the life that now is, but for the life that is to come, no matter how seriously or earnestly he believes it.  R. J. Bohner