What Should I Believe?
I often hear someone say “What should I believe?” The statement is about any subject
you can think of. Iʼm remembering a few of them today as I write this. Perhaps you
have asked or been asked the same question(s).
Question # 1 - I hear there are several ways one can make sure to go to heaven. Is that
true? NO. Scripture says in John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, I am the Way and the Truth
and the Life; no one comes to the Father except by Me.” John 10:9 and Acts 4:12
relate the same Truth. There is One God who created Heaven and earth, and He sent
One Saviour to redeem fallen man, and made believing on Him - Christ Jesus, the only
way to have Eternal Life with Him. To be fallen man means we are separated from God
because of Adams sin in Genesis 3.
Question # 2 - Some say things are different today, and because our culture is different,
the Word of God has to be adjusted for the times. Is that true? NO. Scripture says in
Malachi 3:6 “ For I am the Lord, I do not change;----”. In Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ is
the same yesterday and today and forever.” And, in Hebrews 1:10 -12 “You, Lord, in the
beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands;
they will perish, but you remain; and they will all grow old like a garment; like a cloak
you will fold them up, and they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years
will not fail”. Know this, that whatever God has identified as sin has not, and will never
change. Just because you or I think something is okay, it doesnʼt mean God does. He
said through Isaiah that a day would come when evil would be called good, and good
would be called evil. We live in such a day.
Question # 3 - I hear Hell doesnʼt really exist, and a loving God would never send
anyone there if it did. Is this true? YES and NO. Let me start with the last part. We
choose Eternal Life or everlasting death . Scripture says in 2 Peter 3:9 “ The Lord is not
slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing
for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” In John 3:14 - 16 “As Moses lifted
up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that
whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. “For God so loved the world, that He gave
His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal
life.” And, in Acts 16:30 - 31 “He led them outside, and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be
saved? And they replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and then you will be saved----” So,
we can see that we must make the choice to believe that Jesus Christ is the redeemer.
Through Him we can be saved but, we must acknowledge Him. It is our choice.
Remember that the Lord said in several places that we were to “choose life”. So
ultimately, God doesnʼt make the choice to send one to eternal damnation, rather, we
refuse to accept the One who ransomed us, and thereby send ourselves. Though He
finalizes it according to His Word.
Scripture says in Acts 17:30 - 31 “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance,
God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has
fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He
has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.” In
Revelation 20:12 - 15 “And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the
throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of
life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books,
according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and
Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them
according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This
is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyoneʼs name was not found written in the
book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
Heaven exists and the place of everlasting damnation exists. In the end, every person
will acknowledge that Jesus Christ, the Son of God is Lord - some on that final day of
judgment, and hopefully you have already believed on Him as your personal Redeemer.
Romans 10:9 -10 says “if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in
your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a
person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting
in salvation.” And, in Ephesians 2:8 - 9 “For by grace you have been saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no
one may boast.” We choose Him and then we live as believers who love Him, meaning
we want to please Him in all our ways.
Question # 4 - Is it the judgment of God that America is experiencing many difficulties in so many areas? NO. His Word shows we judge ourselves by refusing to honor God.
Romans 1:28 “And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God
gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper”. Recently
we saw on live television people booing that the word “God” was being included in a
document. I suspect many not in attendance there were booing right along with them.
Rejection of God always leads to a defilement of the land. This defilement appears in
many ways - storms, drought, enemy encroachment, poverty, no unity among the
citizens, etc. How many acres of American land are defiled this very day because of
fires, storms or drought? Why hasnʼt this wealthy nation rebuilt all the area affected by
hurricane Katrina seven years ago. Why havenʼt we been able to rebuild at “ground
zero” in eleven years? Many “whyʼs” could be presented about finances, education,
manufacturing, family issues and more. The point is this - we, as a Nation have so
rejected the righteousness of God, and even God Himself that His Mighty Hand of
protection has been pushed back by the sins of our Nation. As a Nation, we have
judged ourselves as able to do it without God. Biblical and natural history shows we will
certainly find this to be a foolish decision.
Pray for an awakening towards God and His Truth in America. Make a wise choice
today. Choose to know and believe the Word of God. It alone has stood and will stand
the test of time - forever and ever.
