HOW
TO KNOW WHICH RELIGION IS THE CORRECT ONE?
STAGGERING
NUMBERS
With
an estimated 4,200 religions in the world1,
how are we ever to
figure out the right one? Then again, maybe they are all right, it
just being a matter of all roads ending up at the same destination?
Then too, we find that an amazing 84% of the Earth's population
belongs to some religion or another
2.
That means over 6.1 billion people in the world are religious! These
kind of numbers are rather hard to ignore! Could it be that over 84%
of the world's population is delusional? Surely, there must be
something to these numbers!
IS THERE A
GOD?
Someone
once made an interesting observation. They noted that human beings
are not able to come up with any completely brand new concept. For
example, we cannot think up a new primary color. All we do is
rearrange that which already exists. Therefore, there must be a god.
We could not have dreamed up something like this without such a being
existing.
Further,
as we study the nature around us, we must realize that there must be
a designer. Yet, some take a jab at those who believe in some god, by
saying, “Well, who made God?” In this, they have cornered
themselves. For who, or what, made the “dot” from which came the
“big bang”? They cannot answer this question! No doubt, if you
saw a piece of art, you would naturally ask, “Who is the artist?”
When we gaze upon the flowers of the meadow and the stars of the
heavens, we too, should ask ourselves, “Who is the artist?”
What
about “right” and “wrong”? Why should we even care, if their
is no god of any kind? If there be no “here after”? Yet, we all
say, “That is wrong,” when we see something we see as “bad.”
Why is it that we have such a sense? Why all the beauty about us? Why
do we have emotions of love and joy, if there is nothing to our
existence but an accident? Clearly, there must be a god of some kind!
Certainly, there must be a future beyond this life! Yet, who has the
truth? What religion? How do we know? Why is that there is “good”
and “evil” in the world?
I
further ask, why is it that some 84% of the planet's populace even
wants religion at all? What is it that humanity in general is
searching out? However, I believe that even the other 16% believes
something, we all must, it is how we are wired. For even atheists are
attempting to find meaning and purpose in life. We find them
searching the universe to find life out there somewhere! Why, why is
it, that all of humanity is trying to figure out why we are here?
A GREATER
PURPOSE THAN JUST EXISTING
Let
us begin to come up with some answers to these myriad of questions.
First off, it seems that no matter the religion, we believe that
somehow we are answerable to a “higher power” of some kind. Most
of us believe that there is an “after life” of some form. That
there is some greater purpose than just our puny existence down here!
The majority are persuaded that we are morally accountable in some
fashion. The only difference is to whom, and to what extent.
If
this be so, then we must ask ourselves, “Who is God?” We must
also ask, “How can I know I'll be fine for the life after this
one?”
Let
us begin with, “Who is God?” We have already drawn several
conclusions above, but let us just mention them again here. We have
noted that God must be the one who made all things. We also concluded
that we are answerable to him. This then, would explain why we see
all this beauty around us. For the Creator-God made it so. It also
explains why we have a sense of “right” and “wrong,” because
there is a God who so designed it. We also know that there is a “here
after, “ because our Creator-God has so made us humans to exist
forever!
WHY IS THERE
SO MUCH EVIL IN THE WORLD?
Therefore,
God must also be a “good” God, or else He would be unable to
judge us after this life is over. For God to be against “evil,”
must mean that He is not evil, but pure or holy. Yet, someone may
interject, “If God is good, why all the evil around us?” Good
question! We must realize that God is a God who is characterized by
love. That being so, He gives us a choice as to whether we want to
love Him in return, or rebel against Him. God is not about to make a
bunch of robots to bow to Him. I don't really think we would want a
bunch of robots for friends and family instead of human beings who
want to be with us and show genuine love to us!. This then, explains
why there is so much evil in the world. For there are many who do not
love the Creator-God. They are living in rebellion and are reaping
the consequences for so doing!
WHY IS THERE
SO MUCH FIGHTING IN RELIGION?
You
ask, “Then why is there so much religion in the world, if people
don't love God?” Ah, yet another fantastic question! You see, there
are only two paths a person can choose. We can either attempt to
enter the “good place” God has made by our efforts, or we can
accept the way God has made for us to enter that “good place,”
after our life here is complete. Therefore, I make this shocking
statement, “All religion, is mankind's effort to somehow do enough
good, in order to be able to somehow earn our own way into God's
“good place.” However, God says, in the Holy Bible, that He has
given us, that we can only come “His way.” We find then, that all
of religion is a deception to mislead us. Religion cannot change a
person. It merely tries to make us into something we are not.
Religion
tells us what to do, but gives us zero power to do it. This
is the reason why we see so little love in the world. In fact, we
will often see different religions fighting against one another!
IS
RELIGION THE ANSWER?
We
must understand that God has given us the truth in His Holy Bible
that He has given to us. Yet, most have twisted God's Word, in order
to make it say what they want. They still leave you trying to appease
God. To somehow, by your own effort, get your way into God's holy
Heaven. Indeed, we find the Scriptures replete with warnings of false
teachers, dressed in sheep's clothing who will attempt to mislead the
people. Therefore, we find thousands of people in the world, misled
by religion. The bare truth is, that religion will never save anyone.
It will not get one single person into God's holy Heaven.
REJECTING
GOD
We
must understand that God, created a perfect Earth in the beginning.
He created this Earth without evolution: He made it in six literal
days. On day six, God made Adam, the first human, a man, and then
Eve, his wife. They were enjoying the Earth God had made. However,
the deceiver Satan, would come and tempt Eve to do evil. Now, Satan
was formerly called Lucifer, and was God's top angel. However,
Lucifer rebelled against God and lost his place in Heaven. This is
the deceiver that is also at work in the world today. This
deceiver, loves religion, but hates God! This Satan, was able to
deceive Eve, and Adam went along with it all. These two were
responsible in plunging the entire human race into sin and separation
from our holy, Creator-God. Ever since this time, mankind has felt
this separation from God. For we have all, in Adam and Eve, partaken
of the “Forbidden Tree” - “The Tree of the Knowledge of Good
and Evil.” Indeed, we all have some sense of some things being
“good,” and other things being “evil.” Yet, we are left
without the power to be perfect human beings, and this is the reason
we see so much “evil” in the world today. In no wise, can we
expect peace and good to prevail in the Earth, when we are in
defiance of our Creator-God!
WHY
RELIGION IS A DECEPTION
We
conclude then, that all religion is useless. It might give us some
false sense of hope, but it will always let us down. Religion looks
to “self,” to rescue “itself.” This will never do. For how
could a drowning man rescue himself? It makes no sense! The drowning
man needs a lifeguard to rescue them, and so, we need someone to
rescue us from our sin that has separated us from the holy
Creator-God! For none of us wants to spend eternity in the “bad
place” that God has prepared for Satan and the unholy angels
(demons), that rebelled against God!
“There is
a way
that seems
right to a man
but
its end
is the way
to death.”
Proverbs 16:25
WHAT
THEN IS THE ANSWER?
So,
who will save us from our sin and its consequences, of spending
eternity in the Lake of Fire? God will. He Himself, came to Earth in
the body of a person and went to the cross to die: thus He took the
penalty for all our sin! Look, the remedy does not lie with me.
Neither does the remedy lie with religion. For neither one nor the
other can rescue me. God Himself is the remedy. It is He, who
reached down to man, because we could not reach up to Him! Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, is the remedy for our sin. He is our Rescuer!
He bore the penalty of death for our sin! Thus we are set free from
being slaves to sin, to that which is “evil.” It is by Jesus
Christ's death that he forgives us and gives us “everlasting life”!
We
must understand, that neither self, nor religion, is the answer, but
Jesus Christ and Him crucified! We read in God's Holy Word, “Jesus
said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes
to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) Again, “For God so
loved the world, that he
gave
his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not
perish, but have everlasting life.” (**John 3:16) Once more, “For
by grace [favor of God] you have been saved through faith. And this
is not your own doing;
it is the gift
of God,
not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Simply
put, we need to stop trusting the good we are trying to do, that is
trusting“self,” and no longer trust religion, but simply place
our trust in Jesus Christ alone. We need to rest solely in Him,
realizing that what He did by dying on the cross, was adequate to
save me. There is nothing at all that “I” need to do to gain
“everlasting life.” All I need is to trust that what Jesus did is
enough to pay off in full my sin-debt! This is the only way to be
reconciled to our Creator-God. Yes, it was us who rebelled against
Him by us breaking His rules. We ought to have paid the penalty
ourselves, but, “God so loved the world, that he
gave
his only begotten Son,” so “that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish [go to Hell], but have everlasting life.”
A CHANGE
OF HEART
It
may be very hard to be honest with oneself, but we must. I too, had
to admit that I had thought wrong! What, I ask, is the point to
living in rebellion against God? What is the point in going our own
way? We will never prevail against God! He is the judge we must all
stand before, and how shall we stand before Him if we are guilty?!
The sinner literally has Hell to pay by persistently defying their
Creator-God! It is time right now to acknowledge to God that you are
indeed a guilty sinner who deserves to be cast into Hell forever
because of your sin that you have sinned against your Creator-God!
Religion and self
could not save me, or change me. It was Jesus Christ who saved and
changed me into a brand new creature. I give all the glory to my
Creator-God for being willing to reach out and save me by Him going
to the cross in my place! Will you trust Him too?
God promises in
the Bible that, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord WILL BE
SAVED.” (Romans 10:13)
Victor J. Reimer
*Scripture
quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV),
copyrighted © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights
reserved.
**KJV
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2.Washington
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