Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

Do You Know What You Believe,
And Why You Believe It?

A lot of people who claim to be Christians don’t.

A couple of Saturdays ago I met a homeless man named Todd, and his pit bull dog named Sleepy. I offered Todd some food, and he initially turned me down. I had pulled into the Family Center, so I said “that’s fine”, rolled up my window and started backing my van out. Todd waved me down, and I rolled down my window. He asked, “What kind of food?”. So I began to tell him what I had in the bags I was distributing. He came up to the car and said, “Okay then”, and I gave him a bag. I then asked:

“Can I pray for you?”

Normally the homeless want me to pray for them. He said, “No, I’d rather you not”. No explanation, and I didn’t require one. But I told him, “As I drive away I will be praying for you, because God loves you”. So I moved on.

Monday I pulled up to a homeless encampment and Todd actually walked up to my van with Sleepy. I asked, “Would you like some food?” Todd said that was fine, so I gave him a bag. He also told me “The last bag you gave me had tampons in it. I didn’t need them”. I told him I accidentally gave him a bag that should have been given to women, and he was all right with that. I asked again,

“Can I pray for you?”

Very politely Todd told me, “No, because it’s against my faith. I’m a follower of Odinism”. I’m like, “Okay. Tell me what you believe.” Todd told me that Odinism is an ancient religion that worships multiple Norse or Viking gods like Odin, Thor, Tyr, Frigg. Todd told me that Christianity actually came out of Odinism, and several of the days of the week are named after these gods.

Christianity didn’t come out of Odinism, but out of the much more ancient Judaism.

Todd was right that Wednesday (Wōdnesdæg meant “Woden’s or Oden’s day”), Thursday sounds like “Thor’s Day”, and Friday was named after the goddess Frigg – “Frigg’s Day”. I let Todd talk, and didn’t argue with him. Then he said:

“With all the hurt and pain in the world, I can’t believe in a Loving God. I can’t believe in a God Who would send someone to hell. I was raised Southern Baptist. They teach that good people go to Heaven, and Odinism teaches that good people go to Valhalla.”

I stopped Todd and told him that this is not what the Bible teaches. I told him about sin entering the world through Adam, and death by sin. I told him that

good people don’t go to heaven – but people who receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

In Odinism you are taught that you must be courageous, loyal, honest, hospitable, self reliant, and responsible if you want to go to Valhalla, their version of Heaven. And Todd told me he visited several Churches, was shunned or made to feel worthless, and this led him to where he believes today.

As I talked with Todd, I didn’t force the Gospel on him, though I shared Christ’s love with him. And I told Todd that Jesus Christ died on the Cross for him, and that he is important. Todd listened, though he didn’t agree with me. Then he said,

“At least you’re willing to talk with me. No one else is.”

As Todd challenged me and my faith my old sin nature wanted to argue with him. Instead, I listened. And I told Todd, “Even if you never agree with me, I love you, and Jesus loves you. I will be praying for you later, because I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.” And you know what he told me. ‘That’s fine”.

Do you know what you believe? If you have to witness to someone in Odinism, would you approach it as an argument to win – or as a soul to save?

The Bible was written so that we might believe in Jesus. We are told in ..

John 20:30-31 KJV And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: 31 But THESE ARE WRITTEN, THAT YE MIGHT BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS THE CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

And John would later write:

1 John 5:13 KJV These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that YE MAY KNOW THAT YOU HAVE ETERNAL LIFE, and that YE MAY BELIEVE ON THE NAME OF THE SON OF GOD.

God wants us to know what we believe, and why we believe it. Part of being a good disciple of Christ is the ability to – without loss of temper – to articulate what you believe. There are a lot of people like Todd who believe that “good people go to Heaven”, even though Jesus said:

Mark 10:18 … there is NONE GOOD, BUT ONE, THAT IS, GOD

and again in Romans 3:12 “there is NONE THAT DOES GOOD, no, NOT ONE”, and “ALL HAVE SINNED, and COME SHORT of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

The Bible is very clear. Good people don’t go to Heaven. Saved people go to Heaven. And you are saved only by repentance, and receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Do You Realize How Many People Have Moved To False Religion Because Of Bad Theology?

You’ve all heard of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. The group was founded by two men, Charles Taze Russell and Joseph Franklin Rutherford. Russell came out of Presbyterianism, but Rutherford was raised in a devout Baptist home. Witnesses don’t believe in an eternal hell, but believe that those who are lost are “burned up”, and that they are not tormented in flames.

The founder of Mormonism, Joseph Smith grew up in a spiritually confused home. His mother, brothers and sister were Presbyterian, but his father was a follower of Universalism, the belief that all go to Heaven. The Mormons believe in exaltation, that is, believers ultimately become gods if they are “good believers”.

The founder of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, William Miller was a licensed Baptist preacher. The group was initially called “Millerites”. The next leader, Joseph Bates, was also a former Baptist. These people used to teach that if you worship on Sunday, you have received the mark of the beast.

Though I don’t believe they are a cult, the Churches of Christ were founded by Alexander Campbell. Campbell was baptized by immersion by a Baptist minister, and his congregation The Brush Run Church joined the regional Redstone Baptist Association in 1815. For 15 years Campbell edited a journal called The Christian Baptist before he split away from the Baptists. A key disagreement between the Baptists and the Church of Christ is that Baptists see water baptism as an ordinance or command from Jesus, but the Church of Christ sees water baptism as a sacrament, a necessary act in order to be saved. This is very similar to Catholicism, which teaches that it is through water baptism that sins are forgiven. This is the reason Catholics will baptize babies with a few drops of water.

Theological Confusion Reigns Among
Professing Christians

Lifeway Research (A Southern Baptist Entity) did a study called “2025 State of Theology”. What they found out will surprise you. When asked:

“Does God accept the worship of ALL religions?”

Do you know that 47% of conservative Christians said “Yes. Absolutely!”. Yet our God in the first two commandments of the Ten Commandments stated:

Exodus 20:3-6 KJV Thou shalt have NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME. 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou SHALT NOT BOW DOWN THYSELF TO THEM, NOR SERVE THEM: for I the LORD thy God AM A JEALOUS GOD, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

God is not wishy washy on this point. He does not accept other religions, and does not tolerate others gods. God told the Prophet “I WILL BE JEALOUS FOR MY HOLY NAME” (Ezekiel 29:35). And our Lord Jesus was very specific, saying:

John 14:6 LSB – I am the way, and the truth, and the life. NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER BUT THROUGH ME.

God alone is to be glorified. In Psalm 115, David compares the True God of the Bible to the false gods of those around who are lost around us. He wrote:

Psalm 115:3-8 LSB our GOD IS IN THE HEAVENS; HE DOES WHATEVER HE PLEASES. 4 Their IDOLS are silver and gold, THE WORK OF MAN’S HANDS. 5 They have mouths, but they do not speak; They have eyes, but they do not see; 6 They have ears, but they do not hear; They have noses, but they do not smell; 7 As for their hands, they do not feel; As for their feet, they do not walk; They do not make a sound with their throat. 8 THOSE WHO MAKE THEM WILL BECOME LIKE THEM, Everyone who trusts in them.

David tells us that these false gods can’t speak, can’t see, can’t hear, can’t smell, can’t feel, and can’t walk unless some human picks them up and moves them. They are totally useless to anyone. And God says through David, “THOSE WHO MAKE THEM WILL BECOME LIKE THEM”. Totally useless.

Beloved, we are not being loving when we tell people “God accepts the worship of all religions”. We can listen to the babblings of the poor, deluded Todds among us. But we are nonetheless to love them and tell them the truth – that they are broken sinners in need of Jesus (as are we all).

Another surprising question Lifeway asked was:

“Are Most People GOOD By Nature?”

Again, 54% of conservatives said “Well, everyone sins a little. But most people are GOOD BY NATURE”.

Do you know that this is a common belief among professing conservative Christians who regularly attend Church? Why has this belief spread through Christ’s Church? Because many have departed from the Word of God, and the warning that the stepbrother of Jesus gave us in …

Jude 3 KJV – Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should EARNESTLY CONTEND {epagōnizomai} FOR THE FAITH WHICH WAS ONCE DELIVERED UNTO THE SAINTS.

Word Study: The words “EARNESTLY CONTEND” is the Greek epagōnizomai, which means “to fight for, to struggle to protect”. If the devil cannot stop you from being saved, he will do what he can to give you theological confusion. The Apostle said, “if our Gospel is hid, it is hid to those who are lost: in whom the god of this world has blinded their minds from believing, lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ would shine to them” (2 Corinthians 4:3-4).

As I have shown you before, according to the sacred Text of the Scripture, people are NOT good by nature. We do not grow up to be sinful. I was talking with a Baptist pastor one time when he told me “babies and young children aren’t sinners, but innocent of sin”. I told him he was wrong. The child may not understand why what they are doing is wrong, but they know its wrong.

Many Christians believe that there are little sins and BIG SINS, and believe that God only gives eternal damnation to the BIG SINNERS like Hitler or Stalin.

They teach that God loves the sinner, but hates the BIG sin. But that’s not what the Bible teaches. The Bible is very clear:

Romans 6:23 KJV – For the WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Sin is against God, and God is the Author of life. When you sin, you are playing with death. God doesn’t tell is that “the wages of SOME sin is death”, but “the wages of SIN is DEATH”. Now there are some sins that bring physical death sooner than others. But those who court sin are playing with eternal damnation.

I have heard it said “God hates the SIN, but loves the SINNER”. This is not in the Bible. It is true that Jesus sat down with and ate with sinners (Matthew 9:10-13), a thing which offended the religious crowd. But Jesus told them:

Matthew 9:12-13 Those that are WHOLE {ischyō, strong and healthy, able} do not need a physician, but they that are SICK {kakōs, diseased, ill, miserable, evil}. … I did not come to call the RIGHTEOUS, but SINNERS TO REPENTANCE

When Jesus was eating with those sinners, He was explaining to them that THEY NEEDED TO REPENT and surrender their lives to Him. Jesus was not justifying their sins. Jesus never justified sins.

What does God think about the sinner who will not repent,
but who insists on persisting in their sin, rejecting salvation?

What do YOU think? Read these Scriptures:

Psalm 5:5-6 NKJV The boastful shall not stand in Your sight; You HATE ALL WORKERS OF INIQUITY. 6 You shall destroy those who speak falsehood; The LORD ABHORS the BLOODTHIRSTY AND DECEITFUL MAN.

Psalm 11:5-7 NKJV The LORD tests the righteous, But THE WICKED AND THE ONE WHO LOVES VIOLENCE HIS SOUL HATES. 6 UPON THE WICKED HE WILL RAIN COALS; Fire and brimstone and a burning wind Shall be the portion of their cup. 7 For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness; His countenance beholds the upright.

Psalm 7:11-12 NKJV God is a just judge, And GOD IS ANGRY WITH THE WICKED EVERY DAY. 12 If he does not turn back, He will sharpen His sword; He bends His bow and makes it ready.

Does that sound like “God hates the sin, but loves the sinner?” It doesn’t to me either. The Bible tells us that “Esau have I HATED” (Malachi 1:23; Romans 9:13). The Bible says that the reason God had Israel cast out the Canaanites is because “they committed evil things, therefore I ABHOR THEM” (Leviticus 20:23). What about those who “justifies or makes excuses for the wicked”? For the liberal who says, “well, God was wrong or confused over sexual sin. We live in a new age!”. God says:

Proverbs 17:15 NKJV He who JUSTIFIES THE WICKED, and he who CONDEMNS THE JUST, BOTH OF THEM alike are an ABOMINATION TO THE LORD.

God hates the person who modifies His Word, and misrepresents His Law. But God loved creation enough to give the entire world an opportunity to repent, to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and to escape His wrath. But the Bible is very clear:

John 3:36 The one that WILL NOT BELIEVE ON THE SON SHALL NOT SEE LIFE, BUT THE WRATH OF GOD ABIDES ON HIM

In Christ, the anger of God is abated. In Christ, the broken find the love of God. We who have received Jesus as Lord and Savior are justified, beloved, adopted into His family, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and promised eternal life. But no, God does not hate the SIN but love the SINNER. The Bible doesn’t say that. No. Not ever.

Many Who Profess To Be Christian View
Church Attendance as Optional

The Christian way of life was not meant to be lived alone. The New Testament has nine Books written to Churches: Romans, 1&2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1&2 Thessalonians. There are four more Books written to Pastors of Churches: 1&2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon.

The Book of Acts records the growth of the early Church. The Book of Revelation was written as an inspired warning and a prophecy to seven Churches.

The Bible tells us that the Church belongs to Jesus, and He is building His Church.

Matthew 16:18 … upon this rock I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

It is the Church, the unified body of gathered believers, that work together for the glory of God, and for the spread of the Gospel. It is God Who adds to the Church, and God Who owns the Church.

Acts 2:47 {Believers were} praising God, and having favor with all the people. AND THE LORD ADDED TO THE CHURCH DAILY SUCH AS SHOULD BE SAVED.

The Church is the Body of Christ on earth, and God adds to His Church.

1 Corinthians 12:18 NKJV But now GOD HAS SET THE MEMBERS, each one of them, IN THE BODY JUST AS HE PLEASED.

Jesus loves His Church. Jesus died for His Church. “God composes the Body” (1 Corinthians 12:24). The Bible compares the Church to the Bride of Christ:

Ephesians 5:23-27 NKJV For the husband is head of the wife, as also CHRIST IS HEAD OF THE CHURCH; and HE IS THE SAVIOR OF THE BODY. 24 Therefore, just as THE CHURCH IS SUBJECT TO CHRIST, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as CHRIST ALSO LOVED THE CHURCH and GAVE HIMSELF FOR HER, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

Those who think they can live the Christian way of life apart from the Church are deluding themselves. The Church is not perfect, and will not be perfect, for it is filled with imperfect but born again people. But those who try living as Christians apart from the Church will discover their faith getting fainter and fainter until, one day, they are no different than the other lost people living around them.

If you cannot love other Christians and work together with other Christians for the glory of God, what makes you think you are going to Heaven? Heaven is one big Church where you will be FOREVER. If you don’t love your fellow Christians, then ———?