The world we live in and our current culture is all about glorifying peoples’ individual opinions. We are all taught to be whoever we want to be, do whatever we want to do, and think and believe whatever we want to think/believe. People are taught and widely believe that there isn’t really a “right” belief, because everyone’s individual opinion is all that matters and counts. As long as you are true to who you are that is all that matters. What an incredible lie! How ridiculous. How can everyone be right? It doesn’t even make sense. We’ve known better since we were children!
It’s bizarre to me that when it comes to faith and religion, everyone seems to be an expert. There is no other area, field, etc., where people claim such expertise when they have none. If you were going to see a doctor, and he/she said, “I didn’t finish medical school or my residency, I have barely read any medical books or theses, and I only practice medicine twice a year” would let him/her treat you? Would you consider that doctor to be an expert in medicine? Could you trust everything they said regarding your health or the human body as fact when they were barely educated? No! You wouldn’t take medical advice from them, let alone schedule a checkup with them. And as far as operating on you, forget it! To the same token, would you ever talk to the leading heart surgeon in the country and say, “I read a pamphlet on open heart surgery, and I went to the doctor for a checkup once last year, and now I know everything about the human body and am an expert on heart surgery. I have some advice for you on how to proceed with your next operation.” That would be RIDICULOUS and ABSURD. There are countless other examples where we all acknowledge that we are not experts on a topic.
Yet for some reason, once the subject of God or faith comes up, everyone is an expert. And then you ask them, “Well, have you ever read the entire Bible, Genesis to Revelation?” They answer, “No”. Do you study the Bible? No. Do you pray regularly? No. Have you read a lot of literature on faith, Biblical history, etc.? No. Have you read books about all the different religions out there? Do you understand all of them? “No, but I go to church once or twice a year on Easter and Christmas.” Hmmm… and your entire basis for what you believe is based on that. Or rather, most people just don’t want to try to learn more. They say it’s not for them, they don’t understand it, or they’re simply just not interested.
It reminds me of trying to get children to try a certain food for the first time. I have cousins who literally primarily ate pasta for dinner when they were younger. Occasionally they’d have hot dogs or pizza, but they didn’t like anything else. I’m still trying to get them to explore all the wonderful foods they are missing out on! So every time we see them, I ask them if they want to try some of the food we’re serving. They say, “No, I don’t like it.” And I say, “How do you know? Have you ever tried it?” And they say, “No, I’ve never tried it, I just know I don’t like it.” We all know that’s just plain silly, yet so many kids do it. Of course they can’t know if they’ve never tried it! And every time I convince them to try something new, they always like it! Why do people do the same thing with the Lord and faith? How can they say they know they don’t want Him, and are fine not living by faith, when they haven’t even tried it? The Lord knows it’s human nature to be stubborn like that. That’s why He says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” Psalm 34:8. God knows we have to seek Him ourselves to really understand how good He is, not just take other peoples’ word for it or stay stuck in preconceived notions about faith and God.
People don’t think there are consequences for their lack of belief in the Lord Jesus Christ and consequences for their sins & actions. I can assure you this isn’t the case. Today’s culture seems free spirited, easy, and wonderful to many, while in fact, it is foolish, prideful, and dangerous. The Bible assures us that there is only one way to get to heaven, and only one proper way to live life, which is God’s way (not my way, or your way, or 7 billion other versions based on everyone’s opinions, desires, or what they think sounds best to them). And there are eternal consequences to a lack of faith in Him and the sins that ALL of us have committed (See the “Did You Know?” page).
Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things (sin) the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Ephesians 5:6
I am not offering my opinion. Every thought comes from the truth of God, and His Word, the Bible:
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God. 2 Timothy 3:16
For the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrews 4:12
As a born again Christian, I have witnessed that accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior, and acknowledging that His death on the cross is payment for all of our sins, is the #1 thing that matters in this world. To say it is life changing is an understatement. Knowing and accepting the Lord as my Savior immediately gave me the permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Not only was my life forever changed, I was literally changed, and as the Bible states in 1 Corinthians 6:19, the Holy Spirit is in me. This is the greatest gift in the whole world, that the Lord was willing to pay for my sins and spare me from an eternity in hell. Without His sacrifice and allowing me to be saved through accepting Him as my Savior, I would’ve been paying for my sins in hell for all eternity. Everyone will pay for their sins in hell unless they accept Him as their Savior. This is not a matter of opinion, it is the truth. It is fact. The Bible states “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23. “…There is no one who does good, not even one” Romans 3:12. Not only does He spare us from hell if we accept that His sacrifice on the cross is payment for our sins, (which shows incredible mercy, sparing us from something bad that we deserve) but He goes beyond that and offers an incredible gift through grace (giving us something good that we don’t deserve): an eternity spent in heaven instead!
The Lord loves each of us with a perfect love, a love beyond words. Can you believe that? Think of the imperfect, although wonderful, love we experience from one another. Love from family, friends, a spouse, children, etc… it’s all wonderful, but it’s never perfect. But the Lord loves us infinitely, and perfectly, and beyond words…it boggles my mind why anyone wouldn’t want that in their life. I pray that the Lord will open your heart to all He has to offer you. Don’t take my word for it, or blindly follow any other faith, religion, etc.- find out for yourself. We all put so much effort into researching health products, planning trips, comparing cars when it’s time to purchase a new one, etc., and are constantly willing to try out new things, seek out things we enjoy on social media, the list goes on and on… Why does faith get ignored? Put the same effort into what matters most—read the Bible to seek out information about God and faith, confess that you are a sinner, ask the Lord to forgive you and accept Him as your Savior, and never look back.
If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9