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For generations, millions of otherwise rational beings, claiming to be disciples of Jesus, have mouthed the slogan: “It makes no difference what you believe, as long as you are sincere in following that belief.” Of course, they do not really believe this when put to the test. They correctly do not believe it when applied to Buddhists, Hindus, or Muslims, and certainly not to Atheists.
What they really mean is that one can believe and/or practice almost anything and be acceptable to God, as long as one claims to “believe” in Jesus of Nazareth as the Son of God.
Men do not entertain such a “sincere-only” credo in any other area of life besides religion. The more sincerely one believes the spiel of the con artist, the more he will be victimized. Armies have been defeated, ships sunk, marriages destroyed, and governments toppled because of belief of a lie. Is sincere belief of error in religion as valid as belief of the Truth?
The Old Testament unequivocally answers, “No.” A young prophet of Judah lost his life for sincerely believing one who should have been entirely trustworthy—an older prophet. The inspired writer said simply, “But he lied” (1 Kin. 13:18). On Mt. Carmel, 450 prophets of Baal proved their sincerity by imploring his response in shedding their own blood (1 Kin. 18:22–29). Every Old Testament condemnation of idolatry demonstrates the fact that sincere belief of religious lies is disastrous. The apostle Paul did not subscribe to the dictum that belief of error in religion is inconsequential, however sincere. He described those who “received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” Instead, he said they “believe a lie,” and that all “who believed not the truth” would “be damned” (2 The. 2:10–12, KJV). “Let God be true, but every man a liar” (Rom. 3:4; cf. Gal. 1:6–9).
Jesus Christ said that Truth—not error—in matters of the soul, makes men free (John 8: 32). He defined truth in religion as the Word of God (17:17). He called religious leaders of his day—enslaved by religious error—“blind leaders of the blind” and said that leader and follower alike would “fall into the ditch” (Mat. 15:14). The sincerity of one’s believing and following a lie in religion will not only not prevent his fall, but rather will be the cause of it. The same destiny awaits the blind follower. Jesus said that those who would enter Heaven will not do so by believing what they like, but by doing the Father’s will (Mat. 7:21–23). The “it-matters-not-what-you-believe” slogan in religion is simply the precursor to the “your-truth, my-truth, no-truth” Postmodernism nonsense that curses today’s society in both the secular and religious realms.
[Note: I wrote this article for and it was published in The Lighthouse, weekly bulletin of Northpoint Church of Christ, Denton, TX, February 6, 2009, of which I was editor.]
Attribution: From thescripturecache.com; Dub McClish, owner and administrator.
