Reference: I Corinthians 1:10
How many times have you heard someone saythat it doesn't really matter what a person believes just as long as they aresincere with God? Have you ever heard a person say that as long as you believein Jesus and that you are a saved individual then one can believe what theywant to believe and that this should not cause a division among you? If you arethe type of person that may think this then please allow me to refresh yourmemory of what the apostle Paul has to say concerning this very importantsubject as found in our text of the firstchapter of the book of first Corinthians.Please notice that Paul says he beseeches us "in the name of the LordJesus Christ" that we are all to speak the very same thing and be inthe same mind and judgement.
Why then do we have so many people in thereligious world today saying that it doesn't really make any difference as towhat we may believe just as long as we believe in Jesus and have accepted himas personal Lord and Saviour? Any person who says that it doesn't matter whatwe believe is not of God. I say this because the very word of God tells us thatwe are to all speak the same thing. All true children of God will speak thesame thing simply because of the fact that they will all possess the HolySpirit and the Holy Spirit does not teach different teachings on differentdoctrines of the Bible.
The problem with most people today is thatthey will not let God be true and every man a liar. To let God be true ofcourse means that we absolutely must rely on what the Bible has to say on anygiven subject. The apostle Paul speaks of the simplicity of Christ in his manyepistles that he wrote. This simplicity is the very cause of why so many willnot walk in the light of truth.
It takes a very peculiar person who willdo exactly what the Bible says without trying to explain it away. We can onlyknow the things of God if we are willing to accept what he says in his word.Many people have been so indoctrinated with another gospel that they can't hearwhat the Bible truly has to say. When a person has been indoctrinated with acertain teaching they can't hear another teaching because their minds has beenclosed. Anytime your mind becomes closed this simply reveals that yourconscience has been seared.
The truth will not cause you to close yourmind from another teaching. A true born again child of God will be able tolisten to another person who may differ with them without getting mad or upsetsimply because their mind has not been seared shut. God's word of truth doesnot close the mind like a false teaching will. Any teaching that is not inaccord with the word of God will sear the conscience, because a false teachingis a lie. A lie cannot set an individual free. Only the truth can and will seta person free. To be free means that you are not confused about thingsconcerning your position with God.
If you are not free then you are not sureabout your spiritual condition. Only your walking in and receiving the truthwill set you completely free giving you perfect assurance about your spiritualcondition. People who say you can believe different things concerning spiritualmatters and yet be a child of God has been steeped in confusion and is totallyvoid of the saving truth of God's holy word. There are utterly millions ofpeople today who will tell you that it makes no difference as to which way youwere baptized in water just as long as you are baptized. They will say that ifyou take a certain stand on what way to be baptized that this will make you acontintious person. The average confessing christian today will call you atrouble maker if you stand on exactly what the Bible has to say on many of itsdifferent teachings that it contains.
Baptism is a very simple precept taught inthe word of God, which is one of the basic principals of the doctrine ofChrist. Stressing a lot of emphesis on this teaching will cause many people tocall you a religious fanatic. A deceived person will not take a stand ondoctrinal truths simply because they have not been taught them and also to do this will causemost people to disfellowship them. There will be very few people who are willingto walk in the truth as the Bible reveals it because to do so will cause thereligious world to reject you.
There are many doctrinal points that willcause people to hate and despise you if you adhere close to them. Water baptismis the most controversial teaching in the world today that will cause manypeople to hate you if you obey exactly what the Bible has to say on thissubject. The Bible plainly teaches baptism in the name of Jesus Christ, but tryteaching this truth in most of today's denominational churches and you willfind yourself to be an outcast.
One of the descriptions of a true bornagain child of God as revealed in the Bible is being hated and despised for thesake of the gospel. If you truly stand for what the Bible has to say then youwill be hated by the average confessing christian today because most confessingchristians will not accept and believe what the Bible has to say concerningmany different subjects.
Many people will not accept and believewhat the Bible has to say simply because of the fact that they would have tohumble themselves and admit they are wrong. The truth is very simple when youcome in contact with it. If you will listen to the average confessing Bibleteacher and preacher today you will find out that they do not teach thesimplicity of the scriptures, but rather they make their sermons to sound likethey are great theological professors.
If you do not have a degree in psycologyand schools of divinity, you will not be accepted in today's denominationalchurches. There is not a denomination in existence today that will allowanybody to preach exactly what the Bible has to say concerning its many truths.Most denominational churches can be marked as false by attempting to teach thesimple truth on the subject of water baptism in Christ's name as Peter preachedit in Acts 2:38.
According to God's word the body of Christwill all speak the same thing. This is because the Holy Ghost is the teacher oftruth and he certainly doesn't teach different things concerning thescriptures. The Bible tells us that the body of Christ is not divided, but yettaking a good look at today's denominational churches you will find them splittwenty ways to Sunday in what is believed and taught. They will not let thiscause them fail to assemble themselves together, but in reality they are not inChrist like they may think they are.
The body of Christ will come to the unityof faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God because the Holy Ghost is therevealer and teacher of the truth. The people who truly possesses the Spirit intheir hearts and lives are they who has open minds to receive what the Biblehas to say. They will place all their hope and trust in the word of God nomatter what the flesh may think of it....