There Is Only One Bible Hope!
Introduction
Since the time man discovered that the earth was round and not flat like many experts had believed it was, men have been reluctant to just accept traditional beliefs that are not supported by some sort of proof.
As a result, many would be quick to suggest that man as a result has come a long way in his knowledge and understanding of this world in which we live.
But this is far from being true of man’s knowledge of the One Hope as revealed in the Bible.
If we were to take an overview of the many religious groups in the world today and their claims to know and teach the One Bible Hope, one would have to say that there is more confusion about true Bible teaching today than there ever has been.
In fact so much is this the case that the majority of religions today don’t even make a big fuss about what you believe in terms of whether its right or wrong. Membership is no longer based on common beliefs, despite the Bible clearly stating that all true believers are to be of “one mind”.
Ephesians 4:4-5
“There is one body and one spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all…”
Over the centuries man has woven into religion many non-Biblical teachings.
For this reason, many people today find Bible teaching as presented by the various religious groups as too incredible to believe, preferring to think of them as ancient beliefs and superstitions that offered a world with little scientific proof an explanation to life that has now outlived its usefulness or credibility.
By comparison, in ancient times believers in the Bible were clear and convinced of the things they believed to be the One Hope of the Bible to the point that they were prepared to die for it.
The twelve men Christ chose as his closest followers, when he was alive on this earth, all went to their deaths being convicted of the things they witnessed and were taught by him.
What’s more, these men were put to death in gruel ways like stoning, crucifixion, being cast into boiling hot cauldrons of oil and being thrown to the lions before spectators, many were tortured before this, which all goes to make their conviction all the more remarkable.
Later during the reformation in the 16th century many thousands of believers across Europe were burnt at the stake for their conviction in the One Hope of the Bible.
The world we live in today is a vastly different place in both beliefs and conviction.
Whilst we fully support the idea that we should challenge the validity of any teaching claiming to bring future benefit to those who accept it, neither should we disregard or mock anything we haven’t checked out for ourselves.
And it would seem reasonable to suggest that the teaching claiming the greatest benefit for its adherents are the ones most worthy of our time to check out.
The current confusion of bible teaching was something that the apostles of Christ prophesied as coming on the religious world even in their own day, but that it would increase there from unto the later days ie. the days before Christ’s Return to the Earth.
Current confusion– One bible many religions, does it really matter what we believe?
2Timothy 4:3-4
“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”
Acts 17:21
“Now all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.”
2Timothy 3:7
“…ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
So, the Bible is very clear that not all people who claim to believe in the Bible would believe in the Truth or the true message of the Bible. As sad as this is, sincerity ie. To be sincere with what you believe, is not enough to save you. Only the Truth can save you.
And there are many false beliefs in the world, so it is up to each one of us to find the Truth, this is a test by God of our Faith and Works to truly seek his Truth out.
This is what Paul said about this:
“Who (God) will render to every man according to his deeds: 7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life…” Romans 2:6-7
So if we truly seek after the Truth of God’s Word He will help us. This is what Paul is telling us here.
How did this present situation come about?
Well most false religious teaching today can be traced back in time to the rise of Christianity under Constantine who became the first pagan Roman Politician to see the spread in Christian follows as something to champion in order to win their support for his own political ends.
Hendrik Van Loon, in summarising the life of Constantine wrote:
(Constantine was revered as a saint by the Catholic Church)
“This wild Serbian who had wielded a spear on every battlefield of Europe, from York in England to Byzantium on the shores of the Bosphorus, was among other things the murderer of his wife, the murderer of his brother-in-law, the murderer of his nephew (a boy of 7), and the executioner of several other relatives of minor degree and importance.”
“That he lived and died a barbarian who had outwardly accepted Christianity, yet until the end of his days tried to read the riddle of the future from the steaming entrails of sacrificial sheep…”
“For the leaders of the Church in the first half of the fourth century were practical politicians…who elevated Christianity from the rank of a minor sect to the dignity of the official Church of the State.”
This is a very clear explanation of how we got into this current situation of false religion. In essence religion was taken over by politicians who saw the opportunity to ride on this popular movement and win the support of the people to rule.
However, when they got into power, like all good politicians they saw the need to centralise their power base or risk the threat that the ousted power support would rise again and through them out.
So, they merged Christianity in with pagan religion, firstly by the key calendar events or celebrations like December 25th on which day Nimrod’s rebirth was celebrated. This day they turned into Christ’s Birth even though he was born around July.
From here they slowly allowed more and more of the pagan traditions and beliefs to infiltrate Christianity and Bible Truth. You can trace all this in the history of religion and see when false beliefs were adoption eg. Infant sprinkling, the Trinity, Immortal soul and so on.
Here is a very quick summary of some of the conflicting Church vs Bible beliefs:
| The Churches Teach | The Bible Teaches |
| · There is a mysterious Trinity, “One God yet Three”
|
· “To us there is but one God the Father…and one Lord Jesus Christ” (1Cor 8:6) |
| · Purgatory is a place of temporary punishment for departed souls
|
· “For the living know that they shall die, but the dead know not anything…their love, hatred, envy is perished” (Ecc. 9;5-6) |
| · The soul is immortal and cannot be destroyed | · “The soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Ez 18:4) “All have sinned” (Rom 6:4) |
| · Sprinkling of infants constitutes baptism
· Heaven is a place of reward and hell is a place of torment
|
· “If thou believest with all thine heart thou mayest be baptised” (Acts 8:37)
· “No man hath ascended into heaven: (Jn 3:13) “In death there is no remembrance of Thee” and “the meek shall inherit the earth” (Psa 6:5, Matt 5:5) |
| · Satan is a supernatural evil being causing men to sin
|
· “Whatsoever thing from without entereth into a man cannot defile him…from within out of the heart of man proceed evil thoughts etc…” (Mk 7:18-22) |
Here is a quick summary of when some of these beliefs crept into Christianity:
| GROWTH OF FALSE TEACHING and the year in which it came to prominence… | Year of Teaching |
| Immortality of the soul | 124 AD |
| Pre-human existence of Christ | 124 AD |
| Sprinkling instead of immersion | 150 AD |
| Infant baptism | 180 AD |
| Constantine triumphs the Christian cause and makes apostate Christianity the state religion and forms what has become known as The Roman Catholic Church | 312 AD |
| Jesus a person within the Godhead | 325 AD |
| “Holy Ghost” a person within the Godhead | 381 AD |
| Doctrine of purgatory | 431 AD |
| Exaltation of Mary “the Mother of God” | 431 AD |
From this we can clearly see how false teaching has infiltrated religion and today without people searching this out, they would not even have any idea about this.
You owe it to yourself to learn what the real true teaching of the Bible is!
So what is Bible Truth– i.e. What is God’s purpose all about and how are we involved in this?
What must we do now?
- Search the scriptures, for they alone can teach us the Truth
- “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” Philippians 2:12
- “study to show ourselves approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed” 2 Timothy 2:15
