We often worry about the apostasy that has encompassed much of the United States, particularly among the young and among the Democrat Party which has pretty much proclaimed themselves as the anti-religion party. But despite what we see and hear, sometimes perhaps we imagine things are not quite as bad as they seem. Yes, pro-choice activists push abortion up to the very moment of birth, but at the same time, the number of abortions actually performed in the U.S. fell 46.4% from 1990 to 2017, the last year for which figures are available. This gives a glimmer of hope that while the majority (59%) of Americans think abortions should be legal in most situations, far fewer of American women are actually getting abortions. And though many adult Americans are far less religious than their parents and grandparents, 55% of them still report that they pray at least once a day.
Unfortunately, many Americans are wandering from a true belief in the God of the Bible to a sort of vague faith in Something Cosmic. And along with that vagueness, come a number of frighteningly wrong notions. Here are only a few of them:
- Thirty percent of Americans believe that when they die, God will give them a second chance, a sort of “do-over.” This idea appeared in a Hallmark television movie a year or two ago in which someone came back to earth in order to do something good to make up for his shortcomings while he was alive. It made for an interesting movie, but it certainly wasn’t Biblical. Hebrews 9:27 reminds us that . . .” it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:” From Matthew 25:31–46 we read “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. Before him all the nations will be gathered, and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” And in Revelation 20:11-15 the Apostle John records:
11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before [c]God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. Andthey were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second [d]death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”
There is no second chance. This life is the only chance we have.
- 77% of all Americans believe that personal salvation is the result of good works. Hmm. Obviously they haven’t read Ephesians 2:8-9. Paul clearly states, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Nor have they read Titus 3:4-5. “4 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,”
We cannot work our way to heaven. We clearly cannot earn salvation through our good works. John 3:16 clearly states, “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.” It is through belief and acceptance of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross that we obtain salvation, not by any good works that we might do.
- 69% of church goers believe that everyone will go to heaven. This is an incredible statistic which suggests, perforce, that a large majority of our churches are not teaching the Bible. I remember attending a Church of Christ with a friend one Sunday, where the sermon was based on the French 20th century novel, The Little Prince. I read that novel in college and taught it in my fourth year French classes for years. It contains many good lessons for us to learn, but it is NOT the WORD of GOD! To refer to it in a scripturally based sermon is one thing, but to base an entire sermon upon the novel is not something that should happen in a Christian church.
So, what does the Bible say about everyone going to heaven? We already looked at the passage in Revelation which ends “And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” There is no equivocation there, no maybe. Your name is written in the Book of Life (in which case you go to heaven) or you are cast into the lake of fire, Hell. Obviously, then, not everyone will automatically go to heaven. Then how does one get ones name into the Book of Life if not every name is written there? Jesus himself tells us, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). The apostle Paul explains further in Romans 10:9-10 when he writes, “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”
But perhaps the most telling response to that belief comes again from the words of Jesus as recorded by Matthew in chapter 7, verses 13-14. “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
Thus not everyone will go to heaven. In fact, very few will make it there compared to those who end up in Hell.
- 65% of all Christians believe there are multiple paths to God. Again, this belief is refuted by Jesus when he says in John 14:6 “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” He is THE way. There is no other. Verses which reiterate this abound: Acts 4:12 – – “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” John 3:36 – “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” And 1 John 5:11-12 – “And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” And there are many more.
So, there is only one path to God and that is through belief in His Son, Jesus Christ.
- Perhaps the most distressing of all these statistics is that 46% of Evangelical Christians believe that God accepts the worship of all religions. Thus, a devout Buddhist will be accepted by God into heaven, as will a Wiccan, or a Jew, or a Muslim, or a Hindu. They believe that the worship of any god is accepted by God as worship of Him. If that were true, why did Paul find it necessary to preach to the Greeks on Mars Hill about Jesus when he saw they had erected an altar to “the unknown god” in order to cover all their bases? Surely if worship of all deities were accepted by God, then Paul could have cheerfully gone on his way to evangelize someone who believed in no god at all. In fact, why would Jesus have given his disciples the Great Commission, telling them “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age”? Why would we need missionaries?
The most clear statement that this idea is false come directly from God Himself when he wrote the 10 commandments upon the tablets of stone. The first leaves no room for doubt. “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” No other god but God. In Exodus 34, God warns his people, “Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be a snare in your midst. 13 But you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images (for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God).”
Christians often interpret parts of the Bible differently, but it is difficult to find scriptures that are clearer than these:
“And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” – no second chances.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” — We can’t work our way into heaven.
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” — Not everyone will get to heaven.
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” – There are not multiple paths to God.
“(for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God).”—God does not accept the worship of all religions’ gods as worship of Him.
I trust that you did not hold any of these beliefs, or that if you did, I have been able to demonstrate through the Word of God that these beliefs are incorrect. We must be diligent to study the Word so that we do not find ourselves among those spoken of by Jesus in Matthew 7 when He said “ “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”