By Cindy Phillips
God’s Word is true. It is the foundation of what a Christian should believe, and what you believe matters.
For example, if you do NOT believe Jesus is the Son of God who came to the earth in the flesh, lived a life without sin, died on the Cross, shedding His blood for YOUR sin and rose from the Dead (having victory over death) and ever lives (in Heaven) to make intercession for you, you will spend eternity in torment, alone and separated from all that is good.
This shows what you believe matters for eternity.
The enemy of God works very hard to make people doubt God’s Word. It was the way he deceived Eve and got Adam to sin. He twists the Scriptures in such a way, over time, religious traditions replace God’s Word. Jesus had very strong words for the religious people of His time that did this.
Mark 7:6-8, 13 (NASB) But He [Jesus] said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written:
‘This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far away from Me.
And in vain do they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.
…thereby invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.”
Here are some things I learned are not actually in Scripture; The lion will lay down with the lamb, God places your sin the Sea of Forgetfulness, when people die they become angels, God puts sickness on people to teach them a lesson. Pastor identified one such twisting on Sunday. He mentioned some, thinking they are being humble, say they are just sinners saved by grace. The Bible does not teach this. Why does it matter? It’s not as much about being right as it is the end result of this wrong belief. If you believe you are a sinner, will you resist sin? If you are a sinner, will you come boldly before the throne of grace, confident you will receive what you ask for?
The Apostle Paul references believers as “Saints” over 40 times. What does the Scripture actually say?
Romans 8:1 (NASB) Therefore there is now no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Eph 3:11-12 (NASB) This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.
Hebrews 4:16 (NASB) Therefore let’s approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace for help at the time of our need.
Hebrews 10:19 (NASB) Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus,
I want to encourage you to test what you believe and verify it in Scripture. Think about what you believe and the implications of that belief. Does it align with God’s Word? Don’t do it so you can know more than someone else, or so you can correct someone else. Do it because what you believe matters. The more you know the truth, the more you will be set free. You will grow in your walk with the Lord, becoming more and more like your Savior, when you seek the truth.