Stop listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge.

Proverbs 19:27, NIV (1978)

Not everyone who says to Me, "Lord, Lord," will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 7:21, NIV (1978)

 

I suppose we have all done it. We've been on a trip to somewhere new and have somehow gotten off track. And the aggravating thing was that we had already consulted a map, so we knew the right way, only to get mixed up somewhere along the line and get lost. This has happened to me more than once when going through a big city. The map I looked at earlier clearly showed that if I would just stay on the Interstate that I would be alright. But while going along I came to a fork in the road and mistakenly took the wrong one because I was so sure that I knew my way, only to later find that this confidence in my own memory was ill-placed.

 

At other times I have gotten lost even though I had been on that very road before and made it to the place I was going with no problems. But then for some reason, I got distracted or the way was not as fresh in my mind as it had been the last time I was that way, and I ended up going in the wrong direction. It seems like every time I have done this that it was in traffic, and I couldn't get to my lane in time to make the correction once I had finally realized my mistake.

 

In both types of situations, I was a victim of my own ignorance. I had forgotten a way that I had previously seen was right, only to end up lost for a while and far from my destination. The problem could have been easily avoided if I had continued to consult the map or GPS instead of relying on my own memory.

 

And this, in a nutshell, is why we need to keep on reading the Bible. It's true that the more often we read it the more familiar the passages will become. Because of this very familiarity, we might be tempted to think we have it "all knowed up" as one of my favorite preachers used to say. But by relying on our memory (or even worse, our own opinion) we often find ourselves thinking that we are on the right path, only to find ourselves miles away from home and hopelessly lost.

 

This is why we keep reading the Bible: It's so we won't get lost! 

 

When Jesus made the statement we read above from the book of Matthew, He was addressing one of the most common human failings that exist. People want to do the right thing, but they are often so confident of their own thoughts that they miss the way entirely. There are a lot of us who acknowledge that Jesus is Lord, and this is a great start. However, good intentions must be matched by good actions, and in this specific case those actions must be precise. Since heaven is on the line, you have to admit that we have a pretty powerful incentive for double checking our instructions so that we can make sure we remain on the right path.

 

The good news is that the "map" we refer to was made easy to understand by a loving Father who does not want us to get lost. That was His part, and He did it perfectly. Our part is to make sure that we follow these instructions as close to the mark as humanly possible. If we don't, the warning reveals, we will stray from the path. But if we continually refresh our memories by continually reading God's word, we are going to be alright.

 

Are you a regular reader of the Bible, even though you may have already read it a hundred times before? If so, you are likely to reach your preferred destination. If not... well, I think you already know the answer to that.

The first to present his case seems right, till another comes forward and questions him.

Proverbs 18:17, NIV (1978)

 

Understanding this particular truth will help you in just about every important avenue of life, but in none more important than your salvation.

 

It is a fact that the first thing you learn on a matter is probably the way you will believe all of your life. If you have a teacher who insists that you use your right hand when learning to write, you will most likely write with your right hand all of your life. If your parents tell you that one political party is good and the other bad, you will likely follow their lead. And if you are raised in a certain religion or denomination, it is likely you will remain in that religion or denomination until you die.

 

Of course, these things are natural and can be quite useful when the information is used properly. For example, I didn't have to set my hand directly on top of a stove to discover it was on, because I was taught to feel for heat without touching first. I never ate rat poison, because I believed my parents when they first told me it was bad. Most people would agree that these things are good and that trust in these types of instruction are vital to our safety and well-being.

 

However, as we grow older, it is important that we see the critical need of going back and questioning the things we have learned if we are to ever have a hope of coming to a knowledge of the truth. For example, when I left home for college, I essentially left with my parent's faith instead of my own. Because my faith was weak, it didn't take too much to shake that faith. Before you knew it, I was questioning everything - a good thing, but I was also rejecting some of the good information for no other reason than I had discovered that a portion of my understanding was flawed. And while it is true that it helped me to "cull" my life of the things that were incorrect, I also rejected some very important truths.

 

I was like the cat that Mark Twain spoke of: It is true that, once having sat on a hot stove, a cat will not sit on a hot stove again. It is also true that it will never sit on a cold one!

 

This is the way that a lot of people go through life: They either accept everything as first learned and no amount of facts will ever convince them even when they are wrong, or they will question everything to the point that they become so cynical that they will never accept the truth no matter how obvious that truth is.

 

There is perhaps no area in life that this is more dangerous than in our faith!

 

Far too many people have rejected a proper faith simply because they ran into hypocrites that mishandled the truth. On the other side, there are just as many people who cannot ever learn anything new (including in areas that their training has been flat out wrong) for the simple reason that it is "faith" and that they believe what they believe because they believe it, and nothing will ever change that. These people may be mistaking their superstition and pre-conceived ideas for faith, but good luck convincing those who refuse to use reason when it comes to matters of faith.

 

Because of these two things, many people are literally hell-bound but are absolutely convinced of the exact opposite!

 

So, what is the solution? If we are in danger of being misled, some will conclude that they shouldn't even bother. After all, if people "smarter" than us disagree on religion, who are we to try and figure it out? However, this is a fatal philosophy because if they don't even try, then they are doomed. So, do we just live in fear and wait for that doom? The answer to that is clearly "no" for two reasons. First, if the Bible is correct then heaven and hell are both very real places, and we are going to be in one or the other whether we believe it or not. Since our eternities are resting on our getting this knowledge, we better do all we can to make sure that we have all the information that we possibly can obtain.

 

As important as this first point is, it pales in comparison to the truth of the second: God and Christ are worth our finding out for sure. God created us and gave us this choice of being in hell (which we all deserved) or by His grace living with Him forever in Paradise. Because of this (and His great love for us) He gave His only begotten Son to die on the cross for our sins! And because Jesus loved us so much, He was willing to go to that cross on our behalf. Such love demands that we get it right, and that means that we put the effort into finding out His truth from His word so that we can get it right. 

 

The fact is that heaven is too beautiful to miss. It is further true that this life can also be beautiful if we will just live it in the way that His word (the Bible) reveals that it is to be lived. And while we are very grateful to our parents and our preachers and our Bible class teachers for first introducing us to the Bible, we must build upon the knowledge that we have gained from other good people and read the Bible for ourselves. To do anything else is to risk our very eternities. More pertinent than even that is if we do not make certain of the truths that God has revealed to us in His word, we would effectively be minimizing and dishonoring these great things that He and Christ have done for us.

 

It is true that our parents and Bible teachers love us and would have never intentionally misled us when it came to our education on God... but it is also true that many, many people have made fatal mistakes in these very areas down through the years because they had a fatal misunderstanding of the truth themselves. They may not have known they were wrong; in fact, they were convinced that they were right, but they were just as in danger in the end of being lost if they were mistakenly wrong, as they would have been if they were intentionally wrong.

 

It is important to understand that the first to present their case seems right, but that they are sometimes wrong. Part of our responsibility in life is to "correctly handle the word of truth" (II Timothy 2:15). One of the ways that we can do this is to trust those who have first introduced us to God and His word, but then to go to the effort of studying that very word for ourselves to make sure that both their understanding and ours is correct. 

 

One last thing: If we do find that there has been a mistake in the way we were taught. why not go to the person who taught you and talk about it? It's true that they might be offended, for some people would rather be perceived as being right than actually admitting a mistake. However, for those who have a heart for serving God in the right way, they will be eternally grateful that you have showed them where you both might have been wrong. You can then investigate it together in order to find out the truth. I believe that you will find that those who love God will desire nothing less than acquiring and understanding the whole truth in order that they might live the most pleasing and fruitful life that they can in their service to God and Christ.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. 

Proverbs 3:5-6, NASB

 

We sometimes focus so much on the things that are wrong in this world and our personal lives, that we often forget to enjoy life.

 

It's easy to do, isn't it? We listen to the news and hear what is wrong with everything and everybody. We look to our own lives and can see things that we really wish were different. Sometimes we struggle with poor health and grief. Sometimes we wrestle with those whose views on how things ought to be done are different than ours. We often get dissatisfied with our own personal lot in life, and sometimes that leads to anger or confusion or depression.

 

Yet, when we honestly appraise our lives, what do we really have to be so discontent about? We live during a wonderful era in which medical and technological advances have never been higher. We have a level of comfort that has rarely been seen throughout all of history. We have access to good education and enjoyable physical pursuits. Add that to the variety of foods that would have made kings jealous in times gone by. Why, we can even get fresh strawberries in the dead of winter, and fresh seafood a thousand miles away from the nearest ocean!

 

If we don't like our present job, we can typically find one we like more. If we don't like our present location, we can find opportunities to move. Most college students who are not satisfied with their current environment can often check out of one university in five minutes and move on to another one more to their liking even if it's on the other side of the country.

 

So why is it, with all of these choices and modern-day conveniences, that so many people are unhappy? I think it's because people have been focusing on the wrong things!

 

The fact is that God really is God and He really does love us. He has given us the perfect environment in which to serve Him, and He gives us all the help that we could possibly ask for. And when we make mistakes, He provides a way to correct those mistakes. He has given us the perfect set of understandable instructions in the Bible, and He has given us an open invitation to talk to Him in prayer anytime we feel the need to do so. He has given us the opportunity to surround ourselves with pleasant people, and if we have failed to take advantage of those opportunities, He gives us another chance to make things right.

 

He loves us so much that He put us here in the first place. He watches over our lives with a genuine concern that no parent could match. And if that were not enough, He gives us the option of spending an eternity with Him. And though all have sinned and fall short of this great offer, He allowed His only begotten Son to die for those very sins. And as for those who are given over to that anger and confusion and depression we mentioned earlier? He gives us a second chance to come out of those negative lifestyles and enjoy a peace and happiness that few people have known.

 

So, what's the catch? And, of course, there is one - and a very big one at that. We have to learn to trust Him and His ways instead of leaning on our own understanding. Furthermore, we have to acknowledge Him in all of our ways and admit that our way - those ways that led to anger and confusion and depression - were not the best way after all. If we can do that, He will make our paths straight. But what does that mean? It means that instead of walking down those crooked paths that we were so sure were shortcuts to happiness, that we now turn to His straight and righteous path that leads to heaven.

 

His path will appear to be too hard to some - that's okay, for quality results were never intended for those who refuse to put in the quality efforts! However, for those who are willing to admit that they were not smarter than God after all, for those who are willing to trust in He and Jesus with all of their heart, for these people there will be a life that is unimaginably good. And then, there will be heaven!

 

This, then, is the key to a good life! The only question that remains is this: Are we wise enough to see it?

This is what the LORD says - Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and the last; apart from me there is no other God...

All who make idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Those who would speak up for them are blind; they are ignorant to their own shame.

Isaiah 44:6 & 9, NIV (1978)

Let it be known to all of you and to all of the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead - by Him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 

And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

Acts 4:10-12, ESV

 

Will good people of every faith be saved? In other words, will Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, and even good atheists (to name but a few) be found worthy of salvation on that final day? Or how about those good Jewish people who have continued to follow the Old Law of Moses even after Jesus came to this earth some 2,000 years ago - what about them? And what about those who believe in the name of Christ, but have done anything but live in a faithful manner before God - will they be saved?

 

The answer will disappoint many, but I cannot make that final judgment - and neither can you, for Judgement is the sole realm of God. Those who would presume to take His place have already been commanded by Christ to not make these judgments, lest they too be judged.

 

Having said that, we are not left without a pretty good idea as to what God feels about this very topic by the verses above. 700 years before Christ came - a time when Abraham's descendants were still bound to the law of Moses and a time when the Gentiles were still a law unto themselves, at that very time, God indicated that those who made idols were nothing! In case that was not plain enough, He further stated that those who would speak up for them were not only blind, but that they were ignorant to their own shame. So you see, even those Gentiles who were still effectively under the patriarchal era and a law unto themselves could not make the wrong decision and worship anyone other than the Lord.

 

And after the cross and resurrection? Well, Peter made God's position crystal clear when he stated through inspiration of the Holy Spirit that salvation could be found in no one else other than Jesus Christ. 

 

The point of all this is to make clear that while we do not have the responsibility (nor the right) of judging other's eternities, we do have the right (and the responsibility) to make certain observations. We have the right to observe whether or not someone is in Christ or not. We have the responsibility to seek and save the lost, and if we do not recognize that state in which people appear to be in danger of being lost then how can we ever help them? For that matter, how can we say that we know enough to be saved ourselves?

 

It takes discernment, but we are intelligent people, and God expects us to use the mind that He has given us. Consider a lifeguard on duty at the local kid's pool. He does not have the responsibility of making moral judgments about the individual swimmers, but he is charged with keeping an eye on everyone in order to see if there are any swimmers in danger of drowning. And if he sees someone who appears to be drowning, he jumps in and rescues them from danger. If they are not breathing, he gives them resuscitation. By doing so he is making no judgment as to the person's swimming ability, nor is he determining their worthiness of being saved. He just does his job.

 

And that's the focus we Christians need to have. We don't need to make eternal judgments on someone's soul before seeing that someone might be at risk of being lost, but we do need to be observant enough to realize that they are in danger. Furthermore, we need to have enough compassion and love for one another to have a genuine affection and concern for our fellow man. 

 

Having said all that, there are then certain signs we can be looking for in order to determine if someone needs help. Are they an idol worshipper? That's easy, for God has spoken on this very subject. They have an ignorance that is keeping them from Christ, so try to do something constructive to alleviate that ignorance. Next, are they involved in a religion that does not recognize Jesus as the Son of God? We are clearly told in Scripture that salvation is only in Christ, so again we have a clear answer to our dilemma: They do not have Christ, and they are therefore at risk. Do something about it!

 

Finally, what do we do about those who acknowledge a belief in Christ, but are by no means living the Christian life? Or what do we do about those who say they have come to Christ, but in a different way than the Word of God commands? In these cases, we do our best to study with them. A word of caution though, for sometimes our studies reveal a flaw in our own understanding of God's commandments. Should that be the case, then we are obligated to repent and change from our wrong direction just as much as the one we are concerned about.

 

The bottom line is this: We have been far too concerned with a judgment that we have no right to make, and not nearly concerned enough about helping those who may not have Christ in their lives. So, when someone asks you whether or not this person of this particular faith is saved or not, don't fall into the trap of rendering a judgment that only God has the right to make. And whether or not someone is saved might not actually be the best question. The best question might be, do they have a hope of salvation? If the answer to that question is "I'm not sure" then do something about it. The lifeguard does not wait to see if the person that has slipped beneath the water's surface is diving for treasure or is drowning, he just leaps into action in order to provide any rescue that might be needed.

 

Perhaps we should be doing the same.