Evaluating the Responses...Round 1

As we begin to press on with this series, we will be evaluating the responses of evangelicals to straight-forward statements from the survey that I referenced in my previous post.  That survey encompassed a whole host of topics that included the evangelicals' view of God, themselves and culture.  What I want to keep in the back of our minds through this entire series is this one statement, the bedrock upon which the foundation for the definition of evangelical was built by the survey team:

The Bible is the highest authority for what I believe.

Let's get started.

The first statement we will examine is this..."God accepts the worship of all religions including Christianity, Judaism and Islam."  56% of those who call themselves evangelical agree with this statement.  Is it true?  Let's go to the Scripture to find out because that is where the answer lies.

When God the Father gave the 10 Commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai, Exodus chapter 20 verse 3 is the first commandment He gave and it says, "You shall have no other gods before Me."  In verse 4, God gives the next commandment which is "You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth."  What is an idol?  In the immediate context of verse 4, an idol is something that a person makes, builds or crafts in order to worship it.  Does a golden cow ring a bell here?  But, in the broader context including verse 3, an idol is also a false god that really isn't a god at all.

The biblical writers, in both the Old and New Testaments, under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit, affirm that there is but one true God.

Genesis 1:1 speaks of one God who "created the heavens and the earth".  

Deuteronomy 4:39 says, "Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the LORD, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other".  

In Isaiah 45, the prophet Isaiah was given a prophecy about the Persian king Cyrus who would come hundreds of years later during the time of Daniel.  In verses 5 and 6 of Isaiah 45, we read this:

I am the LORD, and there is no other;

Besides Me, there is no God.

I will gird you, though you have not known Me;

That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun

That there is no one besides Me,

I am the LORD, and there is no other

Romans chapter 1, starting in verse 18, is a scathing rebuke from the apostle Paul.  It is directed toward those who know that there is one true God but suppress that knowledge in unrighteousness, making gods that are to their own desire.

Paul tells Timothy in his first letter that there "is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5).

There is no getting around the fact that there is but one true God presented in the Scripture.  All others are demonic fabrications and idols.  So, with this being said, would this one true God accept worship from all religions? 

John 4:23 and 24 say this:

But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.  God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.

Those who worship God must worship in truth.  What truth is spoken of here?  We find it in John 14:6. That verse says this:

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

We find some more truth in 1 Timothy 2:5:

For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.

We find a little more truth in Hebrews 7:25:

Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

Let's try to piece this together somewhat.

We learn from John 4 that those who worship God must worship in truth.  We learn the truth from John 14 and that truth is not a single person can come to God the Father unless they come to Him through Jesus.  We learn in 1 Timothy that there is only one mediator between God the Father and men.  That mediator is Jesus Christ.  That is simply another way to state the truth of John 14 that no one comes to the Father but through Jesus.  Hebrews 7 corroborates this truth by stating that He, being Jesus, is able to save forever those who draw near to God (or worship God) through Him (Jesus).

Having examined just a scant handful of Scripture, we have determined that God only accepts the worship that is offered to Him in truth.  That truth is that no one comes to the Father but through Jesus.  Therefore, God only accepts worship that is offered through the truths of Christianity.  Christianity is the only religion that looks to Jesus as the only hope of reconciliation to God. Christianity is the only religion that acknowledges that Jesus is the sinless Son of God who was offered as the sacrifice for sin.  All other religions see Jesus as a good teacher or a prophet of some kind and that is where the line is drawn.  

Worship is offered to God the Father in the manner He has prescribed, which is through Jesus, OR the worship being offered is worship being offered to a god that is not the God of the Bible.  It is a demonic entity and idol, pretending to be God and leading people down the wide path that leads to destruction.  

God's Word is not silent on this subject.  It is crystal clear and unambiguous.  May those who proclaim to be evangelical actually dig into it and know what it says.  May those who do not proclaim to be evangelical be led to a church that teaches this Word that they may find the Jesus contained within its pages.