Does it matter what we believe?

We really have to add to this question "if I am a Christian," since there are religions and systems of belief in the world where it is quite in order to encompass other systems also. Christianity is not one of these (though many professing Christians claim that it is). Thus Christianity can be said to be 'exclusive', as opposed to a religion which is 'inclusive', that is, which is prepared to admit other beliefs within its scope.

This situation could be amply demonstrated from the New Testament alone. But for good measure and to provide a background we will start with the Old Testament.

Israel were told in their earliest days as a nation, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." This was the beginning of the Ten Commandments, and was quite uncompromising. Israel did, as we know, take to themselves many other gods, choosing to follow the examples of the nations around them, rather than stick with their own religious system.

Before they settled in their own land after returning from slavery in Egypt, Moses forecast, "I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you … to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands" (Deuteronomy 31:29). We shall shortly bring out an interesting parallel with this from the New Testament.

It was a precondition of Israel's tenure in the land that they should drive out the nations and tribes that had settled there. The reasons for this are given on not a few occasions. Israel was warned about adopting heathen practices, "lest ye go and serve the gods of these nations" (Deuteronomy 29:18). A fuller instruction which worth consulting is to be found in Joshua 23:7-8.

As Moses had foretold, Israel repeatedly turned to foreign gods. This began a very short period of time after entry into their land, they having failed to drive out the heathen worshippers, and the Book of Judges is testimony to this. This situation continued through a succession of kings, many of whom introduced or actively encouraged heathen worship.

The prophet Isaiah, writing during the reign of some of these kings, remonstrated with Israel (=Judah, see below) over worshipping idols, citing the example of the man who takes a piece of wood, uses half of it to light the fire, and carves the other half into an image, which he then kneels down and worships! Isaiah 44 is the relevant chapter.

Israel, which by this time had split into two kingdoms, was taken into exile. The northern kingdom went first, then Judah, the southern kingdom. The reasons for the exile were two fold: their conduct and their worship. Some appalling things had taken place under some of their kings. For one example only, it is said that (King) Manasseh had "filled Jerusalem with innocent blood" (2 Kings 24:4). The worship of heathen deities had also increased so much that even the Temple was used promote this worship.

The New Testament is directed along similar lines. We are repeatedly told that Jesus Christ is the only means of salvation. Acts 4:12 (the Apostle Peter speaking) sums it up very clearly, "There is none other name under heaven … whereby we might be saved." After all, if it were not essential to believe in Jesus Christ, why did the Apostles bother preaching?

The Apostle Paul, in his speech to the Athenians, speaks of the time of ignorance before Christianity was preached. One of the motives for his speech is that Paul’s "spirit was stirred in him when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry" (Acts 17:16). In v.30 he says, "Now the times of this ignorance God winked at, but now commandeth men everywhere to repent."

Even in the early days of the Christian church, when the apostles were still alive, errors were creeping into various ecclesias. We read that "Hymenaeus and Philetus … have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already" (2 Timothy 2:17-18). Also of ongoing concern to the Apostle Paul were the Judaisers, Jewish Christians who wanted to enforce the law of Moses. In this regard see, for example, Paul’s letter to the Galatians.

As Moses had foretold the apostasy of Israel, so Paul foresaw apostasy in the church. He spoke in these terms to the elders of the ecclesia at Ephesus: "I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them." (Acts 20:28-29).

Paul’s fears were confirmed by the apostles Peter and John in their letters. "There shall be false teachers among you," writes Peter (2 Peter 2:1). John wrote that "many false prophets are gone out into the world," and talks of the "spirit of truth and the spirit of error." 1 John 4 is particularly concerned with this matter.

Such was the importance attached to belief in those earliest Christian times. It may be imagined, and presumably must be imagined by many adherents of the orthodox religious system, that all these problems were sorted out. However, there has to remain a very large question mark beside this assumption, and it is not the general inference of the New Testament that this would be the case by any means.

How, then, can we confirm whether the Christianity in which we believe, whatever that may be, is the Christianity that the apostles taught? In this connection, we strongly recommend a serious reading of the Bible. Certainly you are very welcome to browse among the pages of our website, and we hope that this will be a precursor to reading the Bible yourself.