DOES IT REALLY MATTER?

Proverbs 16:25

    There is a way that seems right to a man,

        but in the end it leads to death.

                There is a common misconception in our society today that it really doesn’t matter what a person believes. This assertion is couched in the rhetoric of tolerance. We are constantly being told that all philosophies, life-styles, and theologies are equal. We are expected to openly embrace other people’s views without asserting our own. This may make for a good sound bite, but it doesn’t work in the real world.

                We are experiencing the Achilles heal of the tolerance movement today. It seems that tolerance works only in one way. It is only applied when we are talking about “liberal and progressive” ideas. If a person’s beliefs are traditional and conservative, then they are intolerant. Whether we agree with our new President or not, he has mobilized an up-to-this-point silent segment of our society who have been afraid to speak up. Yet when they express their views in public, they are labeled as bigoted and intolerant.

                I speak of this only to raise the question, does it really matter what we believe? When it comes to the area of faith, the answer we are given is no. All faith traditions lead in the same direction, so it doesn’t really matter what you believe. When it comes to the area of morality, we receive the same answer, with a twist. We are told that our morality is a private affair; that we have to accept all expressions of sexuality as valid and equal, and that we have no right to label anything as right or wrong. Ultimately the message that is being loudly trumpeted in our society today is that is really doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you don’t impose it on others.

                The Bible gives us a very different answer to the question, does what we believe really matter? The Bible is clear that what we believe, truly believe in the depth of our being, shapes who we are and where we are headed. All of us have superficial beliefs that don’t translate into real life expression. But our core beliefs really do make a difference.

                Many people believe that they can live their lives without God in the picture. They have chosen to be their own god and make up their own rules. They believe that they are truly masters of their own souls. But Solomon sheds a very different light on that idea.  There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. Proverbs 16:25

                Many people believe that all spiritual paths lead to God; that all religions are the same, so it doesn’t matter which one you follow. But a close examination of the major religions of the world reveal quickly that all religions are not headed in the same direction. They do not agree upon what the end goal is. They do not agree on how a person gets to the end goal. All religions, except Christianity, are dependent upon what the individual can do to earn their spot in the desired end.

                Christianity stands apart from all the rest. Attaining the ultimate end, eternal life with God in heaven, is not attained by human effort, but by what Jesus did for us on the cross. We cannot earn our salvation, we can only receive it by faith in Christ. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

                Jesus made it crystal clear that there is only one way to heaven and that is through faith in Him.    Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6) How could Jesus make that claim? Because He is God incarnate. He is the one who created this world in the first place and established the rules for living. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. (John 1:1-3) He is the only one who has the right to set the agenda for all of humanity.

                Does it really matter what we believe? Yes! Our very lives depend upon it. We have the freedom to choose whatever path we want to take, but our choice really does matter. Jesus warns us to choose wisely. "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:13-14

                A day is coming when every individual will have to give an account of their life. It will not matter how sincere we were in our beliefs, if we have chosen to place the ladder of our faith against the wrong wall, we will discover a dark end. As followers of Christ, we cannot afford to be careless about what we believe. As Paul told Timothy, our very souls are at stake. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. 1 Timothy 4:16

2 Corinthians 5:10

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.