{"id":689,"date":"2021-05-21T16:41:34","date_gmt":"2021-05-21T16:41:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/angelobiblestudy.com\/?page_id=689"},"modified":"2021-05-21T16:46:41","modified_gmt":"2021-05-21T16:46:41","slug":"truth-and-feeling","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/angelobiblestudy.com\/?page_id=689","title":{"rendered":"Truth and Feeling"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Truth and Feeling<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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by Kyle Butt, M. Div.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Many people in society contend that there is no absolute right way to do things. The idea is that one way might be right for you, but not for another person. Each person does what feels right to him, and that is right for him. This view says that your way is fine for you and my way is fine for me, and everyone does what he thinks is right. Each way is as good as another and none should be called\u00a0the<\/strong>\u00a0right way.<\/p>

This idea is especially common in religion. The masses are content to believe that one religion is as good as another. Most think that as long as a person is sincere in what he believes, then that person is alright. According to this idea, the various religions, denominations, churches, and synagogues are all just different ways to get to the same place. Those who think this way do not believe that any one religion is\u00a0the<\/strong>\u00a0right religion. It might be the right religion or church for you, but it cannot be\u00a0the<\/strong>\u00a0right religion, because they believe there is no\u00a0one right religion or church<\/strong>. Is this idea correct? Is there no real, absolute truth? Are all churches and religions just as good as another? Let\u2019s see how this idea works in real life.<\/p>

Suppose a math teacher places the following problem on the board for her class 2 + 2 = ____. She explains to her class that this is an all-or-nothing quiz. The correct answer is worth 100 points. A wrong answer results in a zero. Suppose a person feels very sure that the answer is five. In fact, suppose the teacher goes out of the room and the entire class votes that the answer is five. Furthermore, suppose the history teacher comes in while the math teacher is out, and explains that the answers three, four, and five should be acceptable as long as each student firmly believes that the answer he or she writes is right. Is any answer except four going to be right? Absolutely not!<\/p>

Sadly, people do not see that the same principle applies to religion. In Matthew 7:13-14, Jesus said: \u201cEnter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is\u00a0the gate<\/strong>\u00a0and difficult is\u00a0the way<\/strong>\u00a0which leads to life, and there are few who find it.\u201d In John 14:6, Jesus boldly stated: \u201cI am\u00a0the way, the truth, and the life<\/strong>. No one comes to the Father except through Me.\u201d It really is as simple as 2 + 2. There is only one way to heaven, and Jesus is it. This is hard for some people to accept, but it is the truth\u2014the absolute, unchanging truth. All those people who are trying to get to heaven through Buddha, Muhammad, Judaism, or countless other religions will be lost if they do not turn to Jesus and do things His way.<\/p>

It also is the case that many sincere people\u00a0feel<\/strong>\u00a0that they are doing right, but are not. The apostle Paul is a great example of this. Paul (whose name was first Saul) thought that Christians were wicked. He thought they were pulling people away from the true way to heaven that he believed was found in the Jewish religion. Because of this sincere belief, he persecuted the Christians. He obtained authority from Jewish authorities to throw Christians in prison. When Christians were on trial for their lives, Paul voted that they should be killed. He sincerely believed that he was doing what God wanted him to do. In Acts 23:1, while he was speaking to the Jewish leaders, Paul said, \u201cI have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.\u201d Paul\u00a0felt<\/strong>\u00a0as though he was serving God, but he was not. In fact, he was serving Satan and fighting against God, in spite of his sincere motive. He was sincere, but sincerely wrong.<\/p>

When Christ appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus, He told him that he was sinning (Acts 9). He instructed Paul to go into the city of Damascus where he would be told what he must do to get right with God. Saul believed Jesus, and did exactly as he was instructed. After Paul prayed and fasted for three days, a man named Ananias came to Paul and told him to \u201carise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord\u201d (Acts 22:16). Paul was baptized for the remission of his sins, and was added to the one true church that belongs to Christ. Paul\u2019s sincerity did him no good until he found and obeyed the truth.<\/p>

In John 8:32, Jesus explained, \u201cAnd you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.\u201d Later, Jesus explained that God\u2019s Word \u201cis truth\u201d (John 17:17). We have been given God\u2019s Word\u2014the Bible. Jesus said that these words will judge us in the last day (John 12:48). At the Judgment, our lives will be compared to the\u00a0truth<\/strong>\u00a0found in the New Testament. If we have followed Jesus\u2019 words, we will go to heaven. If we have not followed them, regardless of how sincere we were, we will go to hell.<\/p>

North is always north, two plus two always equals four, and Jesus is the only way to get to God and heaven. Let us live our lives, not according to what \u201cfeels\u201d right, but according to the truth that is found only in the Bible.<\/p>

First, an individual contemplating his spiritual life must understand that the reason there is even something for him to do is because he has sinned. Everyone who has reached the level of mental maturity (sometimes referred to as \u201cthe age of accountability\u201d) so that he or she understands what sin is (cf. 1 John 3:4; 5:17), has sinned (Romans 3:10,23; 1 John 1:8). [The one exception, of course, was Jesus\u20141 Peter 2:22.] Sin is that which separates man from God (Isaiah 59:1-2). For a person to be saved, he first must have knowledge that he is a sinner, and as such stands in a lost condition. One of the reasons Jesus condemned certain Jewish priests, elders, and sects was because they did not admit their sinfulness after hearing the preaching of John the baptizer (Matthew 21:31-32)\u2014though the tax collectors and harlots (i.e., sinners) did acknowledge their sin, and believed.<\/p>

Second, the one who aspires to become a Christian must know something about Jesus\u2014the One Who came to save us from our sins (Luke 19:10; John 3:16; Romans 5:6-8). A person does not have to know every one of Jesus\u2019 parables, or be able to quote the Sermon on the Mount, but he must know that Jesus is the Son of God Who died and was raised so that all men might have their sins forgiven and live eternally with Him in heaven (Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 2:9). In other words, before becoming a Christian, a person must have heard the Gospel (Good News) of Jesus Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4).<\/p>

Finally, the individual who aspires to become a child of God must realize there is something for him to do (cf. Acts 2:38; 16:30; 8:36). If one understands that the Bible says he must believe that Jesus is the Son of God (John 8:24), repent of his sins (Luke 13:3,5), confess that Jesus is God\u2019s Son (Romans 10:10), and be baptized for the remission of his sins (Acts 2:38), he or she then possesses enough knowledge to put on Christ in baptism (Galatians 3:27) and become a Christian, being added by God to the church that Christ established (Acts 2:47; Matthew 16:18; Romans 16:16).<\/p>

Contrary to the belief of some, a person who desires to become a Christian does not have to know the whole Bible thoroughly before he takes action. Nor is there a need to have every question imaginable answered. The Ethiopian eunuch heard one Christ-centered lesson from Philip before asking, \u201cWhat hinders me from being baptized\u201d (Acts 8:35-36)? The three thousand on Pentecost heard only one Gospel sermon before accepting the grace of God and obeying the plan of salvation (Acts 2:41). They did not wait around for years, thinking they were not knowledgeable enough to be followers of Christ. Rather, they were convinced of their sins (Acts 2:37), heard the Gospel, believed it, and obeyed it. It is\u00a0after<\/b>\u00a0one becomes a Christian that God commands us a person to \u201cgrow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ\u201d (2 Peter 3:18), and to continue to study the Word in order to teach others (Hebrews 5:12; 1 Peter 3:15).<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Truth and Feeling by Kyle Butt, M. Div. Many people in society contend that there is no absolute right way to do things. The idea is that one way might be right for you, but not for another person. Each person does what feels right to him, and that is right for him. This view […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-689","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","wpbf-post"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t