New Survey Shows Most Self-Described Christians Ignore Biblical Truth

Shortly after Christ was captured by Roman soldiers, at the insistance of the Jewish leaders, He was brought before Pontius Pilate. As the Roman governor of Judea, Pilate could pass sentence on Christ, or free Him.

As Pilate considered the fate of the Savior, he asked Him, "What is truth?"

The Greek word that is translated "truth" is aletheia (pronounced al·ay·thi·a). This word means, essentially: that which is objective in any matter. Another definition is: certainty, fact.

Truth is a question mankind has wrestled with, and, according to a new survey from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public life, Christians today fail to recognize what is truth.

Before I jump to the results of the survey, let's cover a few Biblical definitions of truth:

• God is truth (Deut 32:4, Isa 65:16) and His truth is unchanging (Num 23:19, Titus 1:2)
• The Bible is God's Word (Isa 34:16, Rom 1:2)
• The Bible is True (Psalm 119:160)
• Christ is truth (John 1:17)
• The gospel is truth (Eph 1:13, 1 Thess 2:13)

From this we know that the Bible is the true Word of God, and that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is part of that truth.

What is the gospel of Jesus Christ?

In John 14:6, Jesus answers Thomas about the only path to heaven when He says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through me."

Further, as you read the Bible, you discover that the path to Christ is repentance from sin (Matt 4:17, 2 Cor 7:10, Rev 3:3), and surrendering your life to Christ (Rom 6:19, Col 4:1, 1 Cor 7:22).

The Bible also warns us that many people will miss the truth of the gospel. Read Matthew 7:13-14:

"Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it."

It appears that most of America's self-reporting Christians are looking at a wide gate.

Note: The term Christian, as used by the survey, is self-reported. That is, a person is a "Christian" if they call themselves a Christian. This is an objective standard. For the balance of this article, you can assume that I am using the objective standard. However, my desire is that people turn to God's standard (as shown above) and become true Christians.

Consider the fact that this new study finds that most Christians in America believe that you need not be a repentant slave to Christ to obtain salvation.

In fact, an astounding 65% of Christians say that many religions can lead to salvation! Before you dismiss this number and think, "well, there are Episcopal's and Baptists and Lutherans..." that is NOT what the survey respondents meant by "many religions". Upon further questioning, the Pew Forum discovered,

• More than 8 in 10 say that at least one non-Christian religion can provide Salvation.
• 69% say that Judaism provides salvation
• 52% say that salvation can be found in Islam
• 53% say Hinduism can provide salvation
• An astonishing 56% say that people with "no religious faith" can still obtain salvation, and
  
• Most amazingly, 42% say that atheists can obtain salvation.
  

How? Well, according to the survey respondents, all of these people can achieve salvation by what they believe or by their actions. What Bible verse is that?

If these self-reported Christians do not understand how others can achieve eternal life, what does that say about their own walk with the Lord?

Please, if your views conflict with the scripture above about the gospel, consider the following passage from Matthew 7:21-23,

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

Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?'

And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'"

The only way we can know the truth... the only way we can share the truth... the only way to obtain salvation is to search out the truth of the gospel in the Bible.

The Bible is truth. The gospel is truth. Surveys are not. Beliefs are not. Feelings are not.

Know the truth, and share it with others... even those who sit in church with you.

Three More Popular World Religions...

Last time we looked at three of the world's most popular religions. Each had in common one key theme: people determine ultimate moral truth.

You, like me, might wonder: Suppose they're wrong? People are wrong about all sorts of things all the time. People frequently can't agree with each other, so they come to different conclusions. What if they're wrong about eternity? And, if people don't determine ultimate moral truth, then who, or what, does?

The three major religions we're about to discuss all agree that these humanistic philosophies are wrong. Moral truth, they argue, can only come from a supreme being. Let's take a quick look at these religions. They are: Islam, Judaism, and Christianity.

Islam teaches that after death your destination is either Paradise, or Hell. Allah is the name of their god. The only guaranteed way to Paradise is martyrdom. Everyone else must work their way into Paradise by complying with a series of rules known as Pillars.

Judaism is based on the teachings of the Jewish Bible (known as the Old Testament to Christians). The Old Testament teaches that there are two eternal destinations: Heaven, or Hell. To enter Heaven, you must have faith in God, named Yahweh, and follow His Laws. Failure to follow His law requires sacrificial atonement for that sin.

Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the God of the Old Testament Bible, who became human and lived among us. They believe that the New Testament, together with the Old, is the true and accurate Word of God (Yahweh) and that this one God is also three distinct persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. As with Jews, they believe in only two eternal destinations: Heaven or Hell. However, they believe that the only way to enter Heaven is to repent (turn from your sinful ways) and place all of your faith in the atoning work of Jesus Christ.

As with other faiths, there are cultural Muslims (another name for those who follow Islam), cultural Jews, and cultural Christians. By 'cultural' I mean people who loosely follow the religion but have no firm conviction or belief. Some can even be classified as agnostic or atheist, even though they attend church functions and self-identify with one of these religions.

If you spend any amount of time learning about Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, you'll quickly realize that their beliefs in eternity, and how to enter Heaven (or Paradise) are each unique. If truth is knowable (and it is), and if truth is unchanging (it is) then only one can be correct.

Is there a God? If so, which of these religions, if any, follows the truth about this Him? Is God even a "Him"?

We'll explore these questions, and more, next time.