Key Verse

Jude 1:3-4

³Dearly loved friends, I had been eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we all share. But now I find that I must write about something else, urging you to defend the truth of the Good News. God gave this unchanging truth once for all time to his holy people. ⁴I say this because some godless people have wormed their way in among you, saying that God’s forgiveness allows us to live immoral lives. The fate of such people was determined long ago, for they have turned against our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Something To Think About

Not to long ago, I was visiting with an old friend. Over lunch one day, we started talking about the various events that had shaped our lives since college. The subject eventually came around to my relationship with Christ. When I mentioned to him that long ago, I had a decision to make on where I was going to end up when I died, he made a comment that really got me thinking. He made the statement, “You get to heaven by generally being a good person, following the rules and not hurting anyone, right?”

Another day, I read a quote from Bishop C. Joseph Sprague, a member of Chicago’s Council of Religious Leaders. He said, “I am always fearful when we in the Christian Community move beyond the rightful claim that Jesus is decisive for us, to the presupposition that non-Christians…are outside God’s plan for salvation.”

How many times since the start of the Gulf War have you heard, “Islam and Christianity have the same god. They are essentially the same. Why can’t we all just get along?”

These are just some of a growing example of the pluralism that we live in today. Many people equate the human peace that we all want with the peace that God gives us. We are encouraged to all get along and that any belief is OK as long as you believe in something. Pick and choose from a wide variety of belief systems and work out your own feel-good faith.

Christians in the 21st Century need to be able to defend their faith by developing a strong foundation in what the Bible says about these faith challenges. That is why it is important to remember that there is nothing that we can do on our own to achieve what Jesus’ blood on the cross achieved for us. By His supreme sacrifice, we gain our salvation for all of our sins. Other religions are man striving to be good enough to gain perfection and peace. This is in contrast with Christianity. God demands perfect justice for the sins we commit. Since there is nothing we can do to achieve this perfection, God sent His Son, who is perfect, to die for all of our sins and securing a place with Him for eternity.

Let’s Discuss

2 Corinthians 11:3 says: “But I fear that somehow you will be led away from your pure and simple devotion to Christ, just as Eve was deceived by the serpent.” How can you prepare yourself to be able to defend yourself from deception?

The idea that there are different ways to heaven is not new. We see from our key verse that Jude dealt with this issue in the early church. How can we be sure that there is only one way to heaven?

Even in Christian circles, there is debate on whether the Bible is the true Word of God. There was a program on the History channel recently entitled, “Banned From The Bible”. It was a discussion by various “religious leaders” about the current Bible and some other “gospels” that were left out. How do we know that the Bible we have today is the true Word of God?

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Key Verse

1 Corinthians 8:1-3

^1bYou think that everyone should agree with your perfect knowledge. While knowledge may make us feel important, it is love that really builds up the church. ²Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn’t really know very much. ³But the person who loves God is the one God knows and cares for.

Something To Think About

As I write this, I can use the Internet that gives me access to over 50 translations of the Bible, numerous commentaries on the Bible written by a bunch of dead guys that were much smarter than me. If it wasn’t all Greek to me, I could read the original New Testament manuscripts, preserved forever on CD-ROM. If there is a particular subject that I am interested in, I can search Amazon.com and find a long list of books written on the subject. I can cross-reference any word in the Bible with a click of the mouse. If I get tired of reading, I can download podcasts from churches all over the world. I can turn on the satellite TV and get 24 hour Christian programming. Needless to say, I am not lacking for information on God.

During Jesus’ day, the Pharisees were the real religious people. They knew the Law. In fact, in order to make sure that people didn’t break the Law, they would make additional rules for people to follow. They treasured knowledge and encouraged debate on the Law. To make sure they always had something to debate, they practiced the tradition of zuggot, or pairs of scholars with opposing views. They had all the knowledge and missed the Savior.

Jesus often times called them hypocrites. One day, one of the more knowledgeable Pharisees tried to trap Jesus by asking him what the most important commandment was. Jesus’ answer gives us an idea of where He placed knowledge in the matter of eternal importance. Matthew 22:34-40 provides us with the account.

In his answer to the Pharisee, Jesus didn’t speak of knowledge or keeping any law. He spoke of Love. Loving God first, others next.

It doesn’t matter how much we know about God if we don’t know God.

Let’s Discuss

Does your salvation depend on how much you know?

Proverbs 4:7 says, “Getting wisdom is the most important thing you can do! And whatever else you do, get good judgment”. Discuss if this is contrary or in agreement with Jesus’ answer to the Pharisee.

Discuss the following statement: “Since I can’t see God, it is important for my salvation to know as much as I can about Him.” Is this statement supported by our key verse?

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If you would like a printable copy of this devotional, we have provided one here.