There are a number of statements about Christianity that are popular in our culture today, that are unfortunately not only mistaken, but also dangerous to people’s spiritual well-being. Some of these ideas may sound true, but though they may use religious words and concepts, they are actually contrary to the true faith, and lead people astray to their eternal destruction.
So, what are some of these erroneous ideas and statements? Consider the following:
A. “Jesus was a moral teacher or prophet, but he never said he was God.” Many people hear this claim and repeat it without seeking the truth themselves. But, if they actually studied the Scriptures, they would find the following words of Jesus (besides the many passages where biblical writers called him God):
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- Jesus said, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). The next verse said the Jews picked up stones to stone him, because they said he was claiming to be God.
- Jesus said to Philip, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).
- When Jesus told the religious leaders that Abraham looked forward to his day, they argued that Jesus was too young to have known Abraham. Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am“ (John 8:58). By saying, “I am” Jesus was using the name for God from the Book of Exodus. As soon as he said that, the Jews recognized what he was saying,”So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple” (John 8:59).
- Jesus prayed to the Father, “That they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,” (John 17:21-22)
- Jesus claimed to be “the Lord of the Sabbath,” a title that would be proper only for God himself to say (Matthew 12:8).
- Jesus forgave a paralytic his sins: “And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:5-7).
- After Jesus calmed the stormy sea by command, the disciples marveled and asked, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?” (Matthew 8:27).
These are in addition to the many miraculous things that Jesus did which were signs of his divinity. One of my favorite defense of Jesus’ godhood is this:
C.S. Lewis in his book, Mere Christianity, wrote, “I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: “I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
B. “A loving God could never send people to hell.” This false statement is due to wishful thinking based on the apparent contradiction between a God who loves the “whole world” (John 3:16) and yet sends any one (or many people) to eternal punishment. There are really two responses to that. First, How could a loving God NOT send some people to hell? Should a mass murderer, a rapist, a thief, people who disobey and disbelieve in God, who reject his offer of forgiveness in Christ, be welcomed into heaven along with faithful and obedient people who repent of their sins? What about Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, or others be treated the same as believers who were martyred for their faith? How could a loving God allow injustice to rule without punishment as its consequences? Such a God is unable to save or mete out true justice.
The second answer to this question is based on Scripture. The Bible teaches there is a place of punishment called, variously; Sheol, Tartarus, Hades, Hell, Gehenna, the Lake of Fire, and the “outer darkness.” These are used as warnings and as places of divine punishment. Of these, the final eternal punishment punishment is called the lake of fire for both fallen angels (including the devil) and everyone not found in the Book of Life (Revelation 20:10-15). Specific warnings are given to unrepentant sinners: “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). Another example of judgment is told by Jesus who tells of a rich man who is judged for ignoring the suffering of a poor man named Lazarus. When Lazarus dies, he goes to the bosom of Abraham (heaven) but the rich man goes to Hades, where he suffers burning heat (Luke 16:19-25).
Jesus warned of judgment for many people, saying “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Matthew 7:13-14). Even the love promised in John 3:16, is followed immediately by the warning of John 3:18 – “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” Then, there is the warning in Revelation 21:8, which says: “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
Those who deny the judgment are, literally, “playing with fire.” They are betting their eternal future that if there’s a God, they will be fine, because God loves them too much to condemn them. But the Apostle warns us in Galatians 6:7, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.” The day will come when the reality of hell will be undeniable, and all self-deception will vanish in the lake of fire.
Unfortunately, there are other things commonly believed that are also false – and dangerous – that we need to address. Stay tuned to the next blog when we refute “Two More Deadly Mistakes.”
Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.
Read: Luke 16; Revelation 20.