Who Is Teaching The Truth?
The apostle Paul, in writing to Timothy, said God "desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." (1 Timothy 2:4. In Ephesians 5:17 he begs the saints at Ephesus to "not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is."
By these passages, it should be obvious that we can understand what the truth is in regard to religious doctrines and practices. But if we look around us at the modern religious world, we see hundreds of different groups teaching hundreds of different things, and all claiming to have the truth. it can be quite puzzling to anyone who is honestly searching for what is right.
Paul was trying to prevent such a situation in his day. Some of the brethren in the church at Corinth were beginning to divide into different groups. He said, "Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment." (1 Corinthians 1:10).
In light of the above passages, do you believe it is possible that all the different religious groups in the world today are all teaching the truth? What would the inspired apostle Paul think about all the current division?
Well, then, WHO IS RIGHT?
Let's begin by saying that only the Bible is right, not men. After all, "I know the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps." (Jeremiah 10:25).
“What would the inspired apostle Paul think about all the current division?”
The inspired Word of God must be recognized as the only standard (rule) for religious authority, not doctrinal creeds written by uninspired men. Paul says in
HOW CAN I KNOW IF I HAVE THE TRUTH?
If only the Bible is right, and we follow only the Bible, then we know we have the truth. We should always follow the example of the Bereans in Acts 17:10-11 who "received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so." Whenever someone spoke about religious matters, they looked it up. Notice that they double-checked the preaching of the apostle Paul, and the Lord praised them for it!
WHY SHOULD I FIND OUT THE TRUTH?
We should be diligent in finding out and obeying it, because God's Word is going to judge us in the end. Jesus said, "He who rejects Me, and does not recfeive My words, has that which judges him - the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day." (John 12:48). Paul says, "we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ." (2 Corinthians 5:10).
Let's put aside all those confusing, contradictory denominational doctrines and begin following only the pure gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments." (1 John 5:3).
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Answering The Atheist
The Atheist's Complaint:
Will there be many Jews? Genesis 26:4 says yes, but Deuteronomy 4:27 says no. Is there a contradiction?
Response:
The words of Genesis 26:4 are a repeat of the promise which had been made to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3, 7; Genesis 15:5, 15; and Genesis 22:17-18. God fulfilled this word, for prior to entering into the land of Canaan, Israel was described as "... a nation, great, mighty, and populous" (Deuteronomy 26:5). Then, they were lead into the land which God had promised to give them. The word of Genesis 26:4 was fulfilled.
But what should we make of the words in Deuteronomy 4:27? Though God promised to make them a great nation, and to give them a land, their continued blessing as a great nation dwelling in that land was contingent upon their remaining faithful to God. Deuteronomy 4:27 is in the midst of a text which describes what would come of them if they did "evil in the sight of the LORD your God to provoke Him to anger" (Deuteronomy 4:25). Such would take place during the days of the divide kingdom, many, many years later. Israel would be taken captive and dissolved by the Assyrians, and Judah would be taken captive, and returned to the land 70 years later by the Babylonians.
There is no contradiction.
This article is in response to Skeptic's Annotated Bible.