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Monday, October 20, 2014

Discerning God's truth from religious counterfeits



Isaiah 41:21-23 “Present your case,” the Lord says.“Bring forward your strong arguments,” The King of Jacob says. 22 Let them bring forth and declare to us what is going to take place; As for the former events, declare what they were, That we may consider them and know their outcome. Or announce to us what is coming; 23 Declare the things that are going to come afterward, That we may know that you are gods; Indeed, do good or evil, that we may anxiously look about us and fear together."

Introduction
So then how do we know that Jesus Christ and the Bible are not merely superior to all other would-be contenders, but alone consistutes the truth of God's revelation of Himself with regards to salvation and eternity? The passage above lays out a two fold test, with Isaiah 42:1 mentioning a third test for discerning what is ultimate, eternally saving truth. Isaiah 42:1 states: “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold;My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice to the nations." We know from other scriptures that Isaiah is referring to the Messiah Jesus Christ. From these passages we can discern the following three-fold test you can use in evaluating and critiquing other worldviews and religions outside of Christianity that claim to be eternal, saving truth. The below three-fold test is but a bare outline of this test and is not meant to be exhaustive. 

1. Test of historical reliability. Isaiah 41:21-22
Does the proposed religion or worldview accurately describe history? Historical reliability in a given relgious document is a bare-minimum requirement, but an important one. If the so-called holy book does not give an accurate account of the past, then how can I trust it to tell me accurate information about my present life?

2. Test of fulfilled prophecy. Isaiah 41:23
When a said document, worldview or religion claims to be divinely inspired, the number one way to test that claim is if it accurately predicts future events, and has examples of fullfilled prophecy verified outside of the document. 

3. Test of leading a person to salvation. Isaiah 42:1
Does the given document lead me to a right relationship with the true and living God? In as much as we have labored the past several posts in identifying the true and living God as revealed by and in the risen Son, the only true salvation can result in being reconciled to the Father. 

To be counted as God's truth, all three of the above tests must be passed. If any one of the above tests fail, then that worldview, religion or alleged holy book is shown to not be God's truth revealed - i.e His Word. Only one book as ever passed all three tests - the Bible. Furthermore, only One person in history has passed all three tests - Jesus Christ. All other religions, worldviews or so-called holy books are counterfeits and incapable of qualifying as God's authoritative truth for life and eternity. 

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