"What's true for you is not true for me." Such a statement as this has become common place in today's society, and it raises a second question, "Can everything be true?" It can lead to quite the perdicament. One person's belief goes against another person's belief system, and we're stuck with an argument. To a Christian, this can be a bit complex and can cause wrinkles in our faith. Is it possible that there are other beliefs out there that are real? Is it possible that we can all be on a "path to God" as has been suggested by several celebrities and even a few teachers? Can everything really be true? How I minister to people that believe differently than I do. Before we get too far into this, this subject has always reminded me of a passage of the book of Isaiah. In Isaiah 1:18, God is speaking to the nation of Israel, and say this, "'Come, let us discuss this,' says the LORD. 'Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will be like wool." Key in on that phrase, "Come, let us discuss this." In the King James translation, that phrase is "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD." Let us reason together. Let's think about this one. Can everything really be true? In short, no, it cannot. If you take every view point available and use the argument that these are all paths we all go down to reach the same God, you'll end up with a many contradictions. To declare that there is no such thing as truth and no such thing as an absolute means is to declare that that statement is true and that it is also absolute. Unless every statement can be held under that umbrella of thought, it must not be true, because if we were to expand it and say there are no absolutes but the statement used is an absolute but there are no absolutes means we're going around in circles. There must only be one truth and one truth alone. You can't have two truths in the same category. I cannot simultaneously be in Kansas City, Missouri, and in be in Montreal, Quebec. Either "A" is "A" and "A" is not "B."What does this mean for us as Christians? It means that we need to stand firm in what we know and in what we believe. In the Old Testament, we find many references to our God, Yahweh, as being singular as God alone. Examples of this are found in Deuteronomy 32:39, Psalm 86:10, Isaiah 41:4, Isaiah 43:10, 1st Kings 18:39, Hosea 13:4, and Malachi 2:10. All point to a singular unique God that is apart from every other belief system in the Old Testament world. It points to absolute uniqueness from the deities of other belief systems, as well. Christ Himself, being God, also points to His own uniqueness from both gods of other systems and other earthly teachers. John 10:30, 11:25 and 14:6 shows that Christ taught that He alone was God. We, as Christians, believe that Jesus is the same God as the God of the Old Testament, and that since He is, those Old Testament verses apply to Him as well.What this means for Christians two sided. We believe that the only way to God is through Jesus Christ's sacrifice on Calvary (1st Timothy 2:5.) That means that there is a uniform way to God, only through Christ, and there is no other way but through Christ (John 14:6, Acts 4:12, Acts 13:38-39, 2nd Corinthians 5:17-19, Ephesians 2:1-22.) This is so important that we're constantly warned of those who would lie to us about it and lead us astray (Jeremiah 23:26, Matthew 7:15, Matthew 24:23-25, 2nd Corinthians 11:13-15, 2nd Timothy 4:1-5, 2nd Peter 2:1-2,) but this does present another angle to look at. Since we do know the truth of God, we must not falter in its truth. We cannot let the fact that we are right get in the way of the fact that we know the truth. What does that mean? Really, it means that we, as believers, often puff up when we're challenged about our faith. If we get the wrong look, we get the "wrong" response, we shut down and go into defense mode and want to simply get out with the argumentative victory. Can everything be true? No, but we know what is. We as Believers and Followers of Christ know that He is the Way to salvation and to God, but we cannot let our personal victories in arguments or disagreements get in the way of the fact that we're called to spread the truth of Jesus Christ, His Gospel, and who He really is. We're called to spread His word to the entire world, both to those receptive to Him and to those who will reject Him (Psalm 96:3, Mark 13:10, 16:15, Luke 24:46-49, Acts 13:47) and to act with Christ's love towards all (John 15:12, Ephesians 5:2, Philippians 2:1-11, 1st John 2:6, 4:16-17.)We all know people who do are in need of Christ, as we are as well. We show our love for Christ in our lives and in our words, where we put our time. We pray for those who believe differently than us, and we ask that Christ shows Himself through His Word and through our lives and through our actions. 1st Peter 3:15 says this, "But set apart the Messiah as Lord in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you." In our modern times, we have all sorts of beliefs flying around, but we must always point back to Jesus, the One we know has saved us through His sacrifice. Romans 11:36
