Life’s most important quest is the search for truth! How can you find your way through the jungle of religious beliefs?
“I know God has a true Church. I don’t know where it is, but I do know where it isn’t!”
Sometimes it’s easier to identify what is false than to find what is true. But the process of elimination at least serves to narrow your search.
So it was for a man who, nearly 60 years ago, made the statement above to a preacher who was urging him to join his church. He and his wife were, in fact, seriously searching for a church. But not just any church. They were looking for the “true Church.”
They had always been religious and at one time stood quite confident in their beliefs. That is, until some things they read in the Bible conflicted with their church’s doctrines and their pastor could not satisfactorily answer their questions.
The process of elimination
It was a tough admission—some things they always assumed were right, were wrong. That bothered them. Thus began their quest for truth, and with it came the process of elimination. They had already proven God exists and the Bible is His Word. They knew Christ said He would build His Church while others would build false churches in His name. And if many false churches exist, then wasn’t it reasonable that one true Church exists?
So they settled on a simple search filter: if something a church taught didn’t square with the Bible, that church was eliminated.
For example, they were stunned to discover the Bible clearly shows Saturday to be the God-ordained day of worship, and history shows why people changed it to Sunday. Perhaps more stunning was a respected minister telling them, “I’ve always known Saturday is the Sabbath, but it just doesn’t matter anymore.” Eliminated! They had proven it mattered to God!
And some always rationalize, “It’s not so important what you believe, as long as you’re sincere.” Is that biblical? What if you’re sincerely wrong? Eliminated!
Truth, choices and change
Reading the articles in this issue, beginning with “Turning Points: Crises and Choices That Can Change Your Life,” took me back in time. The man and woman on that quest all those decades ago were my parents. Eventually they found a Church they couldn’t eliminate, one that taught what the Bible said. Their turning point—accepting the challenge to live by it—certainly defined my life.
They also discovered the proof and meaning of the biblical festivals and holy days. Seeing the article “The Festivals Jesus Celebrated,” I remembered how that truth forever changed our understanding of life.
“Why ‘Good Without God’ Isn’t Good Enough” also resonated. That article reflected my parents’ standard—allow only God to define what we should do. And when you let the Bible guide your life, it cuts through the fog of religion, as the article “Christianity Made Simple” explains.
A “true or false” test for religion?
Truth has never been popular. Even when Jesus claimed that “everyone who is of the truth hears My voice,” Pilate dismissively retorted, “What is truth?” Today, if you claim that truth exists, you may be considered intellectually naïve or unsophisticated, and if you claim to know the truth, well, don’t be surprised if people accuse you of being arrogant or closed-minded.
The thing is, though, God claims truth exists. Christ said He had it and that His Church would be built on it.
This issue’s articles confirm that when it comes to sifting through the jumble of religious beliefs, the Bible is the only reliable filter for identifying the true from the false. School students have to deal with “true or false” questions on tests. Shouldn’t every Christian religion have its doctrines tested by the same standard?
Maybe you’re in the same place my parents were at one time, believing God has a true Church, but not knowing where it is. If so, read one more article in this issue—“How to Spot a Counterfeit Church.”
The process of elimination, and the process of discovery, is an eye-opening, and life-changing trip!
