Should a Christian show bias or be prejudicial? There is a lot of talk nowadays about embracing other religions. The argument is that there is only one God therefore we should be united in everything and reject nothing. I don't think that actually makes sense. On the other hand people tend to equate religious prejudice with hatred. There is no room for hating people in Christianity. God emphatically says to love our enemies and do good to people that treat us badly. Once we clear up that distinction then we can consider this topic rationally.
Is there anything to fear?
The first thing to consider is if the issue is important at all. If it is not a problem then we should not make it one. In reality it is a very big issue. A Christian should be terrified about adopting views that are unscriptural.
Christ warns us that it is a waste of time to adopt strange worship.
Matthew 15:9 [KJV] But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
Mark 7:7 [KJV] Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
Our responsibility is to grow instead of waste time.
2 Peter 3:17-18 [KJV] Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. 18But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.
We can be seduced. Continuing in the truth is connected to our eternal llife.
1 John 2:24-26 KJV Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father. 25And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life. 26These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you.
Things will get worse. Deception will become an imminent threat.
2 Tim. 3:13 [KJV] But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
2 Tim. 4:3 [KJV] For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
We should avoid the heretics if they persist in rejecting the truth.
Titus 3:10 [KJV] A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject;
People will reject God and He will not be pleased.
Mark 7:9 [KJV] And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.
Hosea 4:6 [KJV] My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
If something is true then something that contradicts in cannot be also true. Christians must stand by truth.Truth shows us who are of God.
1 John 4:6 [KJV] We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.
God wants everyone to know the truth.
1 Tim. 2:4 [KJV] Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
God does not want arrogance or haughtiness but he does insist on truth.
Ephesians 4:15 [KJV] But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
We must be bold in protecting the truth.
Galatians 2:14 [KJV] But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?
Truth is essential to withstand evil.
Ephesians 6:13-14 NIV Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
Isaiah 59:14-15 NIV So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter. 15Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey. The Lord looked and was displeased that there was no justice.
John 6:44 [NIV] "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.
John 14:6 [NIV] Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
A standard for Truth
There must be a standard for truth. Does Christianity present a good standard?
John 17:17 [KJV] Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
Measurable (God has given us promises that he holds himself to)). There are many fulfilled prophesies abd ther are other things that the Bible has claimed that the greatest minds have opposed but the Bible always wins.
Consistent (every jot and tittle must be fulfilled). The claims of the Old Testament are integrated in the New Testament.
Verifiable (God says that we can enter a relationship with him reason with him and prove him)
Christianity is Unique in that it provides a Savior.
Isaiah 53:1-12 NIV Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
4Surelyhe took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
5But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6We all,like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8Byoppression and judgment he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was punished.
9He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
10Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
11Afterhe has suffered,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
12Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
1 Peter 2:24-25 KJV Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. 25For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.
God promised to send Israel a Saviour when they cried out for help.
Isaiah 19:20 [NIV] It will be a sign and witness to the Lord Almighty in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and he will rescue them.
In the Old Testament God does not ascribe the title saviour to anyone but God. Isaiah said that Israel (and therefore the world) did not have any saviour but him.
Isaiah 43:11 [NIV] I, even I, am the Lord,
and apart from me there is no savior.
But God also made a proclamation that a special savior will come with a reward.
Isaiah 62:11 [NIV] The Lord has made proclamation
to the ends of the earth:
"Say to the Daughter of Zion,
'See, your Savior comes!
See, his reward is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.' "
Christ (the rock) was the God who spoke in the OT.
John 8:54-58 KJV Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: 55Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying. 56Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. 57Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? 58Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
Isaiah 8:14 [KJV] And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
John 1:1, 14 KJV In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Romans 9:33 [KJV] As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
1 Corinthians 10:4 [KJV] And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
The early apostles knew this.
Acts 13:23 [NIV] "From this man's descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised.
Luke 2:11 [NIV] Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.
John 4:42 [NIV] They said to the woman, "We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world."
1 John 4:14 [KJV] And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.
He has provided a means of escaping eternal death.
2 Timothy 1:10 [KJV] But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:
Common sense says that mankind needs a saviour?
Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned. Everybody sins and Christianity says we have all been condemned to death. God does not want imperfection.
Genesis 2:17 [NIV] but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."
No man has life to give himself or anyone else. He cannot obtain it by anything that he does including living a good life.
Genesis 3:22 [NIV] And the Lord God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever."
Adam disobeyed God once and for that the penalty was death. Will God act differently for someone else?
Romans 3:23 [NIV] for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Job 9:2 [NIV] “Indeed, I know that this is true.
But how can mere mortals prove their innocence before God?
Since man cannot take life for himself it must be given. But would it fit the character of God to give eternal life without paying for it?
Jeremiah 32:19 [NIV] great are your purposes and mighty are your deeds. Your eyes are open to all the ways of men; you reward everyone according to his conduct and as his deeds deserve.
Deuteronomy 32:4 [NIV] He is the Rock, his works are perfect,
and all his ways are just.
A faithful God who does no wrong,
upright and just is he.
Job 34:12 [NIV] It is unthinkable that God would do wrong,
that the Almighty would pervert justice.
It is fair to give us to Christ because he has paid for us.
1 John 2:2 [KJV] And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
1 Corinthians 7:23 [NIV] You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.
Luke 22:20 [NIV] In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
There is continuity and consistency
There is continuity and consistency with the revelations of God throughout the collective books of the Old Testament and New Testament in Christianity. Over thousands of years and dozens of people the stories and writers form a consistent whole.
Matthew 5:18 [NIV] I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
2 Kings 21:10 [NIV] The Lord said through his servants the prophets:
Amos 3:7 [NIV] Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing
without revealing his plan
to his servants the prophets.
Ecclesiastes 3:14 [NIV] I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him.
Numbers 23:19 [NIV] God is not a man, that he should lie,
nor a son of man, that he should change his mind.
Does he speak and then not act?
Does he promise and not fulfill?
Prophecy and fulfillment and the cross referencing on many prophets and apostles over many years shows God as unchanging. What He does is supported by what He has done before. He does not act in a vacuum or change absolutes.
Prophecy | Fulfilment |
Gen 12:3 | Gal 3:8 |
Deut 18:18 | Acts 3:22 |
Ps 2:7 | Acts 13:33 |
Ps 16:8-11 | Acts 2:34 |
Ps 22:1 | Matt 27:46 |
Ps 22:18 | Mk 15:24 |
Ps 41:9 | Jn 13:18 |
Ps 68:18 | Eph 4:8-10 |
Isa 7:14 | Matt 1:23 |
Isa 11:10 | Rom 15:12 |
Jer 31:31-34 | Heb 10:17 |
Jer 31:31 | Lk 22:20 |
Hos 2:23 | Rom 9:25 |
Micah 5:2 | Jn 7:42 |
Hab 1:5 | Acts 13:40-41 |
Zech 9:9 | Matt 21:4-5 |
Zech 11:13 | Matt 27:9-10 |
Malachi 3:1 | Matt 11:13-14 |
