Center for Biblical Theology and Eschatology
How do we know Christianity is the Truth
and All Other Religions are False
by Kyle Dawson
The World by Wisdom Knew Not God
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"O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?" (Romans 11:33-35) KJV |
If you have ever shared the gospel with anyone, you have inevitably been asked the question, "What makes Christianity right and all the other religions wrong?" How do you answer a question of that magnitude? Does this question even deserve an answer? Not only are these questions raised in the minds of unbelievers, but many believers stumble through an answer to the question. Why are there other religious systems such as Mormonism, Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, and the list goes on and on? How did these religions develop and why are so many people led astray? And more importantly, how can we affirm Christianity as the absolute truth and all other religions as false? That is the question we will undertake.
I think a history lesson may prove valuable in understanding these issues. Let me take you back to Victorian England. Charles Spurgeon was a famous Baptist preacher in Britain in the 1800’s. He was known for his reverence for the Holy Scriptures and his position that the Bible was the perfect Word of God. Spurgeon’s doctrine was based solely on the authority of the Scripture. Consequently, he was a staunch believer in the doctrines of grace. Ironically, Spurgeon lived in a time when many of these basic truths of Scripture were being downgraded by some of the Baptist churches in the Baptist Union. This movement that compromised the essential truths of Christianity is called Liberalism. Liberalism sprung from the ideas of Darwinism and increased knowledge due to science and reasoning. Christian liberalism (which is what Spurgeon dealt with) is "a religion that keeps an open mind to the religious questions people have struggled with in all times and places." Liberalists believe that personal experience, conscience and human reasoning should be the final authorities in religion, and that in the end religious authority lies not in a book, but in ourselves.
Basically, liberalists take the supernatural character of Christianity out and focus only on what can be understood by man’s natural reason. Consequently, they reject justification by faith in Christ alone, the Bible as the infallible word of God, the full deity of Christ, the truth of the Trinity, and the eternal punishment of the unsaved. Now how does this idea of Liberalism have anything to do with our question? The concept behind Liberalism is the same concept behind all false religion -man’s reasoning. Salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone does not appeal to the desires of man. Consequently, we form work-based systems in which we man is the determining factor in salvation. The Bible cannot be confirmed by science, so we will call it a good historical book. The truth that Christ was fully man and yet fully God cannot be understood by our mental capacity, therefore it cannot be true. He was simply an ethical guide. We do not like the thought of tribes in Africa going to hell because they have never heard the gospel message. Let’s create a system called Universalism where everyone gets to go to heaven whether they have heard the name of Christ or not. That seems fairer. And so we see, the supernatural is thrown out and is replaced by human reasoning. We can do this with every single false religion. We can show how man takes a God that is above all human understanding, whose ways are past finding out, and fashions Him to our own sinful desires and our fallen ideas of fairness. The Creator is taken off his throne and molded by the creature into something that he can totally understand by his own faculties. In a sense, man has become God.
The Bible affirms that it is man’s nature to rely upon his own faculties. Scripture teaches this process. In fact there are four steps in the development of a false religion found in Romans 1:18-23, "18/ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; 19/ Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20/ For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 21/ Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22/ Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23/ And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things." KJV
1) Man perceives the truth that God exists. Verses 19 and 20 tell us that God manifests himself to mankind through His creation. Psalm 19:1 says, "1/ The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork." KJV Mankind can "clearly" see the truth of God’s existence through His divine attributes, which are declared through the things God has created. When we look around at nature, we understand that we are a creation and that God is the Creator through His many attributes. We can see He is powerful and faithful and that He is a God of beauty and order. You can tell a lot about a man by the work that he does. By simply observing a household, you can tell if a father is a person of order, respect and authority. The same holds true of God. The creation speaks of the creator. By the creation of the world, we can know what kind of God we serve. Also, God reveals himself to everyone. Not just to Americans, but also to primitive tribes in Africa so that all mankind is "without excuse." So we see that man is on the right track. He perceives the truth that should lead him to the true God.
2) Man then suppresses the truth in unrighteousness.
Verse 19 of Romans 1 says the wrath of God is upon those who "suppress the truth in unrighteousness." Verses 21 and 22 tell us that although man knew God through creation, he became "futile in our thoughts and our foolish hearts were darkened." It further states in verse 23 that "professing to be wise, they became fools." The moment man realizes the truth of God his reasoning immediately suppresses that truth because of our unrighteousness and sin. In other words, man’s depraved nature nullifies the chance that man can pursue the truth of God. No one seeks God or understands Him. Romans 8:7 says, "7Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." KJV Because the human mind is separated from God, the reasoning produced also is separated from God. Apple trees cannot produce oranges. Fresh water cannot produce salt water. Neither can the natural mind of man produce a higher wisdom to understand the things of God. First Corinthians 1:21 says, "For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God." KJV The wisdom of the world does not know God. You see the desperate situation man is in because of his own sinful reasoning. First Corinthians 2:14 says, "14/ But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." KJV If human reasoning is the final authority in all religious matters, then there is no possible means for man to know God. No way, no how. The things of God are regarded as foolishness to the natural man. If you take the supernatural out because it doesn’t fit the natural, you are left with natural reasoning that cannot receive the things of God.
Ultimately, the natural mind will reject the only means for salvation. First Corinthians 1:18 says, "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness." KJV The death of Christ is utter foolishness to those who are perishing-to those who try to understand it naturally with human reasoning. Islam rejects the death of Christ. Muslims say it is foolish to believe that God would let one of his prophets die on a cross. Jews say the same thing-the gospel that Jesus came to save sinners by his atoning death makes zero sense. And so God’s means of salvation is rejected by the wisdom of man.
Take Adam and Eve for example. God gave them special revelation not to eat the fruit from the tree that was in the middle of the garden. How did Satan tempt Eve to suppress the truth from God? He started by saying, "Hath God said." You see, Satan tempted Eve by seducing her to use her own reasoning. So Eve began to think, using her own understanding. "God just doesn’t want you to be like him." Eve saw the fruit. It looked good so she ate it. Now let me say this: If Adam and Eve suppressed the truth of God in a state of perfection, with perfect minds and perfect reasoning, how much worse are we who are born of the flesh, in bondage to our depravity.
Isaiah 47:10 says, "For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee; and thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me." KJV Trusting in our own human wisdom and knowledge "pervert" us and warp us because we are essentially "trusting in our wickedness"-our own sinful reasoning. And look at the final statement. Man makes the incredible, blasphemous statement that "I am, and there is no one else beside me." (Isaiah 45:6) Pastor Randy Guwain noted that this is a statement that only God can make. He is the "I am" and there is not any beside Him. When man trusts in himself, he basically places himself on par with! So you see man cannot make his way to God on his own. It is impossible.
3) Man’s suppression of the truth leads to a false religion.
Go back and look at Romans 1:22-25. " 22/ Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23/ And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. 24/ Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25/ Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen." KJV Because the truth of God is suppressed, it is also exchanged for a lie or in other words a false religious system. Man shapes and fashions God according to his own depraved reasoning. Thus a depraved religion results. The glory of the incorruptible God is exchanged for "images made like corruptible man." Consequently, all man-made natural religions are formed in the human mind according to the wisdom of this world. Therefore, we can assume that all these man-made religions are man glorifying and not God-glorifying (Romans 1:21). Every single false religion develops when the truth of God is brought down to man’s level, and is conformed to his ideas of fairness and selfishness. The truth of God is reprocessed by our fallen minds which result in the formation of a man-made lie-a false god. That is the exact reason why so many men and women are attracted to all the false religions in the world today. They play off man’s selfish desires. They are man glorifying.
This tragedy also occurs in the church today. Many churches try to fit God into the human ideas of fairness when it is impossible to do so. The doctrines of grace are scarcely to be taught and proclaimed from the pulpit because they conflict with man’s idea of how the potter should act towards the clay.
Let’s look at some biblical examples of this process thus far. Remember back in Genesis 12 the covenant God made with our father Abraham when He called Abraham out. The Lord told him that through his seed all the nations would be blessed. God revealed to Abraham the great Christian truth that Christ would come from the seed of Abraham. So Abraham waited. Then he waited some more. And his wife Sarah, already a barren woman, got older and older. Then Abraham got to thinking and reasoning. "Can Sarah really have a child? I think I can help God out with my own wisdom and under-standing." So at Sarah’s urging Abraham took Hagar, and Hagar bore Ishmael.
Now Ishmael is a testament to man’s wisdom and man’s under-standing. Ishmael was the result of man’s wisdom and not God’s. Do you know what God said to Abraham when he asked him, "Oh that Ishmael might live before thee!"(Genesis 17:18) KJV God said, "NO!" Genesis 17:19-21 goes on to say, " 19And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. 20And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. 21But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year." KJV In essence God was saying, "I will not bless human wisdom. Nor will I recognize your attempt to help me. Sarah will indeed bear you a son, and you shall call him Isaac. Even though Sarah is ninety and barren, I will come down and supernaturally bless her with a child." And just as God had said it would happen, it did.
Here is something you might find interesting. Do you know what religion traces its roots to Ishmael? The testament of man’s wisdom. Islam! And so we see this process. God revealed the truth to Abraham. Abraham suppressed the truth through his own reasoning, and the second largest world religion was born. All as a result of Abraham’s reliance upon himself.
Let’s take a look at another example. When Moses had led the Israelites out of Egypt they were well aware of God and his divine power. They had seen his power displayed by the plagues. They had seen God part the Red Sea and swallow up Pharaoh’s army. Not only did they witness the awesome power of God, but also there could be no doubting that Moses was God’s choice (Exodus chapters one thru twenty-three). However, when their spokesman Moses went up to Mount Sinai to receive the law, the Israelites got to thinking.
Exodus 32:1-4, "1/ And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. 2/ And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. 3/ And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. 4/ And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt." KJV
The Israelites by their own reasoning exchanged the glory of God "for a golden calf." All other false religions have followed their example. God says, "No! Man cannot come to me by his own nature." Remember what happened to the Israelites? Three thousand were slaughtered that day by the Levites (Exodus 32:26-29) This brings us to the fourth and final step of the process.
4) These false religions ultimately lead to destruction.
Because these religions suppress the glory of the true God and rejects his means of salvation through the cross by their own sinful reasoning. God will ultimately reject them on the Day of Judgment. Romans 1:18 says, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness." KJV Just as God passed his blessing over Ishmael and just as 3,000 Israelites died by the sword for worshipping a false god, so also will any who follow man-glorifying religions. The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing.
So you see the process of the development of a false religion according to the passage in Romans chapter one. Man knows the truth of God through creation and then this truth is not retained due to man’s depravity. Because of man’s inability to ascend to God through his own wisdom. The true God is taken off His throne and molded into Buddha, Allah, and other golden calves. Ultimately these will be destroyed.
Now lets answer our question: How do I know Christianity is the truth and all other religions are false? Answer: Because all other religious systems adhere to the fact that man can reach God by his own power. They believe that man can work his way to God, when man has no power to do so on his own. True Christianity is the only system that says man cannot work his way to God, but God works his way down to man. God has nullified man’s ability to come to the knowledge of Christ by his own devices. God has to reach down to man through His Spirit and inject him with a supernatural wisdom in order that he no longer sees the cross as foolishness, but the "power unto salvation." 1 Corinthians 2:10 says, "But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God." KJV It was God who "opened" Lydia’s heart to heed the gospel Paul was sharing in Acts 16:14-15. It was God who "pricked the hearts" of the people at Pentecost in order that they might believe (Acts 2:37-41). It is God who opens the eyes of the blind and raises up us "who were dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1). Yes, it is God who gives man the wisdom and ability to believe in Christ.
Let me give you an illustration of this. Look here at Exodus 31:1-2, "1/ And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2/ See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah:" KJV In the preceding chapters, God has revealed to the Israelites how to build the tabernacle in which His glory will dwell. He gives them precise, detailed instructions on how to erect this tabernacle. Chapter after chapter He gives measurements, instruction and revelation. Now understand this, His tabernacle had to be perfect so it would be a suitable dwelling place for His glory. It had to be utterly perfect if a Holy God would dwell in it. Now look at Exodus 31:3-6, "3/ And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, 4/ To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, 5/ And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship. 6/ And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee." KJV
Now this doesn’t really make sense. God has just commanded the Israelites how he wanted the tabernacle built. Why did he have to "fill" these chosen builders with wisdom through His Spirit if he already told them how he wanted it built. You see, God knew if he left it up to man’s own wisdom, he could never build a dwelling place fitting for the glory of God to reside. The Israelites would have messed it up due to inability to meet the standards of God on their own. God had to give these men the wisdom to carry out his revealed commands. We are in the same boat. We could never be a holy dwelling place no matter how hard we try. No matter how hard we work our way up to God, we are not able to become a holy, perfect dwelling place for him. God has to come and give us the ability to believe in His Son so that we are perfected through His righteousness. Thus, we become a perfect dwelling place for God through faith in Jesus Christ.
Now why did God choose to do it this way? Remember what First Corinthians 1:20-21 says, "20/ Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21/ For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God..." KJV It was in God’s wisdom that man could never know God by his own wisdom. Man could never come to God if the Almighty had to be proven by man’s understanding and his own knowledge. Why? Because God will not give His glory to another. If man could work his way to God through his own wisdom, he would have himself to thank for his salvation, not God. Man would be glorified not God. God has wiped out any means for man to save himself so that only He (God), can be given glory in man’s salvation. When we stand before the throne one day, all we can appeal to is the grace of God. " 8/ For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9/ Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10/ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus..." Ephesians 2:8-10a KJV If any man glories, let him glory in the Lord.
I pray that we as the children of God who have been given this precious knowledge of Jesus Christ never fall into the trap of trying to understand God through our own fallen reasoning.
Amen! Thank You, Kyle Dawson