Have you heard about the new religious Club for morally upright men. It’s called the Men’s ASsociation Of Neighbors. Its organizers hope this Club will catch on and spread throughout the nation so that a day will come when each city or town will have their own local establishment – like the Rotarians or Kiwanis.
Men, how many of you would want to join such a club? Here are the Club’s institutional rules governing its operation:
1. This is first and foremost a religiously open-minded Club. All members must believe in God — Atheists need not apply. All religions will be recognized and tolerated. The Club won’t interfere with anyone’s personal beliefs. Each person must find his answers in his own faith.
2. The Club recognizes there is a personal creator God who rules the universe. Man is obligated to worship this God. Different religions acknowledge the same God although they call on Him by different names (Allah, Jehovah, etc). In the afterlife, there will be both rewards & punishments.
3. The Club affirms our creator God has revealed Himself through various sacred books — the Koran for Muslims; the Pentateuch for Jews; the Bible for Christians; etc. None of these sacred writings is the exclusive Word of God. Each sacred text is important; however, they serve only as symbols of truth. Club members are expected to live their lives in obedience to their particular sourcebook for truth.
4. In keeping with the Club’s open-minded position toward all faiths: God will not be referred to as a divine Trinity consisting of Father, Son & Holy Spirit. The Club will have no official position on the deity of Jesus Christ. The Club affirms Jesus to have been a great teacher and philosopher – like Socrates.
5. The Club recognizes that man can improve his character and behavior in various ways, including charitable acts and by living a decent, moral life. Man is not inherently evil or depraved because he possesses within himself the ability to improve himself. That’s the chief aim of this Club — if you faithfully participate, you will improve yourself morally.
6. Accommodations will be made for Christian members through the creation of separate and distinct sections within the Club’s overall institutional structure. In this way, Christians can choose to incorporate their own faith into the practice of carrying out the overall business of the Club.
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How many of the Christian men reading today’s post would want to join such a club as this? For those who don’t see any real problem with it, we offer the following biblical truths for consideration:
1. There is only one Lord and Savior (John 1:29; 2Cor 5:21; Gal 3:13; Eph 2:8-9). Which God one believes in is crucial. Christianity teaches that the one true God is revealed in the Bible and that Jesus Christ, God incarnate, revealed Himself as the only way to God. (John 10:1ff; John 14:6; Acts 4:12)
2. To call upon the names of other deities is regarded as idolatry by God. (1Kings 12:32; 1Kings 16:31; 2Kings 17:12; 2Kings 21:21; 2Chron 25:14; 2Chron 28:2) God calls idolatry a heinous sin from which Christians are to flee (1Cor 10:14). Idolaters will not enter the kingdom of God (1Cor 6:9). Idolaters will perish in eternal hell. (Rev 21:8)
3. Christianity does not accept other religious texts. The Bible alone is the Christian’s authority. Christianity requires its adherents to give exclusive deference to the Bible. It and it alone is the exclusive Word of God. To deny the Bible’s exclusive authority is to deny the purpose of Scripture: to communicate what Jesus Christ has done to atone for the sins of His people.
4. The Bible’s contents are not arbitrary, but are in fact God’s revelation of Himself. The Old Testament is divinely inspired (2Tim 3:16; 2Pet 1:19-21) as is the New Testament (1Thess 2:13; 1Cor 2:13). The Bible teaches that the only way of salvation is through faith in Christ (2Tim 3:16; John 17:17). No other information from any other religious source is to be relied upon or tolerated (Gal 1:6-8)
5. The Bible is meant by God to be received by all people everywhere. The message of the Bible pertains to the whole world. (Gen 17:5-9; John 3:16; Acts 2:38-39; Acts 3:24-25). The Bible communicates a specific message or a particular revelation – the good news of Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross for our sins. (Rom 3:21-26; John 10:1-18; John 14:6; Acts 17:16-31). No other religion can be correct if Christianity is the truth.
6. One cannot arbitrarily believe in a God. There must be a source of authority. Christians must submit to the Bible as their source of authority. Christians believe that God has revealed Himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (Matt 28:19).
7. Jesus Christ is unique in every way. To assert that Jesus and any other religious leader are on the same level or that Jesus is merely on a higher plane is to contradict Scripture. A Christian cannot deny Christ’s uniqueness or His deity. For Christians, removing references to Christ from biblical prayers is fundamentally objectionable.
8. Jesus Christ is the exclusive and universal way of salvation. Christianity claims Jesus is the only way by which fallen humanity may be saved (Acts 4:12). Christ’s death and resurrection have implications for the entire world, not just for those whom God calls to faith. Jesus is the standard by which all of humanity will be called to account (Phil 2:9-11). There is no Christianity without Jesus Christ (1Cor 2:2; John 10:1; John 14:6; John 5:23). Jesus addressed those who deny or avoid Him or His name out of fear of offending others (Lk 6:26; 1John 2:23; Lk 9:26).
9. The Bible states that sin has affected every human being born into the world (Rom 3:23; Rom 5:12). The Bible denies that humanity has within itself the capacity for moral perfection (1John 1:8; Rom 3:23). If people could be morally perfect through their own efforts they wouldn’t need Christ or His work of atonement for sin, but this is not the case. (Rom 1:18-25).
Christian brother, based upon the claims that Jesus Christ has on our lives, we trust you would never want to join a Club like the fictitious one outlined in this posting. But there is an all-too-real club that espouses the same institional rules as this “Men’s ASsociation Of Neighbors” And this Club has lured many so-called Christian men into its ranks — and it will be the topic for tomorrow’s posting. We urge you not to miss it.
To God Be The Glory!
