1/20/20 Stephen (to see conversation click HERE)
In the last few verses of the last chapter of the last book
of the Bible, we find a warning not to add or take away from the words written therein. It says “If any man shall add unto them, God
shall add unto him the plagues which are written in this book: and if any man
shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take
away his part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, which are
written in this book.”
The primary focus of this passage was on the book it was
written in – Revelation – but I find its placement at the end of the whole
Bible to be no coincidence. It follows a pattern set early in the Bible - that we
are not to add nor take away from God’s word. Early in the Bible, in Deuteronomy
4:2, we read “Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but
keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.”
This makes sense, if the Bible is indeed the “Word of God”
as it claims to be. Who would have the
right to add to or diminish God’s Word?
In a sidewalk outreach I met a young man named Stephan who would know
this from his strong Bible church background. But Stephan has added some
beliefs to his biblical belief in Jesus as Savior in order to accommodate all
those people who don’t believe in or know of Jesus. The way he explains it is that there is a
final judgement involving forgiveness for those who trust in Jesus, but in the meantime,
Stephan believes there will be the possibility of many reincarnated lives
before people get there.
Stephan sort of dismissed Hebrews 9:27 which reads “Just as
people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment”, even though
it would contradict his belief. In this
way he would be “taking away” from God’s word.
And his beliefs in reincarnation and people being forgiven without faith
in Jesus aren’t taught in the Bible, so he would in effect be “adding to” the
words of the Bible.
I sympathized with Stephan and share his hope that somehow
people might be saved even without specific or obvious faith in Jesus, but I
would have no right to adopt that belief outside of what Scripture states. In my experience, every time I have met
someone who changes or compromises a core biblical doctrine like this, it has a
ripple effect on other doctrines and ultimately leads to great misunderstanding
or confusion about the Gospel.
So I asked Stephan some additional questions about how one
might be saved who hasn’t heard of Jesus.
Although he agreed that people are basically sinful at heart and, as he
put it, must “learn to be good”, he also stated that if a “righteous man” grows
up in a culture with no exposure to Jesus, he still might be saved by somehow
miraculously finding out about Jesus or having the righteousness of Christ
apply to him regardless that he doesn’t have conscious faith.
I wondered at this and found it to be an attractive, but
unbiblical, belief that leads to contradiction with the Bible. In this case, why is it that a person who has
never heard of Jesus must be a “righteous” man in order to be saved regardless? Isn’t that just a repackaged version of salvation
by works?
Or, put another way, maybe it is true that “good people” can
be saved without repentance and faith in Jesus but it is also equally true that
there are no “good people”. We may see
people as good by our own standard of comparison, but God in His holiness has a
much higher standard. “All have sinned
and fallen short of God’s glory”
I worry about the “ripple effect” for Stephen’s beliefs. If he believes others are saved through being
good people despite never hearing of Jesus, would he not have the same belief
for himself if he were in their shoes? And wouldn’t he then just be trusting in
himself rather than Jesus the same way most unbelievers do?
Let’s be careful, brethren, never to add to or take away from
God’s word, lest we too experience the promise given with this warning: that “God
shall take away his part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, which
are written in this book.”
Thanks, Stephen, for allowing me to record our conversation! It can be seen at https://youtu.be/Hj3AdUEbFz0
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