Religious falsehood
The third great external hindrance to people being saved is religious falsehood. By that general title, I am referring to all non Christian religions and to all false salvation doctrine within Christianity. All falsehood is dangerous because it poses as truth or as a valid means to reach God, which only true worship and doctrine can do (John 4:23-24; 8:31-32; 1Timothy 4:16). The spiritual ploy the devil posed on Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden was the first presentation of falsehood upon the human race. Since their fall to the devil’s cunning, their fallen descendants have been susceptible to religious falsehood. It exists today simply because the same old devil is still up to his old tricks. The Bible warns repeatedly to beware of the devil, with whom we cohabit this planet (2Corinthians 2:11; 1Peter 5:8).
How formidable is the treat of religious falsehood?
False religion and false doctrine are big business with the devil. They are his tools of choice. That’s because they both produce deception, a state from which it is most difficult to escape simply because the person who is deceived thinks he’s right. The subject of religious falsehood should concern every person who has his eyes on heaven.
Let’s consider the two kinds of falsehood: false deities and false doctrine within Christianity.
Most believers in Christ would readily agree that religious systems that involve a deity other than the one true God are patently false. And that is true. However, often they can’t discern between truth and error beyond that point. They are unsuspecting of falsehood that bears the name of Christianity (Matthew 7:21-23). The mixture of error into the worship of the one true God goes back to Cain who pretended to worship God while not submitting to His terms (Genesis 4:7), thus essentially inventing a new kind of religion under the guise of the one true God. Hence, Cain became the father of false religion in the name of God. But Cain’s rebellion was not accepted by God and, when confronted, he went out from God’s presence (Genesis 4:16).
False doctrine within Christianity can be just as idolatrous and just as deadly as false religion itself because, no matter what name it is called, the end result is the same. Religious falsehood is religious falsehood. All error is error— and, therefore, wrong. See Galatians 1:6-10; 5:1-9. Christ is the sole author of our faith (Hebrews 5:9; 12:1-2). Only what He specifically prescribed for salvation is efficacious to save (Matthew 15:13-14; John 3:5).
A special warning of Jesus regarding a false Christianity
False doctrine should particularly concern believers in Christ because of what He foretold regarding the devil’s activity in the Christian Church era. In His parable of the wheat and the tares (Matthew 13), Jesus painted a vivid and startling picture of how the devil would infiltrate Christianity with a false Gospel message that would bring deception to many and interfere with the harvest of souls in a most disastrous way. That information should make every conscientious soul careful to know that what he believes is the truth. It should make him want to understand how his doctrinal position is right and how false positions are wrong. Literally, one’s eternal soul is at stake.
False doctrine within Christianity is a fact because Jesus said it would happen. The devil would interfere with the truth. It’s also a very noticeable fact. Over the course of the Christian era, many beliefs as to how to be saved have arisen. That, by itself, is evidence of demonic activity. The devil will substitute the plan of salvation whenever and wherever he can.
How can a person identify false salvation doctrine?
The easiest way to identify false salvation doctrine is to use the key of understanding Jesus provided in His parable of the wheat and the tares. The wheat (true doctrine) of the Christian era was sown first (Matthew 13:24-25). The book of Acts showcases Christian evangelism and salvation by the ministers Jesus hand-picked from its very inception on the Day of Pentecost. On that day, Peter answered the inquiry of souls seeking salvation (Acts 2:37). He said, Repent, and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (v.38). And he declared that this would be the plan of salvation for the Church age (Acts 2:39). This is the wheat. Simple chronology proves it. It was presented as salvation doctrine on the very birthday of the Christian Church. All tares, naturally, were sown by the enemy later. It’s easy to see that any belief system that differs from what was sown initially is part of the devil’s falsehood. Ant there are many such false beliefs.