Misunderstandings About Christianity

There are two great misunderstandings and misconceptions about Christianity. I find myself battling against them a lot.

The first misunderstanding is that God loves everyone so therefore everyone will be forgiven and everyone is going to heaven.

Wrong. Well, half wrong. Yes, God does love everyone. But His love is not the golden key to the pearly gates. Jesus Christ is. We must accept and abide (key word there!) in Jesus Christ. He is the way (key word there), the truth (there’s only one truth) and the life (eternal).

The second misunderstanding is that once someone is saved, then their entry way to heaven is guaranteed, it’s locked in, and that it is literally impossible for them to fall from grace.

Wrong!

Those who dispute the above usually come from a place of fear. It is comfortable for them to rest in an illusion of safety and security without facing fact and reality. It is also easy to lay in a lie. It requires no thought, no effort and no emotional involvement or strife.

These folks have many friends and like-minded cohorts that will agree with them and support these false ideas.

Truth and reality can be painful. It’s why so many people run and hide from it. But I don’t want you to die. I want you to choose life and live. We can only do this by sticking to the truth.

Pilate looked Jesus Christ directly in the face and asked, “What is truth?” (John 18:38). I believe it was a sincere question. If we ask the same question from a sincere heart and receive the truth in like fashion, then everything will be alright.

But if we ask “What is truth?” and then discount or attempt to discredit it because it isn’t what we want to hear, then we are nothing more than a rebellious people, “Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us” (Isaiah 30:10-11).

I don’t want you to die. I want you to live. A one and done salvation, that requires nothing from you but guarantees a key to the pearly gates is a lie and a certain pathway to death.

If you disagree with this or have questions about it, I will most happily and willingly speak with you IF you are in search of and willing to accept the truth. The truth, no matter how it does or does not fit into your current understanding or notions must be the goal. I am not going to argue. I don’t care who “wins”. I’m not interested in proving a point or making someone look bad.

If you are all bowed up with my above statement then let me make one thing clear. I am not, repeat NOT claiming to be the keeper of the truth. No, no....far from it. But I do know the source of truth and make it my foundation....and my floors....and my walls...and my rooftop. Do I ever fail? Yes, too often and often quite miserably.

But my source never fails.

Jesus said seek and you will find. So let’s look for the truth, no matter how pretty or ugly it may be.

Bill Hitchcock