ChINOs

There is a popular acronym within the political realm to describe Republican politicians who consistently support legislation that goes against traditional conservative beliefs. That term is "RINO" which stands for Republicans In Name Only. Sadly, there are plenty of people who claim to be Christians who do not profess a belief that is consistent with biblical teaching. They could be called "ChINOs" or Christians In Name Only. Now, I do not say this to be humorous or disrespectful. I say this to call your attention to a growing trend within the so-called Body of Christ. There are numerous believers who say they have faith in Jesus Christ, but when they speak utter things that you will not find in the pages of scripture. The following three quotes give an example of what I am talking about:

"God is within all of us and does not have to be found in a church necessarily. I believe in the universe and that energy is in each & every one of us. Inspiration and spirit are our gifts to create our lives, good or bad. It's what we do with it..."

"Although I am born & raised [Christian denomination], I have always had an interest in other faiths such as Judaism & Eastern/Greek Orthodox. I feel that one doesn't necessarily have to practice a certain faith and/or believe in God in order to be a good person."

"Sadly I am not a good example of the [Christian cult] faith that I was raised in. I believe in it, but I am having a hard time living it at this point."

I believe that the only one who smiles when they hear comments like these is Satan. He loves nothing more than to get people believing in the "universe,"other faiths, no God at all or self-effort. These types of statements are just as much an indictment of the teaching going on within the Christian faith as a whole as much as it is on these individuals. Statements such as these serve as hard evidence of people who have "exchanged the truth of God for a lie (Romans 1:25)."

While I agree that God doesn’t have to be found in a church that is a far cry from believing that God is the universe or is in each one of us. In fact, "we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command (Hebrews 11:3)" and that the only ones who have God within us are those who have placed faith in Jesus Christ. I am always amazed at how people can put faith in vague statements about the universe, but deny all the facts that validate the claims made in the Bible. However, there beliefs in many ways can serve as encouragement to true believers like myself. The Bible says that at one point in time "every man did what was right in his own eyes (Judges 17:6)." Is not that what is at the heart of those who believe in the universe and that God is in all of us? They deny the one true God of the Bible because they want to be their own gods and do what they believe is right. In this way nobody has to stand for what they believe because in the end they are all right in their own eyes.

The second statement about being born and raised in a particular denomination makes me believe that this person has never had a saving encounter with Jesus Christ. While they may have had membership in their particular denomination, and committed themselves to upholding and living up to its tenants, that doesn’t make them a Christian. I know I am making an assumption about this person, but they are a good example to talk about a huge problem within the Church at large. The reason we have so many different denominations is because they all believe themselves to be Christian despite the fact that nearly all of them teach different things. Thus, you have people who sit under these teachings believing themselves to have placed faith in Christ when they have really placed faith in their denomination. Jesus said, "You must be born again (John 3:7)." This only occurs after an individual realizes at some point in their life that they are dead in their sins and in need of the resurrected life of Christ. This is not accomplished by belonging to a denomination and could be the reason the person believes that other faiths are just as valid. After all, one thing all religions have in common is that they all teach their adherents how to try to reach up to God in the energy of their own flesh. And that is the fatal and eternal flaw in each one of them.

The last statement is a natural byproduct of the first two statements. Since you have various faiths all teaching how to get to God through submission to their teachings you have people judging themselves through the prism of their obedience to those teachings. If you’re obeying the teachings you believe yourself to be a good person and vice versa. Problem with that is there are no good people. We usually deem ourselves good or bad based on our ability to live up to what we believe is good and avoid that which we deem bad. Religion and our own desire to determine what is right come into play here. If we are doing what we are told to do we feel proud of ourselves. When we fail to live up to what we desire we either condemn ourselves as being bad or change the rules in order to justify our failures. God has a different opinion on the matter. "All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one (Romans 3:12)."

There are many ways to hell, but only one way to Heaven. "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it (Matthew 7:13-14)." The wide gate is the one entered by those believing in multiple ways to heaven, that God is within us all simply because of our existence and that judge their worthiness into Heaven by their obedience to religious rules. All mankind is born into this world spiritually dead in their sins, separated from God. Jesus, God in the flesh, is the only means God has made available for any of us to reach Heaven. Believing in the three statements above may make you popular with others in the world who don’t know Christ as well as accepted by them. However, until you realize that you cannot do anything to gain entrance into heaven you are doomed to an eternity apart from it. But God, in His love has provided a way. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him (John 3:16-17)."