Although some may say Yes,
such a view is diametrically opposed to the teachings of Christ, the Prophets who preceded Him,
and the Apostles who followed after Him -- and who died martyrs deaths because of
what they taught and believed and saw with their own eyes.
For example, John chapter 8 records a
discussion between Jesus and the religious leaders of His day. What He said to (and
about) them is also applicable to this discussion. For example, He told them
quite bluntly that :
"You know neither Me, nor My Father; if you
knew Me, you would know My Father also," (vs. 19-b) and:
"You are from below, I am from above; you are
of this world, I am not of this world. I said therefore to you, that you
shall die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you shall die in
your sins." vv. 23-24.
"Jesus therefore was saying to those Jews who
had believed in Him, 'If you abide in My word,
then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth, and the
truth shall make you free.' They answered Him, "We are Abraham's
offspring, and have never been enslaved to anyone; how is it that you say,
'You shall become free?' Jesus answered them, "Truly,
truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. And
the slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain
forever. If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free
indeed. I know that you are Abraham's offspring; yet you seek to kill
Me, because My word has no place in you. I speak the things which I
have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you
heard from your father."
"They answered and said to Him, 'Abraham is our father.'
"Jesus said to them, 'If you are Abraham's
children, do the deeds of Abraham. But as it is, you are seeking to
kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this
Abraham did not do. You are doing the deeds of your father."
"They said to Him, 'We were not born of fornication; we have one Father,
even God.'" "Jesus said to them, 'If
God were your Father, you would love Me; for I proceeded forth and have come
from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me.
Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot
hear My word. You are of your father the devil, and you want to do
the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning,
and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.
Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature; for he is a liar, and
the father of lies...
He who is of God hears the words of God;
for this
reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God."
vv. 31-44; 47
See also Matthew 7:21-27, where Jesus said with regard to the day of
Judgment that:
"Not everyone who says to me,
'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of my
Father who is in heaven."
Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord,
Lord did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in
Your name perform many miracles?'
"And then I will declare to them, 'I
never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice Lawlessness.'
Therefore, everyone who hears these words of
Mine, and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house
upon the rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the
winds blew, and burst against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had
been founded upon the rock.
"And everyone who hears these words of
Mine, and does not act upon them, will be like a foolish man, who built his
house upon the sand. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and
the winds blew, and burst against that house; and it fell, and great was its
fall."
Then we have the witness of the apostle John, who
said:
"Little children, let no one deceive you; the
one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one
who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the
beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, that He might
destroy the works of the devil. No one who is born of God practices sin,
because His seed abides in him and he cannot (continue to go on
practicing) sin, because he is born of God. By this the children of
the God and the children of the devil are obvious; anyone who does not
practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his
brother. For this is the message that we have heard from the
beginning, that we should love one another; not as Cain, who was of the evil
one, and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because
his deeds were evil, and his brother's were righteous. By this the children of
the God and the children of the devil are obvious; anyone who does not
practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his
brother. For this is the message that we have heard from the
beginning, that we should love one another; not as Cain, who was of the evil
one, and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because
his deeds were evil, and his brother's were righteous.
Do not marvel, brethren, if the world hates
you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love
the brethren. He who does not love abides in death.
Everyone who
hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal
life abiding in him. We know love by this, that He (i.e. Jesus, the
Christ) laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the
brethren. But whoever has the worlds goods, and beholds his brother in
need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in
Him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue,
but in deed and in truth... And this is His commandment, that we
believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just
as He commanded us... And we know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit
whom He has given us."
I John 3:7-18, 23-24
"Beloved, do not believe every spirit
(i.e. every person), but test the spirits to see whether
they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus
Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not
confess Jesus is not of God; and this is the spirit of the antichrist, of
which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the
world. You are from God, little children, and have overcome them;
because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. They
are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world
listens to them. We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who
is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of
truth and the spirit of error.
"Beloved, let us love one another, for love
is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The
one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this
the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son
into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love,
not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the
propitiation (i.e. satisfactory payment) for our sins. Beloved,
if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another... And we have
beheld and bear witness that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of
the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides
in him (or her) and he (or she) in God..."
I John 4:1-11, 14-15
And then there is the apostle Paul, who said:
"Whoever will call upon the name
of the Lord will be saved."
And the apostle Peter, who
said:
"And if you address as Father, the
One who impartially judges according to each man's work, conduct yourselves in
fear during the time of your stay upon earth; knowing that you were not
redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life
inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb
unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. For He was foreknown
before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the
sake of you who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead
and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
"Since you have in obedience to the
truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one
another from the heart, for you have been born again, not of seed that is
perishable, but imperishable, that is, through the living and abiding word of
God." I Peter 1:17-23
See also I Peter
2:6-8, and note the
contrast between those who believe verses those who disbelieve.
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See also:
How Could God
Condemn
anyone,
while at the same time
be Loving?
How Could A Loving God Send Anyone To Hell?
Will God Really Judge Us
At
the End of Time?
Who
is Jesus? Prophet or God-Man?
Can
I put my trust in a false god?
Life's
Most Basic Questions
Why I Became A Christian
Getting Right
with God?
Signs
of a Christian