Luke Scallon
Published in The Des Moines County News on February 2, 2017.

Catholics, Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, nondenominational…  So many types of Christians with so many divisions.  Why!?  We all believe in God, and we’re all trying to be good and do good…  Why so many differences?  Is it worth getting caught up in the details?  Does it really matter what we believe??

Imagine with me for a moment.  I like to express love to my wife.  If I called her and said, “Sweety, I love your blonde hair and tall stature,” I can assure you, she would not feel loved!  That’s because she is particularly short and has gorgeous black hair.  I cannot claim to love her for something that she is not.  Similarly, we cannot say we love God, but define God however we want.  We cannot claim to follow Jesus, but do it in a way different than He has asked us to.  “Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, then you really are my disciples'” (John 8:31).

The law of non-contradiction comes from classic logic and seems obvious; yet, our postmodern world rejects that law and opts instead for universal acceptance.  The law of non-contradiction states that contradictory statements cannot both be true in the same context.  Simply stated, “A=B” and “A≠B” are in direct conflict to one another.  One is true, and the other is false.  Both cannot be true!

What is the source of truth, then?  The Bible claims to be perfect, sure, eternal, authoritative, and true.  It claims to be directly from God (2 Timothy 3:16), and if we believe God is true, then we ought to believe His Word, since He cannot lie (Titus 1:2).  What about tradition, or good teachers?  While valuable, they should always be measured against our standard for truth.  The Apostle Paul was a great teacher, but the Bereans checked Scripture to see if what he taught was true… and they were commended as noble.  “These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11).

So, does it matter what I believe?  As we all know, believing in Santa Clause doesn’t make him true.  Despite any beliefs, facts are facts.  We would be wise to root beliefs in truth.  Which denomination is right?  I encourage you to do some serious study of your Bible and decide what you believe.  The Word of God is right.  I made a personal decision to change to a different church when I saw that my church had beliefs different than the Bible.  No one denomination or church is 100% correct, but they should attempt to follow the Bible above as their source of truth!

Realize, dear friends, that salvation comes not by what we do… but what we believe!  The gospel “is the power of God to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).  What we believe couldn’t matter more!