Profiting From False Religion and From Religious Error
The Lord allows false religion and religious error in the world for various reasons. One is to test His people, but another is to highlight important aspects of true religion. Thus the sacramentalism of Romanism – in which the main “grace” is received through the mass and the other so-called “sacraments” – is a reminder to Protestants that they are to profit from the Word of God. If we are not profiting from the Bible – whether read, or preached, or meditated upon – then we are not profiting at all, and no religious “experience” can make up for this. The Christian cults (such as the Mormons and the so-called Jehovah’s Witnesses) are all in error on the Divinity of Christ, so whenever we hear of these cults, let us remember Christ’s Divine glory and desire for ourselves fresh views of “the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor 4:6).
The false religion of Islam brings out very clearly the importance of truth and of love in Christianity, both of which are sorely lacking in Islam. The God of Israel is the God of truth and the God of love (Ps 31:5, 1 Jn 4:16). Also lacking in Islam, and indeed in all other religions, is the unique Christian doctrine of the Divine forgiveness of sins through the blood and death of Jesus Christ: “There is forgiveness with Thee” (Ps 130:4); “I believe in the forgiveness of sins” (Apostles’ Creed). The true Christian finds pardon, peace and reconciliation through faith in the blood of Christ, which cannot be found anywhere else in the religious world.
Of a somewhat different nature is the great emphasis that the Baptists place on their doctrine of adult or believer’s baptism. We do not agree with this doctrine or regard it as scriptural, but it does serve as a continual reminder of the importance of Christian baptism. Baptism marks a separation from the world, and an incorporation into the covenant of grace, and this is a privilege for the Christian, but it also carries with it an important duty. To remember this duty is an important practical part of the Christian life and of Christian separation from evil: “walk as children of light” (Eph 5:8). Baptism also signifies the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, and the true Christian is to remember that he is a possessor of the Spirit and is to live accordingly. He is not to be enfeebled by his sin and unbelief but is to say with the Apostle: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Phil 4:13).
In the same way, the Episcopalians over-emphasise the important truth that ministers are overseers (episcopoi in Greek) in the Church, while the Brethren over-emphasise the opposite truth that all true Christians are equal, and that all believers are spiritual priests and are “taught of the Lord” (Is 54:13). The Congregationalists draw attention to the importance of the local congregation and to the special duty that the believer has to the “immediate Christian family” in which Christ has placed him. “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ” (Gal 6:1-2). And so it goes on. In this manner we can profitably survey the whole religious world, looking to that God who says to us, “I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go” (Is 48:17).
DWBS
A Christian Nation?
One definition of a Christian country is one which recognises a form of Christianity as its official religion and often has, as a state church, a Christian denomination that supports the government and in turn is supported by the government (Wikipedia). In that sense England is a Christian country because the Church of England is formally part of the legislature of state – some bishops have seats in the House of Lords. At a stretch, the rest of the United Kingdom could be brought under this same umbrella.
Another definition of a Christian country would be one in which the majority of the population claim to be Christian. Sadly, according to data from the 2021 census of England and Wales, this is no longer the case. (The Scottish census took place in 2022 and results are not yet available.)
The census of 2011 showed that 59.3% of the population in England and Wales claimed to be Christian (regardless of church attendance). In the 2021 census, however, only 46.2% declared themselves to be Christian. In contrast, the number who said they had no religion increased from 25% to 37.2% of the population. Those who identified as Muslim rose from 4.9% in 2011 to 6.5% last year.
The falling away from belief is not reflected in non-Christian religions, which all saw a rise. The number of people identifying as Muslim in England and Wales rose by over 1.2 million between 2011 and 2021. The largest group, other than the main religions, was paganism which saw a tenfold rise in those identifying themselves as a shaman. (A shaman is believed to be able to communicate directly with the spirits. This, it is claimed, comes about, by allowing the soul to leave the body to enter the spirit world; or by acting as a mouthpiece for the spirit being, somewhat like a medium. They are believed to have other exceptional abilities (Encyclopaedia Britannica)).
The decline in Christianity is visible, with church attendance decreasing across all branches of the Church of Christ. No wonder we are seeing moral decline in government and people. Many of our laws take no regard of the Creator’s commandments and are, in fact, an abomination in God’s sight. Our Prime Minister is a Hindu, and the Scottish First Minister is a Muslim. They may be determined to do what they see as the best for our country, but they will never ask themselves, What do the Scriptures say? or, What will the Lord have me to do?
The sad fact is that we are far from being a Christian country. The Saviour said to the Church of Ephesus: “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent”. Should we not fear that the same will be said of the United Kingdom? How much we need an outpouring of the Spirit of grace and of supplications.
We should pray that the Lord will draw our nation to Himself in His loving-kindness and that we as a people would run after Him. FRD