“I, the LORD, Am A Jealous God”
Does it matter what religion a person follows—don’t they all lead to the same place? Should I care if my friends and neighbors are non-Christian, as long as they’re good people?
A person’s religion matters.
Why?
Consider what’s at stake: The Bible says, “each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27 NLT).
Not all religions lead to the same place and knowing the claims of Jesus and the coming judgment, it matters what people believe!
Christianity is the fulfillment of the Jewish law which reveals that our Creator made us in His image and jealously desires to protect our relationship with him. In the Ten Commandments, God orders, “You must not have any other god but me.”
Why would God give such an order?
Because all other so-called gods are either demons (fallen angels) who seek to kill, steal and destroy the image of God in us (John 10:10), or are idols we make and rely upon instead of God and which provide no help to you when you die.
God explained, “You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods” (Exodus 20:3, 5).
Jesus is not a man-made or self-proclaimed god but the promised Son who originates with the Father. As Hebrews 9:15 states, “[Jesus] is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them.”
The Apostle John, who walked with Jesus, witnessed his death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven affirmed, “In the beginning the Word [Jesus Christ] already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God” (John 1:1-2).
The angel Gabriel told his mother Mary, and Joseph, that Jesus is Emmanuel, meaning, God with us, as promised by the Jewish prophets long before, see Matthew 1:18-23; Luke 1:26-38).
Jesus, himself, claimed to be God saying, “The Father and I are one” (John 10:30).
In the very famous passage of John 3:16, Jesus told a religious leader that he was the promised one-and-only Savior of the World. He said that those who believes in him, that is, those who will listen to and obey him, will pass from judgment and have eternal life!
Jesus didn’t come to be a good teacher and perform acts of kindness; He came to “seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). When healing the invalid, Jesus clearly stated, “Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him” (John 5:23 ESV).
So, yes, it matters what you or anyone else believes! God isn’t as concerned with your present physical comfort as he is with your eternal destiny. This life will pass only too quickly.
Today, evaluate what you believe. I urge you to follow Jesus.
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