Good morning and welcome to the Berean Break.  My name is George Sinkie and I am so glad that you have joined me this morning. This past week has been a wild one with the State Fair in Huron — as usual we had hot weather and a good rain.  Sometimes I think even if they had the State Fair in December it would be 90+ degrees and rain.  OK, maybe not, but sometimes it seems like it.  As we begin this morning I hope you have your Bible ready to check out what is taught.  Let’s begin with a word of prayer,

Dear God, may we humble ourselves before You.  You have blessed us with this day — Thank You and may we use it to Your glory.  You have blessed us with Your Word - Thank You and may we use it as the guide in our lives.  You have blessed us with our minds -  Thank You and may we use them to understand Your will.  You have blessed us with our lives - Thank You and may we live it for You.  As we study together this morning may we follow Jesus.  And it is in His name we pray,  AMEN !!

     Over the course of the last twenty plus years that I have been a Christian I have heard the same type of comment many times.  When talking religion, some religious people will say, “We’re all headed for the same place.”  Now how they word it may vary.  It may be “ we all have our own interpretation.” or “we have a right to our own belief.” or “we’re just on different roads.” and there are others.  Let’s examine this belief this morning.

     Suppose you heard two people talking and as they were concluding their conversation, one of them said, “Well, it was sure nice to meet you and get to talk to you.  I know you’re a “X denomination” and I’m a “Y denomination,” but that’s ok, we’re all going to the same place.”
     I wonder if this person realizes the significance of what they are saying.  What this would essentially be saying is that these two denominations, as well as all other denominations for that matter, all have the right to choose what they believe concerning the necessity of baptism, concerning the purpose of baptism, concerning the method of baptism, concerning the observance of the Lord’s Supper, concerning the requirements of church membership, concerning the use of mechanical instruments of music in their worship, concerning the names for their churches, concerning the method of financially supporting their churches, concerning what their Bible class teachers will teach, and, well, the list could go on and on but you get the point.  What this would essentially be saying is:  “Everyone has a right to his own belief.”  Friends, seriously, neither your Bible nor mine teaches such a thing.

     Consider for a moment the evident conclusion of such a false idea.  If it makes no difference what a person believes, Jesus would not have warned against false prophets.  But listen to Jesus’ words, recorded in Matthew 7:15, “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”

     Also notice the inspired words of Peter, recorded in 2 Peter 2:1, “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.”

     Who are Jesus and Peter writing about?  Some would say they are talking about those who follow Budda or are followers of Islam.  But this cannot be, because they don’t appear as sheep, they make no pretense of being “Christian.”  The false prophets here have at least some appearance of being Christians, even though they are not true to God.

     If it makes no difference what a person believes, there would be no such thing as error.  But in Ephesians 4:14-15, Paul warned against giving in to false doctrine.  “As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ,”.

     And Jesus showed the value of truth in John 8:31-32, ‘Jesus therefore was saying to those Jews who had believed 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.”’

     Surely no one, in their right mind, can believe that truth and error are equal, can they?  Did you notice Jesus’ words?  The truth, not error, shall set you free!  Only the truth can set men free!  But, wait a minute!  Denominationalists teach we can all believe differently.  Denominationalists teach we can all hold opposing views and still be set free from our sins.  But what the denominationalists teach is directly opposed to what Jesus taught.  Jesus said the truth shall set you free, not Baptist doctrine, not Methodist doctrine, not Lutheran doctrine, not Presbyterian doctrine, not the Assembly of God doctrine, not Pentecostal doctrine, not Catholic doctrine, not Seventh Day Adventist doctrine, not Jehovah’s Witness doctrine, not Mormon doctrine, but the truth!  All these denominational doctrines were devised by men hundreds of years after the truth was fully revealed by God.  Men are set free from their sins when they obey the truth, not denominational doctrine.

     How do we purify our souls of sin today?  The same way those in the Lord’s church had purified their souls of sin, in the first century.  Listen to these words, written by Peter, in 1 Peter 1:22, “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,”.

     Are you listening?  Friends, did you hear what Peter wrote?  “You have in obedience to the truth purified your souls.”  Of course, when a person believes that we can follow opposing doctrines and still go to the same place, he denies that there is such a thing as absolute truth.
     Let’s consider the question: “Does every man have a right to his own belief.”  When considering this question, let’s do what we ought to do with all questions in matters of religion.  Let’s go to the Bible for our answer.

     When we examine incidents in the lives of just two individuals, it is readily apparent that every man does not have a right to his own belief.  First let’s consider Apollos in Acts 18:24-28

   24 Now a certain Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures.
   25 This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord;  and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John;
   26 and he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue.  But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.
   27 And when he wanted to go across to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him;  and when he had arrived, he helped greatly those who had believed through grace;
   28 for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.

     As you can see Apollos was a knowledgeable man in the word of God, but he didn’t understand the baptism of the Great commission.  Now he could have told Aquila and Priscilla that they had different faiths, but they were headed for the same place, but this would have been wrong.  Take the time to read on into the next chapter and you will see what needs to happen when a person’s baptism is not the baptism taught in the Great commission.
     The second example that I want to look at is recorded in Galatians 2:11-14

   11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.
   12 For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision.
   13 And the rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy.
   14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, “If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

     Now Paul could have said, “Peter has a right to his own belief, I won’t bother him.”  Or Peter could have said, “Paul you believe one way, but I believe another, it doesn’t matter we’re all headed for the same place.”  Now you may be thinking such, but this prejudice is wrong.  That is correct — and if Peter and these other Jews had not repented that sin would have condemned them.  But the same point is true today.  When I show someone from the Scriptures what the truth is and they tell me, that they believe differently, but it is OK.  They are wrong.  A belief that is in anything other than truth is a belief in false doctrine and it is not OK with God.

     Those persons who claim that every man has a right to his own belief often do so in an attempt to justify their rejecting the plain teachings of the Bible.  They reject the simple teachings of the Bible concerning such matters as conditions of forgiveness, wearing Christ’s name, or being members of the one church Christ purchased with His blood.  Paul spoke of such people in writing to Timothy, in 2 Timothy 4:1-4

   1 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom:
   2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season;  reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.
   3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine;  but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires;
   4 and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths.

     Friends, does everyone have a right to his own belief?  The Bible says no.