Religion, the Bible, and a life of faith
True
religion was created by the one and only God. In every generation, he chose one
person to write and convey his words on his behalf. The Bible, the divine book
of God, was recorded by people whom God chose. Although the Bible was spoken and
written down by people, God is still the source of the words, the one and only
author of the Bible, and the founder of true religion (2 Tm 3:16; Gal 1:11-12; 2
Pt 1:21; Rv 1:10-11). No person can claim to be the founder of religion nor can
anyone claim to be the author of the Bible. People can only write and speak on
behalf of God.
For
believers, hearing and reading the Bible is the same as hearing and reading the
words of God (Jn 12:44-45; Jn 14:24). All of today’s major religions (i.e.
Christianity, Buddhism, Confucianism, etc.) has its own scriptures. If the
history of Christianity is counted beginning in Jesus’ time, it goes back 2,000
years. If the prophets who promised Jesus’ birth are included (Ps 2; Is 7:14),
the history of Christianity stretches back roughly 3,000 years. In fact, since
Christians worship the same God as the Israelites in the Old Testament,
Christian history can be traced back 6,000 years. Confucianism and Buddhism, on
the other hand, each have only 2,500 and 2,600 years of history, respectively.
Among the Old Testament prophets, there were many who prophesied about Christ
before Confucius or Buddha came, and Buddha, Confucius, and the Old Testament
prophets all prophesied about the coming of the savior (Jesus). Although Jesus
came according to the prophecies, the descendants of Moses, Buddha, and
Confucius only believed in Moses, Buddha, and Confucius and refused to believe
in the one about whom their teachers prophesied. In other words, they believed
in their teachers, but they did not believe in the words of their teachers. The
words that their teachers spoke became their scriptures, and the words of their
scriptures are not the words of their teachers but they spoke on behalf of God
(holy spirit). Therefore, they are the
words of God. Faith and salvation can only be attained through God and God's
word.
Apostle
John referred to Jesus, in whom God was dwelling, as the word and as the
advocate who spoke on behalf of God (1 Jn 1:1; 1 Jn 2:1). Jesus said, “I tell
you the solemn truth, the one who hears my message and believes the one [God]
who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned, but has crossed over
from death to life,” (Jn 5:24). When considering the status of Jesus, Confucius,
and Buddha, because Jesus is the son of the creator of heaven and earth (Mt
3:16-17; Jn 1:32-34), no one can compare to him. As for Buddha, Confucius, and
the Old Testament prophets, they spoke on behalf of God and prophesied, but they
were unable to resolve their own sins (original sin, hereditary sin, and
personal sin). Jesus, however, was fundamentally without sin, and he alone bore
the cross to atone for our sins and to grant us salvation (Jn 1:29; Heb
9:28).
Jesus, the son promised by God, fulfilled the Old Testament (Jn
19:30) and prophesied future events, which are referred to as the “New
Testament.” Today is the time Jesus’ promise, the New Testament, is being
fulfilled. Furthermore, the scriptures of Christianity (the Bible) are worth
believing more than the scriptures of Buddhism or Confucianism because the Bible
records the physical fulfillment that appeared according to the prophecies (Jn
14:29). That is to say, the Bible is a scripture of personal
experience[1]
By experiencing the physical fulfillment of the Bible, believers are able to
have solid evidence for their faith.
There
is knowledge of the world and there is biblical knowledge of heaven. Even if
people do good deeds, they cannot be considered righteous by their actions nor
can their sins be washed away. Unless our sins are atoned for, God (holy
spirit), who is life, cannot be with us. It is not wealth or authority that the
sinners of this world need. These things are nothing but empty dreams. The only
thing that we really need is God. Therefore, we must receive the atonement of
sins so that we could have the qualification for God to dwell in us. In order to
receive the atonement of sins, we must meet the pastor promised in the New
Testament. The way to meet this promised pastor is recorded in the Bible. It is
only when people go into the Bible that people will be able to see him and know
him.
If one does not receive the atonement of sins, there is no heaven
and no eternal life and one will receive punishment. The only place in the whole
world that has mastered the revelation and the Bible through the promised pastor
is Shinchonji Church of Jesus. The saints of Shinchonji keep the new covenant
(Heb 8:10-13) and have become walking bibles. They carry out acts of love
instead of persecuting, and instead of believing in words that men speak
according to their own will, they believe and carry out the revelation of
heaven. They are true believers whom God acknowledges and whom all people need.
They are the people of the twelve tribes who have mastered the
way[2]
(Rv 5:9-10; Rv7),
that
is, the word of God, and who practice righteousness and fairness without adding
or subtracting words from the Bible.
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