Christian or Pagan?

       Years ago, I was in the search for the perfect religion or the perfect church. I figured that there must be one church that had it all together and was more correct than all of the rest of the churches. I began to think about a church that had the longest history. After all, they must have had it right in the beginning in order to last so long. Well, to be honest, that obviously didn't work out too well. I was under the impression that there were hundreds of different religions and there must be one of them that was the most correct. It wasn't until recently that I began taking a course on the computer that a new thought was presented and things became clearer. Not only did it define the number of religions in the world but it also showed the motivation for most of our politics and sociology. The central verse for this presentation was the following verse: Romans 1:25 says, “Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen”

         It almost seemed like an oversimplification of the whole matter, but the end statement was that there are only two religions in the world. There is Christianity and there is Pagan. That's it. The question comes up, “Whom do you worship?” If you are not worshiping God, then your religion is pagan. The Apostle Paul, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, made this very clear. They worshiped the creature more than the Creator. If you are in a religion that has as its core a system of works, then you are pagan rather than Christian. Just because a church has a so called Christian name doesn't make it so. If we say that God can't do it and that He needs our help in the accomplishment of certain works, then, we are saying that man has the ability to save himself and we know from experience that this statement is not true. Paul also made it clear in First Corinthians 15 exactly what the Gospel is. It is the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The pendulum of religion has swung completely to the other side where in the early 1930's, man concluded that he didn't even need God and came up with the Humanist Manifesto which was followed by the manifesto II and finally manifesto III. They all put man on top of the pile and say that the world created God and not vice versa. It is the truth of Romans 1:25. Man finally decided to worship the creation rather than the Creator. There is one church that is right, but it is not going to be found in a building nor in a certain city or country. It is not going to be a “local” church as we see so many dotting the maps of our countries. Paul also defined that church in First Corinthians 12:13 when he said, again, by the Holy Spirit, “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.” There is that ONE body which is the true church. You might be living in Madrid, Spain, or in Lima, Ohio or in New York City or in Rolling Prairie, Indiana and you can be a member of the one and only church. If, however, you are not a member of that One True Body of Christ, then you are a member of a pagan religion. I became a member of the only true church just after midnight on a night in Chattanooga, Tennessee. I would like to say that I found the true church but in reality, God found me. We don't like to have things over simplified but there are only two groups of people in the world. You are either Jewish or Gentile. Religious wise, there are only two groups, Christians and pagans. If you are not a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, then you are following after something or someone who is a part of the creation and not the Creator Himself. In the end, God will either say, “Welcome into my heaven.” or He will say, “Depart from Me, I never knew you.” Which will it be? Praise God for His Word.