The doctrines of men have certainly created significant confusion in the religious world, regarding not just what some would try to classify as “trivial matters,” but impacting the most critical of all subjects—man’s salvation. Man-made doctrines vary on (1) identifying those who are lost, (2) designating who has the right to be saved, (3) enumerating what man must do in order to be saved, (4) understanding the requirements of man in order to remain saved, (5) resolving the possibility of one losing his salvation, etc.
The greatest consequence of these man-made doctrines is not only that these individuals who have created these doctrines are lost (cf. Gal. 1:6-10), but that they have created confusion for those who are seeking the truth about salvation. The eternal destiny of souls is at stake, and man is responsible for placing so many of them in jeopardy by “teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Matt. 15:9; cf. Jas. 3:1).
One of the most distressing realities to consider is that man has taken this liberty with one of the simplest teachings in all of the Bible (not to mention the most important). It is true that there are some matters that are “secret things” that “belong to the Lord” (Deut. 29:29a), but salvation is not one of them (cf. Deut. 29:29b). It is true that there may “some things” in Paul’s epistles that are “hard to understand” (2 Pet. 3:15-16), but salvation is not one of them. Still, man is misusing Scripture, even those sections that are “easy to understand,” and as a result, “twist to their own destruction” (2 Pet. 3:16).
Scriptures teach that God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4). If that is true (and it is, because Scripture tells us so), does God have the ability to tell us in plain, understandable language how we can be saved and go to heaven? Secondly, does God have the desire to tell us in plain, understandable language how we can be saved and go to heaven? If the Almighty, All-Loving God has both the ability and the desire, then we should confidently approach His Scriptures with full expectation of finding His plan.
Over the next several weeks, let’s consider these most fundamental matters regarding our eternal salvation. Let’s resolve to lay aside all man-conceived notions, go back to the Bible, and find and accept only God’s way.