Is one religion as good as another? Many believe they are. However to find out the answer it is not what we believe that determines the truth but what the Bible says that really matters. What does the Bible say?

From Gen 4:3-5 we can see that the religion of Cain was not as good as the religion of Abel. God respected Abel’s offering but rejected Cain’s. Why? By faith Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain. Since faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God (Rom 10:17), Abel obviously offered what God required while Cain offered something else.

The religion of the Canaanites was not as good as that which God gave to the Israelites at Horeb. The Israelites were warned to make no covenant with them nor with their gods (Ex 23:32). They were not to bow down to their gods, or even mention their names but to utterly destroy them along with the people. The children of Israel were strictly charged to keep the word of Jehovah without adding to or diminishing from it (Dt 4:2).

The religion which Jeroboam instituted was not as good as the religion in Jerusalem (1 Ki 12:26-33). He set up two golden calves one at Dan and the other at Bethel. He also made priests which were not Levites and ordained a feast day a month later than the one in Judah.

All of this he devised from his own heart. God sent a prophet who cried out against the kings alter. This thing became sin unto the house of Jeroboam and to the kings who followed him.

Jesus did not consider the religion of the Pharisees to be as good as that from God (Mk 7:6-13). He accused them of making void the word of God by your tradition. He said that their worship was vain because they taught as their doctrines the traditions of men. He often warned His deciples against the teaching of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.

The apostles did not regard the religion of the Jews or the Greeks to be as good as the religion of Christ. They preached to both groups and converted multitudes to the religion of the Lord. They preached that salvation is in Jesus Christ alone and that there is no religion but that of Christ (Acts 4:12).

The apostles refused to acknowledge any other religious teaching other than that which they preached by the Spirit. They charged men not to teach any other doctrine and to turn away from those who did. The epistles are full of warnings from the apostles about false teachers and the dangers of their doctrines.

Among the religions of men one may be as good as another but compared to the religion of Christ they are totally worthless.

Send comments or questions to the Clintwood Church of Christ, POB 746, Clintwood, Va. 24228 or e-mail bryanwa@ntelos.net - check out our new web site at clintwoodchurchofchrist.com