Think on These Things
October 2001
1. If Sincerity is all that Matters
If Sincerity is all that Matters
by Bryan Gibson
If sincerity in religion is all that matters, then the terrorists who struck the World Trade Center and the Pentagon did the right thing. Is anyone willing to go along with that? Of course, not. However sincere they may have been, they were very wrong. What they did was evil, and we all know it.
So if sincerity did not excuse these people, by what reasoning can we say that it excuses other people? Over and over again, we hear that it doesn’t matter what you believe, as long as you are sincere. These terrorists evidently believed they were doing the right thing, but we know they were wrong. Isn’t it possible that others could be in the same boat—doing things they believe to be right, but which are in fact very wrong.
Read carefully these words from Proverbs 14:12: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” There is a big difference between that which seems to be right, and that which is actually right. That which only seems to be right leads to death. That which we know to be right leads to life. We must carefully study God’s word so that we can know what is right—so that we can be assured that we are pleasing Him in all that we do.
2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 speaks of those who instead of believing the truth, believed a lie. The passage is plain. Those who believe a lie will be condemned. Revelation 22:15 talks about those who will be left outside the heavenly city, who will not be allowed entrance. Included among those left outside—“whoever loves and practices a lie.” It won’t matter if they practiced this lie sincerely. They will be lost forever.
It does matter what we believe. The apostle Paul, before he was converted to Christ, persecuted Christians. He thought he was doing the right thing; his conscience was clear (Acts 23:1). But what sets Paul apart from so many today is that when he did discover the truth, he turned his back on the “lie” he was practicing and obeyed the truth.
It’s time for people to stop claiming that sincerity is enough, to stop saying that everyone is entitled to their own beliefs. A belief that is contrary to truth is a lie, and we’ve seen already the consequences of believing and practicing a lie. One’s false beliefs may never lead him to hijack a plane and kill thousands of people, but it can sure lead his soul to hell.
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