THE HOLY BIBLE IS GOD’S ONLY MESSAGE
The traditional Holy Bibles says: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Nevertheless, the Holy Bible tells us to beware of false prophets, whose messages are not fully in line with teachings of Scripture (Matthew 7:15). And it tells us that, led by the Spirit of God, that we should study to know the whole truth of the Bible about Jesus Christ, which sets us free from deceptive spiritual powers which work through messages of false prophets (Ephesian 6:12; 2 Corinthians 11:13-15; 1 John 4:1).
COMPARING THE BIBLE AND OTHER MESSAGES
My niece bought a religious book titled Message: Solo. Knowing that I studied the Bible a lot, she often asked me to check out religious books to see if they were in line with the Bible. When I was reading the “Introduction to Solo” I became concerned that it might be out of line with the Bible. I saw such remarks as the following:
- “Splash in the Word” the Solo way “to discover what God has to say to you each day.”
- “It [Solo] isn’t designed to teach you to study the Bible”.
- Studying the Bible to know God “doesn’t change your relationship with him.”
- The author had a 365-day plan for “splashing” around in his book.
I followed the example of people of the Early Berean Church: They studied and searched the scriptures to see if what the apostle Paul was teaching them was true. They were more interested in God’s truth than in a well-known apostle. Paul commended them for studying the scriptures to know the truth. Shouldn’t we follow the commendable example of the Berean Church of checking out messages that claim to be of God?
THE HOLY BIBLE FOCUSES ON JESUS CHRIST BEING THE ONLY WAY TO GOD
The Bible says it completely equips the people of God concerning God (Timothy 2:3:16-17)–It essentially focuses on Jesus Christ who says “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
- It is well known that the Bible says: God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16).
- Jesus sacrificed his own body as God’s only acceptable atonement for our sin (Hebrews 10: 1-14; Romans 6:23).
- Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and mankind (1 Timothy 2:5).
- Because of the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).
- The Holy Bible says, Jesus Christ is our high priest before God, who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses, because he was tempted in every way, just as we are, but without sinning. So we can approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, to receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Hebrews 4:15-16).
THE MESSAGE: SOLO TEACHES ANOTHER WAY TO GOD
After the Message: Solo tells its reading audience to “Splash in the Word” the Solo way “to discover what God has to say to you each day,” the Message expounds on a way other than Jesus Christ for ridding self of sin:
On “Day 9” of its 365-day plan for “splashing in the word,” The Message: Solo tells its reading audience to read Leviticus 16:20-22. Nevertheless, it fails to tell them to read closely related scriptures, starting at an earlier verse (v15).
Jesus condemns anyone who “take away from the words” or “adds to” the Bible (Revelation 22:18-19; 2 Timothy 3:16-17). In distorting the written Word of God by omitting a related part of Scripture one may mislead others. If one restrict their reading to Leviticus 16:20-22 as told to do by the author of The Message: Solo, it misleadingly reads as follows:
“When Aaron has finishes making atonement for the Holy of Holies, the Tent of the Meeting and the Altar, he will bring up the live goat, lay both hands on the live goat’s head, and confess all the iniquities of the People of Israel, all their acts of rebellion, all their sins. He will put all the sins on the goat’s head and send it off into the wilderness, led by a man standing by and ready. The goat will carry all their iniquities to an empty wasteland; the man will let him loose out there in the wilderness.”
After telling his readers to read the above scripture, the author instructs them to put their hand on the head of a live or stuffed animal, confess their sins and feel their sins being transferred to the animal. Moreover, he advises them not to pity the animal, because God did not make it able to feel guilt for sin.
Telling anyone to confess their sins this way is contrary to teaching of the Holy Bible. The Scripture tells us we should confess our sins to God through Jesus Christ, our only mediator between God and mankind (1 Timothy 2:5).
VERIFYING THE BIBLE WAY
If we start reading at verses 15 in the Bible, it reads: “He shall then slaughter the goat for the sin offering for the people and take its blood behind the curtain…” In broader scriptural context (Leviticus 16:15-22) we see that there were two goats involved in the atonement for sin on the Day of Atonement, in the Old Testament–not just one goat mentioned by the author in The Message: Solo.
The HCBS Life Application Study Bible explains why there were two goats involved on the Day of Atonement: The two goats represented the two ways God was dealing with the sins of Israel: (1) He was forgiving their sins through the first goat, which was sacrificed and (2) he was removing their sin through the second goat, the scapegoat, which was sent into the wilderness. The same ritual had to be repeated every year. Jesus Christ’s death on the cross replaced this system once and for all. Our sins are forgiven, place on Jesus and remove from the presence of God, when we believe in the sacrificial atonement of Jesus’ blood (Hebrews 10:1-18).
BELIEVING AND FOLLOWING THE BIBLE WAY TO GOD
According to the Bible, teaching or believing any way other than Jesus of going God the Father for the forgiveness of sin is contrary to God’s Word. Putting your hand on the head of a stuffed or live animal for forgiveness, as The Message: Solo tells you, may make some people feel better temporarily or psychologically, if they are having pains of sin-guilt. However, this does not heal the spiritual sickness of the soul. Similarly, taking pain killers does not heal sickness; it simply kills pain. Moreover, people often become addicted to painkillers that add to and exacerbate their problems. You can become hooked on false-cures for sin and guilt without actually being forgiven and healed by God. Religious writer Justin Peters questions the trustworthiness of another work by the author of The Message: Solo, in Peters’ “Why is the Message (Bible) not safe?”
Traditional biblical “Scripture is given by inspiration of God” which thorough equips believers and gives us understanding that Jesus died for our sins (2 TIMOTHY 3:16-17; John 3:16)–He is the only mediator between God and mankind. He is our empathetic and merciful mediator, having been tempted in every way like we are, but without sinning. And If we should sin, the Bible tells us we should confess our sin directly to God, who will forgive us because of the atonement of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ (1 John 1:9; John 14:6).
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