Once Upon a Time

"Once upon a time" there was a boy who grew up in the church.  He made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ.  He claimed to know Jesus as Savior and Lord.  He was baptized and afterward continued to go to church.  When he was older, the boy's attitude about life changed.  He said he no longer believed in Jesus, or even God.  He said he was an atheist.  He said that no one could know which religion was correct because there were so many.

Does this "story" sound familiar?  Perhaps, someone you know has made similar statements like these.  This story is like "The Boy Who Cried Wolf."  The boy lied to the people about a wolf attacking the sheep.  He did this several times and the people stopped believing him.  When a wolf did come and attack the sheep, no one believed him and the sheep were devoured.  In another version, the boy was also devoured.

Now let's connect the dots.  The little boy in the church asked us to believe him that he knew Jesus to be alive and that the boy trusted Jesus as his Lord and Savior.  However, he later said that there was no god.  So, was the boy lying then or is he lying now?  Likely, this boy was lying both times.  He lied when he claimed to know Jesus, and he is now lying when he says there is no god.  Just like the people stopped believing the boy who cried wolf, we will stop believing someone who lies about their faith.  And just like the wolf story, the boy who lied about God will soon enough be devoured by death.

When someone says that the Bible should begin with the words: "Once upon a time...", they are saying the Bible is a collection of stories or fairy tales.  Yes, there are stories in the Bible.  Nathan used a story to confront David with his sin of adultery and murder.  Jesus used stories called parables to illustrate deep truths and also confuse those who refused to believe.  Yet, the Bible is not a story.  The Bible is the message of God to man.  It is truth.  It is life.

Only God knows for sure whether or not this boy is saved, but the fruit of his message points to the likelihood that he is not (please read Matthew 13).  Perhaps the boy was shown the way and believed it was real.  Yet, in his belief, he never actually trusted in the way by walking in it.  If I believe that a chair can hold my weight, but never sit in it, then I have not trusted in the chair.  It is not until I sit in the chair that my faith is proved true.  This is the same for someone who believes Jesus to be the Way, the Truth, and the Life...Savior and Lord.  Until a person trusts in Jesus by resting in Him, salvation has not come.  This is different for the true believer.  The true believer rests in Jesus' salvation, sometimes stumbling in sin, but confessing and turning from it, and getting back up again (Proverbs 24:16).

So many today are exchanging the truth of God for a lie (Romans 1:25).