Day 8

“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God –the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son.”

—ROMANS 1:1-2

There are eight major religions in the world, each of which has numerous branches, sects and cults that claim to be its truest expression. Within Christendom it is believed there are in excess of forty one thousand denominations (not including the thousands of independent churches), and hundreds of cults. Islam also has its cults and divisions, as does Buddhism and Judaism, so a valid question to ask is: “How do we know which of these, if any, is true?”

Are any of these religions true or are they all equally deluded? If a person is satisfied in a religious system, is that sufficient in itself, whether it is true or not?

The first questions we have to ask about any religion are: Is it credible? Is it true? It may provide some strength and sustenance to an individual, but is it based on truth or is it an illusion?

In his epistle to the Romans, Paul talks about the source of the gospel. He speaks of, “the gospel

He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding His Son.” The gospel did not begin with Jesus Christ. The message has its roots in history and prophecy long before Jesus Christ was born. Christ did not arrive on the scene as a surprise, neither is He the ‘founder of Christianity’ as sometimes assumed.

Rather, Jesus Christ is the fulfiller of Christianity, because long before He was born the story had begun for which His appearance as a man was the climatic and indispensable event. The prophets of the Old Testament foretold His coming as fully as the apostles of the New Testament explained it in retrospect. Paul said to the Ephesians that “the church is built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets”, and we need to understand both.

Don’t just be a New Testament Christian; be a bible Christian, for its truth does not begin with Christ.

PRAYER: Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for giving us both the Old and New Testaments in which the entire story of Christendom is revealed. And above all, thank You for Christ, the One who fulfills the prophecies and promises of the Christian life, our only means whereby we are reconciled to You.

TO REFLECT UPON: Have the prophecies of Jesus in the Old Testament reinforced my trust and belief in all of Scripture?