One Faith
There are no distant lands anymore; we are just one world.
The story of the Tower of Babel in the Word of God is a lesson in mankind’s prideful pursuit of its own natural and gradual control of this world. Global is not a new term; it was there in the mind of King Nebuchadnezzar. It’s the idea that takes possession of a nation, a people, or a political party that desires to be in control of everyone.
In his book, The Global Age, Ian Kershaw, from a perspective of European countries, writes that this idea of one world will have its moments of peace but will always remain divided. In the book, Individual Responsibility in a Global Age,Samuel Scheffler writes that the opposing pulls of global integration and ethnic fragmentation pose a major political problem.
The human desire for unity is looked on with skepticism by philosophers like Hobbes, Rousseau and Kant. They expressed doubt about the idea of such a unity. Still, we catch ourselves pursuing the idea of one people.
In his book A World Split Apart Aleksander Solzhenitsyn writes that we have become a world split apart because of “the calamity of an autonomous irreligious humanistic consciousness. It has made man the measure of all things on earth—imperfect man, who is never free of pride, self-interest, envy, vanity, and dozens of other defects.” p57
In the Word of God Simon Peter is quoted as saying, “Lord, to whom shall we go? John 6:68a. This is a question mankind has always been asking and, unfortunately, it is in their own nature to look for the answers in themselves. Even in this age of information, some Bible prophets are telling us that a one-world ruler will come. They predict that a worldwide superpower government is now in its formative stages.
For the Christian believer all of our hopes are founded on Peter’s confession, “you have the words of eternal life.” This confession recorded in the 18th chapter of Matthew was preceded by an inquisition of a sort. The Pharisees and the Sadducees were blinded by their desire for miraculous signs. The blindness came from stubbornness. The stubbornness came from their lust for control. They refused to acknowledge that Christ was indeed the Son of God. Unbelievers still refuse to believe in the miracles done by the Son of God that bring people to faith. In Richard C. H. Lenski’s Interpretation of Matthew’s Gospel, he quotes Voltaire as saying, “Even if a miracle should be wrought in the open market place before a thousand sober witnesses, I would rather mistrust my senses than admit a miracle.” p110
Jesus’ response to Simon Peter’s confession You have the words of eternal life is the confession upon which the Christian Church is founded. Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. Matthew 16:17-18
The disciple’s name was Peter. Peter means rock. When Jesus said He would build His church on “this rock,” He was not referring to Peter but to Peter’s confession of who Jesus Christ is. This confession is the Gospel of Jesus Christ which the Christian church down through the ages has regarded as the keys to the kingdom.
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:19
The key is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This Gospel is the only power that can free mankind from the world of sin in which they are captive and has the power to open the gates of heaven to them. Gospel, one of the most common words in the language of a Christian, means different things to different people: Jesus died for our sins, God loves us, and most of all, it is the “good news” about how God has rescued us from a sinful world. “Good news” is the official proclamation that Jesus Christ came into this world to announce the arrival of the Kingdom of God. With this message comes the announcement that Jesus is the way to that Kingdom.
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6
While the global world in which we live exists, there will always be those who will substitute themselves for the one Lord Jesus Christ. We call these anti-Christs. Be assured that as you read the Word of God, the Holy Spirit will lead you into faith in whom Jesus Christ truly is. However vast, complicated and troubled this world is, this faith is the “rock” on which we stand. There is but One God, the Creator of the universe; there is but one Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ and there is One Holy Spirit through whom we are gathered in the lives we now live and in the eternal life to come.
