Why only one Way?
We live in a society of moral
relativism. This is the age of tolerance and subjectivism. To many truth is
relative, not absolute.[i]
What a lot of people are saying today is, “What you believe is fine for you,
but I have my own truth! Your truth is your truth, and my truth is my truth"! To
affirm that there is absolute truth, and only one way to God, and eternal bliss
seems arrogant.
Truth is never arrogant. For
Biblical truth is the only truth that saves.
A lot of people say they believe
in Jesus Christ. That’s not enough. What one believes about Him, and who He is
is the key. It’s not good enough to say that Jesus was a great moral teacher or
a first century Prophet, and miracle worker from Galilee. He did not leave that
option open to us.
Hear the words of C.S. Lewis the
author of the classic Chronicles of Narnia series:
“I
am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people
often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I
don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man
who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a
great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man
who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must
make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman
or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and
kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but
let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human
teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”[1]
Jesus Himself told the religious leaders of His day, If you do not believe that I AM, you shall die in your sins (John 8:24).
Jesus declared to His disciples
that, I AM the Way, the Truth, and the
Life. No man comes unto the Father by Me (John 14:6).
Peter in Acts 4:12 says this, for
there is salvation in no one else. For there is no other name under heaven
given among men whereby we MUST be saved.
Peter on the day of Pentecost and
the birth of the church preached the first gospel sermon said this to the Jews,
Repent be baptized every one of you in
the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive
the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38).
After Jesus restored a blind
man’s sight Jesus asked Him, Do you believe on the Son of God? He answered and
said, Who is He Lord that I might believe on Him? And Jesus said unto him, You have seen Him, and It is He that talks
with you. And he said Lord I believe, and he worshipped Him (John 9:36-38).
Isaiah the prophet says this, Before Me there was no God formed, nor shall
there be after Me. I even I, am the Lord and besides Me there is no Savior
(Isa 43:10b-11).
Isaiah also says, For I am God, and there is no other; I am
God and there is none like Me (Isa 46:9).
In Deuteronomy 6:4 we read this,
Hear, O Israel the Lord our God, the
Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with
your soul, and with all your strength.
The recitation of these words are
known as the Shema. What the people of
Israel were acknowledging is that God is the only God. They were declaring they
were monotheistic nation.
Exodus 20:3 reads, you shall no
others gods before me. The first of the ten commandments.
The Philippian Jailer asked Paul
and Silas, “what I must I do to be saved?” They replied to him, “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and
you will be saved, you and your household” (Acts 16:31).
Obviously there are a host of
other scriptures that tell us that the only God is the God of Holy Writ. To
believe in someone or something else is idolatry which offends our Heavenly Father.
Problems with False Religions
1. With
every other religion the adherent has to perform
meritorious works in order to earn their salvation, deliverance and or reward
from their god. This is a work-righteousness system which can never
save. False religious systems are all based on conditions being met in order to
merit the favor of their god or their system.
Not so with Christianity. The work has been performed perfectly and
finally by the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no actual activity one has to engage
in to merit the grace of God. Grace is a gift from God to undeserving wretched
sinners. God the Father loved the world so He sent His only begotten Son to redeem
the world from its sins. Since Jesus loves His Father, and always pleases Him,
He willingly died for those whom the Father gave to Him (John 6:37; 17:9).
Some asked Jesus, “What shall we
do that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This
is the work of God, that you believe
in Him (Jesus) who He (The Father) sent (John 6:28-29).
Here is a crystal clear case of
the human responsibility of man to believe. Just because God chooses
sovereignly in eternity past who He would save, it never negates the human
cognitive response of the chosen to willfully believe.
For someone to try to obtain
salvation by their own works proves their disdain for God the Father and the
atonement of Jesus Christ. What the person is saying is that God’s plan of
salvation is insufficient for them. This is an abomination to God (Pro 15:8;
21:27). Jesus referred to that type of individual as a thief and a robber (John
10:1,8).
Man’s religion is backwards. Why?
Because it focuses on what He can do for himself; to praise and honor himself,
rather than what a loving Father and Son has already done for man. Man’s
religion is subjective – he chooses his own path to happiness and peace of
mind. Whereas Biblical salvation places all the power, ability, and grace on
God Almighty. Man’s religion chooses their god. With true religion God chooses
man.
2.
Second
and most major problem with false religion is that it is powerless to save from sin.
Although some false religions
mention sin, they do not provide an answer for getting rid of sin. There is no
deity that has laid down his life and shed his blood for sin so that all who
believe can be saved from its damning consequences. They do not have a perfect
holy substitute that is willing to bear the sins of the condemned so that they
may be converted from everlasting death to everlasting life. False religion has
no sacrificial love in it! Jesus proved His love by dying for the sins of His
people (Matt 1:21). A person is on their own to make it right. They never will.
Anyone trying to merit the grace of God is deceived and a fool. Working for
salvation is definitely an exercise in futility – you still have not dealt with
the main problem facing you – your sins. In order to have them removed, one
must believe that Jesus died to take away our sins. That is the one thing that
separates man from his God.
3.
False religions does not demand Repentance
of sin
This is a monumental issue.
Repentance requires a change of mind and heart regarding our sins. We must
forsake our sins in Godly sorrow, turn away from them, and turn to God. Notice
we can not due both at the same time. If one turns their back on sin and runs
to God, they have forsaken their sins. However the inverse is true as well. If
a person forsakes God, then he has chosen to embrace his/her sins.
False religion does not magnify
our sin so we can see the wretchedness of it. We need to know how our sins
offend a most Holy God. Our sins are a horrible stench, foul odor in His
nostrils. When we come to the realization of our offences to Him, we will
broken in sorrow, shame, guilt and despair. We will be able to see how poor in
spirit we are, and long to find out, “how can I be forgiven of my sins and be
saved forever?”
It is most important to realize
that when the aforementioned is happening, God the Father is drawing us to the
Son (John 6:44). We cannot produce this transformation because we are dead in
our sins (Eph 2:1). God is working sovereignly on the inside to bring about a
miraculous change in us. Only then will we come due to the irresistible power
of God to cause us to be willing to forsake sin, trusting that Jesus bore and
shed His blood for sin.
Genuine repentance confesses that
1) I am a sinner. And 2) What must I do Lord to be saved?
In conclusion why one way? The
God of the Bible is the only one that has the solution for the sins of the
world. Jesus is the only Savior that provided a perfect atonement for sins.
Jesus sacrifice propitiated God’s righteous anger and wrath against us. Now
that we are no longer enemies of God, He can now grant us His righteousness.
What does one have to do? Believe
on the Lord Jesus, and confess with your mouth that God raised Him from the
dead. Then you will be saved (Rom 10:9-10).
[i]
To say there is no absolute truth is a self defeating phrase. For instance, If I
say, “My shirt is gray”, and it is, then that is an absolutely true statement. For
someone to say my shirt is blue when it is gray is a lie. In this dialogue
subjective truth loses. What good is someone’s truth if its clearly untrue?
Truth can never be relative. Truth has to be what it is or it is its opposite,
a lie. Dealing with the Bible scripture says every word of God is true. To
oppose the truth proves one to be a liar. There cannot be multiple truths when
it comes to God and His word. There is one truth only, and it is sufficient.
The problem with wicked men is that God’s truth does not suit them so they make
up their own which fits their instincts, mindset, and evil desires. In their
mind the lie they have told themselves for years is true as far as they are
concerned. Only the power of God can change the willful ignorance of man so
that his blinders come off so he can see and
experience the loving truth of God’s word.
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