Harrison Christian Church March 21, 2004 IS Jesus the only way to God? Robbie Phillips
Introduction:
¡§Jesus answered, ¡§I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ¡§JN 14:6
¡§Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me¡¨. That little children¡¦s saying breaks down as soon as you examine it¡K
There are a couple of other sayings that keep many of us from the liberating, yes liberating, truth I read in John 14:6. And they break down when you examine them.
Here¡¦s the first one
It is intolerant to claim Jesus is the only way
¡§This whole notion of tolerance. They say, "Well, you Christians are narrow-minded. You say Jesus is the only way. You’re not tolerant of other religions." Well ¡K other religions are not tolerant of us, I’m not putting down their faith system; it’s just not what I believe. And I don’t accept their way as truth. They don’t accept my way. That’s fine. But don’t ask me to believe that their way to God is a valid way. I don’t believe that. ¡VFranklin Graham
¡§¡Kunder our Constitution, all religious viewpoints are equally protected. People can believe whatever they want. But some people jump to the erroneous conclusion that because different philosophies are equally protected, they must be equally valid. And that¡¦s just not the case. The concept behind what the Supreme Court has called our ¡§marketplace of ideas¡¨ is that truth and falsehood will grapple in unhindered debate so that, in the end, truth will prevail. So even though all religious are equally protected under our Constitution, that has nothing to do with whether they¡¦re based on truth.¡¨ -Lee Strobel
The question is not, ¡§Are their conflicting claims in the world?¡¨ of course there are!
And the question is not, ¡§Should conflicting claims be allowed?¡¨ of course that should!
The challenge is, ¡§How do the different claims compare?¡¨
This is where we come to a second slogan, that like the first, is simply an attempt to avoid the question altogether.
All major religions basically say the same thing [sometimes worded, ¡§All roads lead to God¡¨, ¡§Jesus is just like all religious leaders¡¨ or ¡§It doesn¡¦t matter what you believe as long as you are sincere¡¨]
The truth is religions do ask similar questions:
„Q Who is God?
„Q Why is the world such a mess?
„Q How do we solve this problem?
They do not, however, come up with the same answers.
As religious scholar, Ravi Zacharias, has said, ¡§Anyone who claims that all religions are the same betrays not only an ignorance of all religions but also a caricatured view of even the best-known ones. Every religion at its core is exclusive.¡¨
So what¡¦s the difference?
¡§This uniqueness of Christianity is rooted in the uniqueness of Jesus Himself.
¡§Jesus answered, ¡§I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ¡§JN 14:6
Other religious leaders say, ¡§Follow me and I¡¦ll show you how to find truth,¡¨ but Jesus says, ¡§I am the truth.¡¨
Other religious leaders say, ¡§Follow me and I¡¦ll show you the way to salvation,¡¨ but Jesus says, ¡§I am the way to eternal life.¡¨
Other religious leaders say, ¡§Follow me and I¡¦ll show you how to become enlightened,¡¨ but Jesus says, ¡§I am the light of the world.¡¨
Other religious leaders say, ¡§Follow me and I¡¦ll show you many doors that lead to God,¡¨ but Jesus says, ¡§I am the door.¡¨ ¡K
I¡¦m getting ahead of myself¡K
Christianity and Jesus stand apart, not only in their answer to the question, ¡§Who is God?¡¨, but also in their answers to the other basic questions, I mentioned like ¡§Why is world is such a mess?¡¨
Malcolm Muggeridge observed that ¡§the depravity or sinfulness of man is at once the most unpopular of all dogmas or teachings, yet the most empirically verifiable.¡¨ [Just watch the news]
Muggeridge tells of a time when he was a journalist in India, and left his residence one evening to go for a swim. As he entered the water, across the river he saw a woman bathing. Muggeridge impulsively felt the allure and temptation of the moment. He had often felt this kind of struggle but had resisted because he was a married man. On this occasion, however, he wondered if he could cross the line of his conscience, and swam furiously toward the woman. His mind fed him the fantasy that stolen waters would be sweet. Finally only a few feet away from her, he emerged from the water and looked at the woman. At once he realized that he was looking into the eyes of a leper¡Xa toothless old woman was grinning at him. He was gripped with disgust and thought, "What a dirty lecherous woman!" when suddenly the rude shock of it dawned upon him. It was not the woman who was lecherous; it was his own heart.
Only Jesus and Christianity honestly recognize the moral hole in the human heart.
Other religions clutch to the idea that a
„Q little more education or enlightenment
„Q a little more religious routine and ritual
„Q just a handful more ¡¥good deeds¡¦
and humanity will solve its problem.
Jesus knows, scripture says, what is in the heart of man.
„Q ¡§All have sinned¡¨, Paul says [Everyone is in the same boat and No one can fix the leak].
Then, as the second question asks, "How do we solve the problem?"
If sin is real...and all are affected and, if we can¡¦t fix it ourselves.
The solution must be real.
How can the crime of that man in Florida, who kidnapped and killed the young girl, be dealt with?
What should follow for the CEO who embezzles millions, costing thousands their life savings and thousands more their jobs?
What of the wife who just leaves her husband and children for a new man with wealth, who showers her with gifts?
We know the answer, a price must be paid. Sin is real. The solution must be real. And if all are affected, the price must be one all can pay, right?
All the other religions in the world have a path that must be followed for the price to be paid!
Every other religion I¡¦ve ever seen is based on people doing something ¡X through struggling and striving ¡X to somehow earn the favor of God [to pay their price]. They say people have to use a Tibetan prayer wheel or go on pilgrimages or give alms to the poor or avoid eating certain foods or pray in a specified way or go through a series of reincarnations or wherever. So that only those able to ¡¥pay¡¦ their price can enter. They are like country clubs, that all have dues and if you can¡¦t pay the dues, you don¡¦t get in¡¨
Jesus taught the opposite of what other religious teach. He said nobody can do anything to merit heaven, so we might as well give up trying. Sin is real and we need a savior.
This brings us back to the first question, "Who is God?"
Listen to the Christian scriptures; [John 3:16-18a AMP]
16 For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him.18 He who believes in Him [who clings to, trusts in, relies on Him] is not judged [he who trusts in Him never comes up for judgment; for him there is no rejection, no condemnation¡Xhe incurs no damnation]¡K
So out of His love, Jesus voluntarily offered Himself as our substitute to pay the penalty that we owed for our sin. And when we receive His sacrifice on our behalf, we become reunited with God for eternity. ¡K Other religions are spelled ¡§D-O,¡¨ because they teach that people have to do a bunch of religious rituals to try to please God. But Christianity is spelled ¡§DO-N-E¡¨ because Christ has done it all on the cross ¡X and we just need to receive Him.¡¨
Conclusion;
HE WAS BORN TO DIE
So I could be born to new life
HE SUFFERED TEMPTATION
So I can experience victory
HE WAS BETRAYED
So I might know His faithfulness
HE WAS ARRESTED AND BOUND
So I could be rescued from bondage
HE STOOD ON TRAIL ALONE
So I might have an advocate
HE WAS WOUNDED
So I could be healed
HE ENDURED MOCKERY
So I could know dignity and joy
HE WAS CONDEMNED
So the truth could set me free
HE WAS CROWNED WITH THORNS
So I might crown Him with praise
HE WAS NAILED TO THE CROSS
So I might escape judgment
HE WAS STRETCHED OUT BETWEEN THIEVES
So I could know the reach of love
HE SUFFERED THIRST
So I can drink living water
HE SAID, ¡§IT IS FINISHED¡¨
So I could begin my walk of faith
HE WAS GOD¡¦S LAMB, SLAIN
So I could claim His sacrifice as my own
HE WAS FORSAKEN BY THE FATHER
So I would never be rejected
HE CHOSE THE SHAME OF WEAKNESS
So I can know the hope of glory
HE SHED HIS BLOOD
So I can be white as snow
HIS HEART WAS PIERCED
So mine could be made whole
HE DIED AND WAS BURIED
So the grave could not hold me
HE ROSE AGAIN
So I might experience eternal life
HE IS KNOWN BY HIS SCARS
So I will take up my cross and follow him
Table of contents to M. Card¡¦s book, A violent Grace
