Series: Lies Satan Tells
MANY ROADS TO HEAVEN
John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
On the night before his death, Jesus gave the greatest promise of comfort, of hope and of assurance that can be found in all of Scripture. In this statement He offered...
-Encouragement “Let not your heart be troubled...”
-Direction “Ye believe in God, believe also in Me...”
-Hope “In my Father’s house are many mansions....
-Assurance “I will come again”
Yet, with such direct words coming from the mouth of Jesus, Himself, and even after walking with Jesus three years Thomas was confused. We find his confusion in his two honest questions,
- Where are you going?
- How can we know the way?
Two thousand years have passed and the world is still confused.
I. JESUS IS THE ONLY WAY THAT WILL LEAD YOU TO HEAVEN
Let’s be candid, we live in a very pluralistic society. No longer are the days when our communities are filled with people who look like us, dress like us, eat like us, think like us, and believe like us. With the advent of easy travel and the ever expanding media cultures are being pushed together like never before. And the question we must ask in the midst of all these differences, “Whose right and whose wrong?”
Let’s just think about the many religions that are pressing upon us in from these cultures:
Far East: Buddism, Confuciousism, Shinto
Indian Ocean: Hinduism
Middle East: Islam, Judaism
Africa: Animism
US: Mormonism, Jehovah Witness, New Age, Christianity
Satan claims there are many ways to heaven....
A. Faithful Works
(Eph 2:8-9) For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
(Titus 3:5-6) Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; 6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
B. Sincere Belief
(Acts 4:12) Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
(James 2:19) Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
C. Universal Salvation
II. JESUS IS THE ONLY TRUTH THAT WILL MAKE YOU FREE
Satan has craftily sowed the lie there is no absolute truth and he had done his job well. Our pluralistic, multicultural, multibelief society has produced what is post-modernism thought which claims there is no absolute truth. Instead, we as individuals and societies create our own truth. What may be true for you is not necessarily true for me. What may be truth for one culture may not be truth for another culture.
As a matter of fact, Josh McDowell one of the leading experts on our youth states that most “churched youth” of today reject absolute truth which is being pushed to them through the media and through education channels.
““In 1991, 52 percent of our born again church kids said there is no absolute truth. In 1994, 62 percent said there is no absolute truth. In 1999, 78 percent of born again church kids said there is no absolute truth. In 2002, 91 percent of our born again church kids said there is no absolute truth.””
The problem with post-modern thinking is that you can call something anything you want or you can believe anything you desire but that does not change the reality of it. For example, if I stood on the edge of a cliff on a high mountain and believed in all my mind that the law of gravity did not apply to me and because of that belief stepped off, then I am going to fall 100% of the time. The truth of gravity is the same for me as well as anyone else regardless whether I believe it or even like it.
A. The Revelation of Absolute Truth Jesus Christ, the Word of God
This is why Jesus in speaking about the way to heaven that He also said, “I am the Truth.” He wanted to make it perfectly clear He is the only truth, the absolute truth and there is no other.
(John 1:17) For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
(John 17:17) Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
B. The Importance of Knowing Absolute Truth
(John 8:32) And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
III. JESUS IS THE ONLY LIFE THAT WILL PRODUCE ETERNAL LIFE
A. Only life produces life.
B. Only eternal life can produce eternal life.
C. Only a righteous life can produce righteous life
D. Only an abundant life can produce abundant life.
Satan and the world offers it forms of life, counterfeit life. Even in the garden he used this lie when tempting the woman as he told her that if she eat of the fruit she would not surely die. In a sense he was right, she did not die physically at that moment but she die spiritually, emotionally and relationally immediately.
When I think of Satan’s claims of the “good life” I think of the beer commercials, the sexy films where the boy always gets the girl: the live and let live mindset. Sadly, these are all illusions created to tempt us. We don’t see the heartache, the tragedy the “good life” leaves in its wake.
Example: Brookes family. When I was a teenager I remember a young family that I thought had it all together. He was a huge young man, former college football player, who drove a slick fast car. His wife was a beautiful, vibrant, cheerleader type. He had a good business and they lived life to the extreme. Wow! As a teenager I thought, “If I could grow up and be just like them.” The year’s have past and this family today is a disaster. Now, divorced and financially strapped, they live daily with the heartache of two grown children in deep trouble. One heavily on drugs and the other in prison. This couple bought into Satan’s lie of the good life and now are paying a heavy price.
Conclusion
Illustration: Several years ago, in my previous pastorate, I had the heartache of watching a young, vibrant 27 year old lady succumb to cancer. The tragedy was that when she was first diagnosed, she was told that she had breast cancer and treated accordingly. Yet, sadly, she actually had melanoma and by that time the cancer had spread all over her body. The doctors were sincere in their diagnosis, but they were wrong and their mistake killed her. Making a mistake in the truth about salvation will also kill, but for eternity.
