For there is one
God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave
himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the
proper time. (I Timothy 2:5-6)
Jesus answered, “I
am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the
Father except through me. (John 14:6)
Some
folks say that it doesn’t matter what you believe, as long as you are sincere.
Some folks say that all roads lead to heaven. For some, all that matters I that
one is “spiritual,” meaning whatever they mean the term to mean.
It’s true that all religions speak truth, because all religions deal with the universe, other people, and sometimes, God. All three can be perceived from two sides, from the inside, or the outside. Another way to describe this is to say from the human perspective or the divine. In that, religions are no different from a car wreck. The driver, each passenger, the witnesses, and the forensic experts can each provide a different account of what happened. They are all right, to the limits of their experience and understanding. That doesn’t mean that they agree with one another, or that their accounts are the whole truth.
So what makes Christianity different? Sometimes, nothing. Some people claim to be Christians because their parents are Christians, or because they aren’t Muslim, or aren’t Atheist, or aren’t something else. What’s left, but Christianity?
Some are Christians because they were baptized or confirmed or some such. In other cases, however, Christianity has to do living according to what the Bible teaches, and that sort of Christianity is very different.
In general, religions place the responsibility for going to heaven squarely on the shoulders of the believer. If you are good enough, you get in. If not, well, something else happens. According to the latter sort of Christianity, no one is good enough to get into Heaven. That’s the whole point. It is for that reason that Jesus came, died, rose, and returned to Heaven, so that He could provide a way.
So, there may be many roads to God, but if they don’t go through Jesus Christ, according to the Bible, they’re dead ends.
It’s true that all religions speak truth, because all religions deal with the universe, other people, and sometimes, God. All three can be perceived from two sides, from the inside, or the outside. Another way to describe this is to say from the human perspective or the divine. In that, religions are no different from a car wreck. The driver, each passenger, the witnesses, and the forensic experts can each provide a different account of what happened. They are all right, to the limits of their experience and understanding. That doesn’t mean that they agree with one another, or that their accounts are the whole truth.
So what makes Christianity different? Sometimes, nothing. Some people claim to be Christians because their parents are Christians, or because they aren’t Muslim, or aren’t Atheist, or aren’t something else. What’s left, but Christianity?
Some are Christians because they were baptized or confirmed or some such. In other cases, however, Christianity has to do living according to what the Bible teaches, and that sort of Christianity is very different.
In general, religions place the responsibility for going to heaven squarely on the shoulders of the believer. If you are good enough, you get in. If not, well, something else happens. According to the latter sort of Christianity, no one is good enough to get into Heaven. That’s the whole point. It is for that reason that Jesus came, died, rose, and returned to Heaven, so that He could provide a way.
So, there may be many roads to God, but if they don’t go through Jesus Christ, according to the Bible, they’re dead ends.
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