Dec 20 2008
Jesus is The Only Way
There is absolutely no room for other beliefs in Christianity!!! Christ Jesus effectively said just that when He said, John 14:6 I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. That may seem a bit narrow minded to a faithless world that likes to believe all roads lead to Heaven, but they have no concept of what Christ did.
He alone paid for our sin(s) with His life, with His body, and with His blood. He alone has risen from the grave!!! That is what gives Him the right to say I Am the Only way!
None of the other prominent religious leaders of this world did anything to atone for your sin (or their own for that matter) or to secure your place in Heaven. They are all dead and in their graves. You can visit the shrines erected in their honor in which they are entombed. Ironically, that is where the road they have prepared for their followers leads - to the grave.
In contrast, there is great uncertainty as to the actual grave - site of Jesus Christ. In my view, that is a good thing because some would probably worship it rather than the One Who “was” in it. The only certainty regarding the grave of Jesus Christ is that it is Empty!!!! That’s as it should be because faith in Christ does not lead you to the grave, it leads to eternal life.
All the other religions of this world espouse certain practices, principles, rituals, and traditions that may be viewed as honorable to one degree or another. The fact remains however, that none of those religions has any remedy for the human condition. That is an unregenerate sinner, separated from God.
Many adhere to some sort of penitent or punitive rituals that illustrate their fallen condition; while others acknowledge no such thing, presuming themselves to be gods in varying degrees of consciousness. Both views are grievously wrong and diametrically opposed to each other. Now it could well be said, that all of these “roads” lead to the same place but it certainly isn’t heaven. Jesus said only one path leads to Heaven. Matthew 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Again I say, there is absolutely no room for other beliefs in Christianity. Jesus said it! His life, His sacrificial and atoning death, His resurrection from the grave, and His ascension to the Right Hand of the Father in Heaven - prove it!
All that was necessary for the Jews and Romans (and all those who were against Christ) to stop Christianity in its tracks was to produce His body. They couldn’t!!! More importantly (in terms of evidence), we see Jesus’ disciples, who were completely distraught and devastated by His brutal and horrific death; all dying a martyr’s death because they would not deny that Jesus Christ had risen from the grave. Keep in mind, these guys never thought it possible. They weren’t expecting it. In fact, they didn’t even believe it when they were told HE was alive by the girls who visited His empty grave.
These men, these martyr’s were forever changed when they saw, touched, and spoke with The Risen Son of God. They were transformed from the fearful faithless to the fearless faithful. They knew Jesus was Alive and they gave their lives as a testimony to that fact.
It has well been said that people may live for a lie (because they can benefit from it), but no man will knowingly die for a lie. If Jesus had not risen from the grave, His disciples would have all given their lives for a lie. The fact is Jesus IS Alive. His disciples tell us there is no other name by which man must be saved.
Every other religion is essentially man’s futile attempts to reach God by works and one can never know if he or she was “good enough” to go to Heaven. Christianity is the only faith ( Christ didn’t come to start another “religion” ) that acknowledges that we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God and there is nothing we can do (in and of ourselves) good enough or often enough to change that. Christianity is founded on the fact that we are saved by the Grace of God through Faith in the Perfect, Sinless Life, - Sacrificial and Substitutionary Death – and the Glorified Resurrection of The Lord Jesus Christ.
When Christ Jesus was crucified, there were two men crucified with Him. Both of those men were sentenced to die under Roman law for the crimes they had committed. After Christ Jesus cries out from the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do”, one of those guys realizes that Jesus is The Messiah. That guy then puts his faith in Jesus Christ and is saved from eternal punishment. What hope would there be for that guy in other religion?
No punitive work, no penitent ritual would have helped him on his cross. Crucified murderers and thieves, even by the most lax New Age standards, are not at any recognizable god-like level of consciousness. So what saved this man? Nothing but the Blood of Jesus. Why is this man with Christ in Heaven? Because this condemned sinner put his faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is The Way, The Truth, and The Life. No man gets to the Father except through Him.
To suggest that following and praying to a person of significant religious stature, who is dead and buried; is equivalent to following and praying to The Risen and Living Son of God is absolutely absurd. To suggest that there is room for “other beliefs” such as these, within Christianity is either an appeasement or a compromise by those who don’t fully understand what Christ did on the cross; or have the courage of their convictions to love someone enough to tell them the truth. Oh, that we would rather risk loosing a friend for the sake of the Gospel, rather than guaranteeing the loss of his soul for our friendship.
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