{"id":32911,"date":"2005-08-26T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2005-08-26T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermons\/are-there-many-paths-to-god\/"},"modified":"2005-08-26T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2005-08-26T00:00:00","slug":"are-there-many-paths-to-god","status":"publish","type":"sermons","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermons\/are-there-many-paths-to-god\/","title":{"rendered":"Are There Many Paths to God?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2005\/08\/19053.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading is-style-article-subhead1\">Introduction<\/h2>\n      <p>Jesus often\nsurprised people with teachings that cut across the grain of human nature.\n&#8220;Lose your life to save it.&#8221; &#8220;The first will be last.&#8221; &#8220;The meek will inherit\nthe earth.&#8221; &#8220;Rejoice in persecution.&#8221; &#8220;Pray for your enemies.&#8221; &#8220;It&#8217;s better to\ngive than to receive.&#8221; &#8220;Turn the other cheek.&#8221; These are revolutionary teachings. \n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      But by\nfar the most outrageous assertion that Jesus ever uttered is in John 14:6: &#8220;I am the way and the truth and the life.\nNo one comes to the Father except through me.&#8221; This claim\nrankles people like nothing else. It&#8217;s been called narrow-minded. It&#8217;s been\ncalled bigoted. It&#8217;s been called snobbish. Some of you are seekers and\nsomething inside of you chafes at the idea that Jesus is the only way to God.\nFor you are living in a world where there seems to be endless options in\nvirtually every area of life. For some of you this is a stumbling block to\nfaith.\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      Why is this\nclaim so controversial? One reason is that it strikes at the core of three\ngreat myths about religion. \n    <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading is-style-article-subhead1\">Myth 1: All religions are basically the same. <\/h2>\n    <p>\n      The first\nmyth is that all religions are basically the same. You&#8217;ve probably heard people\nsay through the years that there may be  distinctions between\nvarious world religions, but if you strip them down to their essentials, all\nreligions fundamentally teach the same thing. In other words, all spiritual\npaths lead up the same mountain because all religions basically teach the\nbrotherhood and the sisterhood of men and women and the universal fatherhood of\nGod. \n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      Let&#8217;s\nconcede that there is some common ground shared by many of the world&#8217;s\nreligions, especially when you look at the level of basic values and statements\nof belief about morality. Respectful dialogue between people who represent different faith\nsystems is a great starting point. But, at the same time, there are significant differences between the world religions that cannot be papered over. In fact, with this one outlandish assertion, Jesus boldly puts Christianity in a class by itself, because if the path to God is through Jesus, then Christianity cannot be reconciled with any other religion. \n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      The\nuniqueness of Christianity is rooted in the uniqueness of Jesus himself. Other religious leaders say, &#8220;Follow me and I&#8217;ll show you how to find the truth.&#8221; But Jesus says, &#8220;I am the truth.&#8221; Other religious leaders say,\n&#8220;Follow me and I&#8217;ll show you the way to salvation.&#8221; But Jesus says, &#8220;I am the\nway to eternal life.&#8221; Other religious leaders say, &#8220;Follow me and I&#8217;ll show you\nhow you can become enlightened.&#8221; But Jesus said, &#8220;I am the light of the world.&#8221;\nSee the difference? \n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      There are drastic and irreconcilable differences between Christianity and all\nother belief systems. Every other religion is based on people doing things through their struggling and through their striving to earn the good favor of God. They say people have to use a Tibetan prayer wheel, or they have to go on pilgrimages,or they have to give alms to the poor, or they have to avoid eating certain foods, or they have to perform a certain number of unspecified good deeds, or they have to pray in a certain way, or they have to go through a cycle of reincarnation. These are attempts to reach out to God. \n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      But Jesus Christ is God reaching out to us. Jesus taught the opposite of what those other\nfaiths teach. He said that nobody could do anything to merit heaven, so you might as well stop trying. He said that we&#8217;re all guilty of wrongdoing. That&#8217;s consistent with our experience. We know that not a single person here today would claim to be perfect. \n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      Jesus also said that our wrongdoing separates us from our God because God is holy and\nperfect.Because God is a righteous judge who by his very nature must judge wrongdoing, our wrongdoing has to be paid for. Because he loves us, because Jesus and God are for us and not against us, Jesus voluntarily offered himself as our substitute to pay the penalty that we owe because of our wrongdoing. When we receive his sacrifice on our behalf, we become reunited with God forever. \n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n     This distinction is starkly demonstrated by comparing a parable that was taught by Jesus with a similar story that is found in Buddhist literature. Both stories involve sons who became rebellious and left home in a\nhuff, but who later saw the error of their ways and decided to return home. But it&#8217;s the ending of the two stories that so clearly points out the difference.\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      In the\nBuddhist story, the errant son is required to work off the penalty for his past\nmisdeeds through years and years of servitude. But the Christian parable of the\nprodigal son ends with the repentant son being warmly welcomed home by a loving\nfather who showers him with undeserved forgiveness and undeserved grace.\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      There are other fundamental differences:\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      For instance, Christianity says that there is one eternal God who\ncreated the universe. But Hinduism says that everything is God; you are God, I\nam God, this podium is God. Islam denies that Jesus was God and that Jesus died\nfor our sins. All religions are not the same. \n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      While other religious leaders can offer\nwise sayings and helpful advice and insights, only Jesus Christ, the perfect\nSon of God, is qualified to offer himself as payment for our wrongdoing. No\nother religious leader even pretended to be able to do that. Theologian R.C.\nSproul puts it this way, &#8220;Moses could mediate on the Law. Mohammed could\nbrandish a sword. Buddha could give personal counsel. Confucius could offer\nwise sayings. But none of these men was qualified to offer an atonement for the\nsins of the world.&#8221; Jesus alone was qualified.\n    <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading is-style-article-subhead1\">Myth 2: Christianity is simply one philosophy among many. <\/h2>\n    <p>\n      The second myth that Jesus dispels is related to the first myth. The second myth says that even\nthough Christianity might be different, it&#8217;s just one philosophy among many, and it&#8217;s only as valid as any other religion. In other words, even if there are differences between religions, they all have equal claims on the truth. You have your truth, and I have my truth. \n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      This myth is appealing because it seems to reflect the\npluralistic attitude of the United States. On one level, that attitude is helpful. It\nis important that we are tolerant of people who believe differently than we do.\nThe Bible tells us that those of us who are followers of Jesus need to be\nloving and respectful and accepting toward people of all\nfaiths. Under our Constitution, all religious viewpoints are equally protected;anybody can believe whatever they want. But the problem is that some people jump to the erroneous conclusion that because different philosophies are\nequally protected, they must be equally valid. That&#8217;s just not the case. \n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      The concept behind what our Supreme Court calls the &#8220;marketplace of\nideas&#8221; is that truth and falsehood will grapple in unhindered debate, so that truth will prevail in the end. So even though all religions are equally protected under our Constitution, this has nothing to do whatever with whether\nthey are based on truth. \n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      A few years ago, in one of his classic columns,\nMike Royco said in a tongue and cheek way that he was a member of what he\ncalled &#8220;The Church of Asylumism.&#8221; He explained that this church believes that\nthere was an advanced civilization that lived in a distant galaxy millions of\nyears ago. One day a few hundred of these aliens ate some tainted veggie dip\nand as a result, a virus hopelessly scrambled their brain. They tried to treat these victims, but\nnothing would work. So they decided to take them to an uninhabited planet that\nwould serve as an asylum and where they could roam free and act goofy. That\nplanet, Royco said, was earth. We&#8217;re all descendants of those aliens. Royco\nsaid, &#8220;You want proof? Read history books! Look at the newspaper! Look at the\nTV news! Then tell me this isn&#8217;t one big loony bin.&#8221;\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      Royco, I hope, was kidding about being part of the Church of Asylumism.\nBut in this country people have the right to believe whatever they want. If\nthere really was a church of asylumism, under our Constitution, it would be as\nequally protected as Willow Creek Community Church, as the Methodist\ndenomination, as the Episcopalians or any other religious group. But friends,\nthat would not mean that the teachings of the church of \n      asylumism\n       were true. \n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      Of course, this gives anybody in the country\nfreedom to make the claim, as Jesus did, that they are the way and the truth\nand the life; that they are the only way to God. The question is, how do we know that Jesus was telling the truth?\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      Jesus backs up his claim with unique credentials. Jesus authenticated\nhis claim of being God by living a perfect life, by embodying the attributes of\nGod, and by fulfilling dozens of  prophecies written hundreds of years before Jesus came to this planet. Unlike other religious leaders, Jesus also authenticated who he was by performing great miracles in broad daylight, in front of skeptics. He demonstrated his mastery over nature. He demonstrated his mastery over sickness. He\ndemonstrated his mastery over death by bringing Lazarus back to life after four days in a cold, damp tomb. In the most spectacular demonstration of his deity, Jesus fulfilled his own prediction by being resurrected from the dead, in an historical event that was witnessed by more than 500 people and that sparked a spiritual revolution\nthat has been unparalleled in the history of the world.\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      Christianity is not just a philosophy; it is a reality. Jesus didn&#8217;t\njust claim that he is the one and only Son of God. He validated his claim with\nconvincing evidence like nobody else in history.\n    <\/p>\n     \n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading is-style-article-subhead1\">Myth 3: Christians are narrow-minded to think Jesus is the only way to heaven.<\/h2>\n\n    <p>\n      The third myth says that Christians are narrow-minded and snobbish when they say that Jesus is the only way to heaven. If there were many roads to God and Christians were claiming, &#8220;Ours is the best,&#8221; I would agree they were being narrow and arrogant. But that&#8217;s not what Christians are saying. They are saying that somebody has got to pay the penalty for the obvious wrongdoings that keep us separated from God. By virtue of his sinlessness and by virtue of his divinity, Jesus is the only one qualified to be our substitute. That, friends, is the reality of\nthe situation. It is not narrow-minded to act in accordance with the evidence\nand to pursue truth.\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n       A few years ago, some friends&#8217; baby girl developed jaundice, which\nis a disorder of the liver that caused her skin and the whites\nof her eyes to turn yellow. Of course her parents were very concerned, so they\ntook the child to the pediatrician. The pediatrician told them jaundice is a potentially devastating disease, but it is also easily cured: all they had to do was to put the baby under a special light that stimulates healthy liver function.\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      The parents could have listened to this from the doctor and said, &#8220;That sounds too easy. Just put her under a light? What if instead we scrub her with soap and water and dip her in bleach? Certainly if we worked hard enough we could get her normal coloring back.&#8221; \n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      The doctor would have looked at them and said, &#8220;You don&#8217;t understand.\nThere is only one way to cure your daughter.&#8221; They could have replied, &#8220;What if we just ignore all this and pretend everything&#8217;s okay. The jaundice is your truth, doc; it&#8217;s not our truth. If we\nsincerely believe that, things will turn out for the best in the long\nhaul.&#8221; \n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      The doctor would have said, &#8220;You&#8217;re going to jeopardize the life\nof your child if you do that. There is only one way to cure her. You&#8217;re\nhesitant to pursue treatment because it sounds too easy. But look at the credentials\non my wall. I&#8217;ve studied at medical school. I&#8217;ve used what I&#8217;ve learned\nto treat and to cure countless babies. Trust me.&#8221;\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      Would anybody accuse those parents of being narrow-minded if they\ntrusted a doctor with credentials and pursued the only course of\ntreatment that was going to cure their little girl? Of course not! That is not\nbeing narrow-minded. That is acting rationally and in accordance with the\nevidence.\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      Every person in this room has a terminal illness called &#8220;sin.&#8221; The\nreason those of us who follow Jesus cling to him so tightly is that he is\nthe Great Physician who has the only cure. We could try to scrub away\nour sins with good deeds, but it will not work. We can sincerely think\nthat there are other ways of dealing with it. But we would be sincerely wrong. The truth is that only the Great Physician offers a treatment that will erase the stain of sin. He has credentials and credibility to back him up. So\nwhen we turn to him, we&#8217;re not being narrow-minded. We are acting rationally and in accordance with the evidence. \n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      In addition to not being narrow-minded, it is anything but snobbish for\nChristians to believe Jesus is the only way to heaven. For a Christian to act holier than thou is snobbish, but to believe that Jesus is the only way is not. Let&#8217;s pretend there are two country clubs. The\nfirst country club only admits people who have earned their membership. In\norder to get into this club, you have to obtain superior wisdom. You&#8217;ve got to\nfulfil a long list of demands. You&#8217;ve got to somehow attain certain spiritual\nadvancement. You&#8217;ve got to go through cycles of reincarnation or whatever.\nDespite their best efforts, many people will not make the grade, and in the\nend, the door will be slammed in their face. They&#8217;re not going to be good\nenough. They&#8217;re not going to make the qualifications to get in. \n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      This is what other religions are saying when they teach that people\nhave to try and try to work their way to God. But Christianity is different.\nChristianity is like the country club that invites anyone who is interested, because Jesus has already paid for his or her membership. Rich or poor, black or white, regardless of your ethnic heritage, regardless of where you\nlive, we would love to include you. The doors are wide open. Entry is not based on your qualifications. Entry is based only on you accepting Christ&#8217;s invitation. Which faith system is snobbish?\n    <\/p>\n    <p>\n      Christianity is unique. It cannot be reconciled with any other\nreligion. It backs up its truth claims with the credentials and credibility of\nJesus Christ, which cannot be duplicated by any other spiritual leader. That&#8217;s why\nwhen Jesus said he was the way and the truth and the life, history does not\nlaugh; history has been revolutionalized by Jesus.\n    <\/p>","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"template":"","tax_ctp_audience":[306],"tax_ctp_authors":[2280],"tax_ctp_categories":[165],"tax_ctp_field_guide_subcategory":[],"tax_ctp_field_guides":[],"tax_ctp_format":[170],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[412],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[],"tax_publications":[140],"tax_ctp_sermon_series":[],"tax_ctp_tags":[3588,4877],"tax_ctp_topics":[],"class_list":["post-32911","sermons","type-sermons","status-publish","hentry","tax_ctp_authors-lee-strobel","tax_publications-ct-pastors","tax_ctp_tags-christian","tax_ctp_tags-salvation"],"acf":{"scripture_references":[{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null}]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Are There Many Paths to God? - CT Pastors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermons\/are-there-many-paths-to-god\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Are There Many Paths to God? - CT Pastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Introduction Jesus often surprised people with teachings that cut across the grain of human nature. &#8220;Lose your life to save it.&#8221; &#8220;The first will be last.&#8221; &#8220;The meek will inherit the earth.&#8221; &#8220;Rejoice in persecution.&#8221; &#8220;Pray for your enemies.&#8221; &#8220;It&#8217;s better to give than to receive.&#8221; &#8220;Turn the other cheek.&#8221; These are revolutionary teachings. 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