God makes the rules.
Matthew 7:21 "Not everyone who calls out to Me, 'Lord! Lord!' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
John 14:6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
Imagine living in one of the most religious cities in the world, this city is full of teachers that want to tell you how you can do the right things to get to Heaven, it isn't very likely that you are going to be impressed when one more teacher shows up. That's the situation in Jerusalem when Jesus began his ministry.
As soon as Jesus begins his ministry it is clear that he claims to be God and he is the King that decides if we will be able to enter his Kingdom. The Bible is God's gracious opportunity for us to know him and know how to please him so that we can live with him in his new kingdom.
Nobody likes to hear that there is only one way and that each of us is responsible to discern what the truth is. Jesus tells us that the road and the gate is narrow and that it is a difficult path that few will find.
2 John 1:9 Anyone who wanders away from this teaching has no relationship with God. But anyone who remains in the teaching of Christ has a relationship with both the Father and the Son.
In today's culture we like to pretend that truth isn't absolute, that reality is optional and that every view of God is a different path to the same place. One of the problems with this idea is that in order to maintain this option you will have to discard the Bible and Jesus completely.
"What is truth?" There is only one correct answer to the question that was asked by Pilate at Jesus' trial. The exclusive truth claims of Christianity don't allow it to line up next to the other religious paths and coexist as one more option in our efforts to be at peace with God.
| How Can All Of These Be True? |
|---|
| Jesus says: I am equal with God and I am the only way to God. Jews and Muslims say: God could never become a human. Hindus say: God can often become human. |
It is a tragedy that so many people ignore God's generosity and choose their eternal destiny without digging into God's word. We don't get to make the rules and it is irrational to gamble our eternity without study God's word to see what he says.
We all have faith in something, life is full of things that we cannot prove, yet we live everyday assuming that certain things will happen. The most meaningful things in life such as love for another person cannot be proven but we exercise faith that they really do and that they will continue to do so.
Christ followers have good reason to believe that their view of the afterlife is superior to all others. We are the only people that have a leader that fulfilled hundreds of prophecies through his birth, his life and his death. We are the only people whose leader claimed to be God and performed many miracles to authenticate his claims, including his return from the grave.
Don't accept the lie that all roads are going to the same place. Study God's word and see for yourself why Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.
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