One-Way

- John 14:1-6

John 14:1–6 (CSB)

1 “Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also. 4 You know the way to where I am going.”

5 “Lord,” Thomas said, “we don’t know where you’re going. How can we know the way?”

6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

- All Religions, Same God?

Have you ever heard the argument, that all religions are the same and they all lead to

the same God?

They say it’s like climbing a mountain, the closer to the top one gets in their pursuit of God, the differences start to converge together.

I mean after all, no religion that I know of claims it’s ok to rape a baby like whats happening in the Sudan right now or steal someone's life savings.

They do seem similar in that regard on the surface.

I've also heard that, “All religions are fundamentally (Core Values), the same but Superficially, (on the surface), different.”

Well, I like what a certain apologist once said about this view,

He said, “At best, all religions are Superficially the same, ( on the surface), but fundamentally different” in core beliefs

My premise is that the popular aphorism that 'all religions are fundamentally the same and only superficially different' simply is not true. It is more correct to say that all religions are, at best, superficially similar but fundamentally different.

Ravi Zacharias

https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/ravi_zacharias_527674

But, do they all lead to the same God?

I can agree with that statement

All religions do lead to God,

But, with one caveat,

Only one leads to eternal life through Jesus Christ.

The rest lead to judgment and eternal damnation

I agree with that statement though, because as you might suspect,

Most religions do teach being “Nice” or “Good” people is paramount.

All religions are fundamentally different however, on issues such as

The afterlife,

Sin,

Need of Salvation,

Forgiveness, etc.

It's hard to convince someone that they are going to hell if they don't even believe in the God, that would send them there.

- Sincerely Wrong

I realized this truth, it is logically possible to be 100% sincere in what you choose to believe in

But remember its also 100% possible to be 100% sincere and be 100% dead wrong at the same time.

My dad used to say all the time about religion

“If someone wants to worship a rock, that Rock will become God to them”

And he was more correct than he realized.

Islam to this day worships a rock they call the black stone, that fell from Space

Ancient to modern cultures worshipped carvings made out of

rock

wood,

bone,

metals, etc.

Do you know what you get if you asked a rock for something today?

Absolutely “nothing”

To that thought, let me quote the ancient philosopher Aristotle,

“Nothing is what Rocks dream about”

https://quotefancy.com/quote/767761/Aristotle-Nothing-is-what-rocks-dream-about

Aristotle,

Now, Its logical to assume that all the world religions can be false at the same time

and that there is no afterlife, etc,

- Mutually Exclusive

But it is NOT possible that all Religions are RIGHT at the same time.

Because they are Mutually exclusive.

Meaning, they all claim that their way is the only way,

Some religions even go so far as to kill those who don’t accept it.

Some claim they accept all religions, but if that’s the case it falls apart because it becomes,

“you either believe like this, or you don't get to the level of enlightenment or whatever reward they claim awaits”

So, it's impossible for them all to be correct if they all claim there’s is the only way

In Protestant Christianity, we believe that Jesus is the “Only Way”

That's because the Bible tells us Jesus is the “only way” to escape the judgment.

Acts 4:12 (CSB)

12 There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.”

So, when we hear that Jesus is the only way, why should we think that is odd?

The world around us today is adamant about convincing us that,

(even if there is a way that exists, then there has to be more than one),

“There has got to be more!”

In fact, they feel its offensively exclusive to pick just one way to

enlightenment,

or heaven

or reincarnation, etc

- Only ONE

In Genesis, we are told that before Adam & Eve sinned they enjoyed holy communion with The Lord

Then we are told that after the fall, that they were banished / Kicked out of the Garden with God

At that point, they were separated from the Holy presence of The Lord,

With God placing a cherub at the entrance.

Note: There was only one entrance to where God was.

Then if we fast forward in the Bible a thousand years or so we reach Noah

We see in Genesis 6 and on, sin was so rampant on earth God regretted making man that he caused a great flood

To wipe out the entire creation of the time,

man,

beast,

and all plant life

But before sending the flood, he had Noah build an ark, (with only one entrance)

So, scripture tells us, God started anew with just one Man & his Family

Then we move on in the future, to the time of a childless Hebrew Abraham,

Through this “One” Man, sprouted an entire nation,

God promised him his offspring would be more than he could count

Unless he could count the stars, or grains of sand

Then we move even further into the future to the time of Moses, and the Children of Israel in Egypt

When the Lord by His mighty Hand, brought the Children of Israel up out of Egypt,

they came to the Red Sea with the Egyptians approaching to wipe them out

So that the Children of Israel might escape, He opens the Red Sea so they could be saved

How many openings did God create for the safe crossing on dry ground?

Only One!

We can easily see that throughout Scripture, the concept of the just one, is not a new or an odd strategy of God to achieve His will

Adam & Eve had other sons & daughters, the Bible tells us

How many of their sons or daughters were chosen to bring forth the Messiah?

Just one

Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, & Japheth

How many were chosen to bring the Messiah?

Jacob had 12 sons, out of them, only One was chosen as Messianic linage

But, if you notice another note, if the world lined up all of the religions that claim to point to the way,

They would accept all of them and then point to the Christian with hostility, and say, all except that One!

The only time they are willing to allow “the just one” mentality

Is when they are pointing at the Christian in rejection of inclusion

Saying “all and any but that one!”

The Bible tells us that in the end times, there will be a great falling away,

A Separation!

And we can see this happening right now

Separation is real and final unless someone changes

We have seen as we strolled through the history of the Bible that, whenever separation occurs within

God’s relationship with Man, God provides “One" way to repair it

When God parted the Red sea, he only opened one path

Who can tell me what would have happened to those escaping Jews who stayed back and yelled at Moses

saying

“Its insensitive of God to only have included one way”

It’s insensitive to those who don’t like water,

or It's cruel to confuse the fish, and sea life,

or we should boycott, the things of God

I can tell you what would have happened

They would not have been saved.

What happened to all those people in Noah's day?

They were not spared!

How about the story about Sodom & Gomorrah?

Lot tried to warn the people of the coming doom but they ridiculed him, and they were not spared

There was only one way to escape the doom on those towns, that was to leave those towns and that environment.

God did not provide safe houses or coverings,

He did not consult with them about their feelings on the matter

He provided “one way”, escape or die!

So it is with us, and the modern age.

God hasn’t Changed, He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, the writer of Hebrews tells us.

In the initial separation between God and Man, God placed a cherub at the “one” entrance to the tree of life

In Noah's day, It was God who closed the door

And sealed the eternal separation of those who were separated

In Jesus’ day, He bore that separation on the cross

And when He died the veil of the temple, which separated the holy of holies, tore in two

His death provided the one and only way to salvation

1 Timothy 2:5 (CSB)

5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus,

Hold until next slide

- Why It Matters

Why is this such a big deal, to us now?

Because without Christ, you and all those who don’t accept Christ, are going to be lost for eternity,

Some religions claim an annihilation theory, but there

Isn’t any scriptural support for this theory.

It means that instead of hell you are just destroyed

But that's not what the Bible says, it says those who are eternally separated will go to a place of constant torment in a lake of fire.

Luke 12:5 (CSB)

5 But I will show you the one to fear: Fear him who has authority to throw people into hell after death. Yes, I say to you, this is the one to fear!

- Only One Way, A-Cross

There's only one way to escape, and His name is Jesus

And just like in Noah's day where God only provided one door on the ark,

He was the one that determined it was closing time,

He will be the one to choose the closing time in the here and now

You see, there is a gulf that is called separation.

You cant jump across,

you cant buy a ticket

You have to accept Jesus and live in obedience to Him.

Jesus Has provided the only way (A-Cross)

(Pun Intended)

We often ask that God speak to us, don’t we?

We would do well to remember, He is never far away

He is everywhere, anytime, and always ready for you

He is always there and it's not hard to find Him

But you have to be willing to do it His way

There aren’t any other ways, no matter how much the world desperately wishes there were and tries to convince us or even punish us otherwise

There is no other way,

Today is the day of salvation said, Peter

2 Peter 3:9 (CSB)

9 The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.

The separation is real and it is eternal

Despite much speculation, you will not have a chance to plead your case at the feet of a merciful God once your soul leaves this body

There is only one escape, and that is through Jesus.

John 10:1–2 (CSB)

1 “Truly I tell you, anyone who doesn’t enter the sheep pen by the gate but climbs in some other way is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.