Jesus is the Only Way

I wanted to provide some quick commentary on my prior post, Pew Survey: Most Christians Say Non-Christian Faiths Can Lead to Salvation.  This won’t take long, but it is important.  If you call yourself a Christian, much less an evangelical, you must consider what it is you believe.  So, just in case you take a Pew survey such as the one referenced above, please consider the following:

God sent His Son, Jesus to this earth.  Jesus, who was God incarnate, was bruised, battered, and beaten to a pulp.  When He was already close to death, He was nailed to a cross.  He died and suffered God’s wrath so that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.  And all of this He said, was because He is the only way.

Consider the following verses:

• Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.
• Therefore Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
• Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. — Hmmm, did he say “no one”?

We must accept that Jesus is in fact the only way.  No religious or belief system will work.   

Pew Survey: Most Christians Say Non-Christian Faiths Can Lead to Salvation

A recent Pew Research Center Survey, linked to here, reports that “Most Christians Say Non-Christian Faiths Can Lead to Salvation.”

Here is an excerpt:

A majority of all American Christians (52%) think that at least some non-Christian faiths can lead to eternal life. Indeed, among Christians who believe many religions can lead to eternal life, 80% name at least one non-Christian faith that can do so. These are among the key findings of a national survey conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life from July 31-Aug. 10, 2008, among 2,905 adults.

Say what?!

Although I can’t claim to be totallly shocked, I am somewhat dismayed.  This means that either a majority of Christians don’t know their Bibles or they have rejected the Bible.

The survey also found that, “Even among white evangelical Protestants, nearly three-quarters (72%) of those who say many religions can lead to eternal life name at least one non-Christian religion that can lead to salvation.”  It would be easier to understand, though not justified, if we were confused about the many Christian denominations.  However, to indicate non-Christian religions such as Islam is flatly false.  The Bible is clear.  Those who do not accept Jesus as their Lord and savior will face the eternal judgment of God.

Joel Osteen – A Real Gospel Message?

I know a lot of people that read Joel Osteen’s books, listen to his messages, and believe he is a positive force for Christianity.  And yet, I can’t help but look at him with skepticism.  I can’t help but question how a pastor can write a book — in fact, several of them — and not mention the name of Jesus.  I have provided below a clip of the 60 Minutes interview with Joel Osteen and I am struck by the utter absence of Jesus in his messages.  Of course, this is a small clip and I can only hope that he has more of a focus on Jesus in the entirety of his messages.  Still, even in such a small clip, Osteen mentions a number of things that are simply not theologically sound.

The real gospel message requires the individual to bow to the savior, to relinquish all pride and false pretenses, and to recognize that you are sinner and in need of a savior.  Osteen’s message is quite frankly, one of fluff that waters down the true message of the Bible.  God never promised anyone prosperity in this life.  In fact, Jesus made clear how difficult the task of following him would be.  I advise anyone who is an avid follower of Osteen’s to ensure that they have not set themselves up with an idle, but instead, are truly committed to God and His Word found in the Bible.

Here is another clip from one of Osteen’s sermons.  What he says here is plainly false:

Atheist Matthew Parris: “Africa needs God”

I came across the following article, ‘As an atheist, I truly believe Africa needs God‘ and was amazed at the intellectual honesty of Matthew Parris.  I have pasted an excerpt below.  You can check out the full article here.

It inspired me, renewing my flagging faith in development charities. But travelling in Malawi refreshed another belief, too: one I’ve been trying to banish all my life, but an observation I’ve been unable to avoid since my African childhood. It confounds my ideological beliefs, stubbornly refuses to fit my world view, and has embarrassed my growing belief that there is no God.

Now a confirmed atheist, I’ve become convinced of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa: sharply distinct from the work of secular NGOs, government projects and international aid efforts. These alone will not do. Education and training alone will not do. In Africa Christianity changes people’s hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good.

Unlike some of the atheists of late (Hitchens comes to mind) who have argued to the point of saying that nothing good has come from Christianity, Matthew Parris at least acknowledges the tremendous good that comes from missionaries.  I, as a committed Christian, I obviously recognize the “spiritual transformation” that Matthew speaks of as a supernatural work.  And yet, even if you do not, surely what Christian’s have done in Africa is a good thing.

Extreme Liberal Group Assualts Michigan Church Service

An interesting event happened during a Michigan church service this week.  A radical liberal group effectively assaulted the church in the midst of the service.  And while it was for the most part non-violent, it ultimately points forward to the growing attacks on Christianity in America.  It is only reasonable to expect that in time, a more violent movement will develop.

For the full article, click here.

The great thing about what happened is that the church members in attendance demonstrated God’s grace by not responding violently, waiting until the matter was resolved, and then concluding the service by praying for the perpetrators.

Christianity as a Prescription for the Condition of Man

If you look at the themes of the many religions, it is possible to generalize enough so that Christianity seems similar.  We have all heard the comment’s that inevitably follow: “All the religions are basically the same.”  “They all believe in god.” ”It is just faith.”  I have heard these comments and many more.  Each time, I shriek at the thought.  The truth is that this logical error couldn’t be more false.  The only thing in most cases that Christianity has in common with other religions, but for the lone exception of Judaism, is that they all involve the belief in god in some format.  Beyond this agreement on the most basic of themes, which by the way is not even a complete agreement, Christianity has very little in common with most of the other religions.  And one specific area where it differs is important for our understanding of its’ validity.

More than any other religion, Christianity focuses on one aspect of human nature in such a way that it indicts all of man into the same helpless pile of depravity.  While many of the religions offer ways to earn your way into an afterlife, even going so far as what seems to be a cosmic point system in the form of Karma, Christianity tells us that “all have fallen short of the glory of God.”  In fact, the very foundation of Christian orthodoxy is built upon the notion that man is depraved, incapable of living up to the standard of God, and in utter need of a savior.  And it is this fact about Christianity that truly sets it apart.  While other religions serve up platefuls of pride, preying on man’s worst penchant for sin, Christianity makes clear that it is this very pride that is our undoing.

The question that we have to ask ourselves is which worldview has the accurate portrayal of man?  Is it the one that utilizes our penchant for pride as a belief system?  Or, is it the one that describes that pride as one of the fundamental problems of man?  If we are being honest, we must admit that it is the latter.  What is clear is that the prideful man is a dreadful man.  Let me state clearly then what I mean to say by observing this.  First, any worldview that desires to be taken seriously must accurately portray the conditions of man.  Second, that very worldview must also prescribe solutions to the conditions of man that legitimizes its standing as a valid worldview.  As I survey the landscape of religious and non-religious worldviews, Christianity is the only one that is able to achieve both of these principles with any validity.  While it does not make it true in and of itself, what we can say is that it keeps the door open to that conclusion.  The other worldviews cannot say the same.