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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.

Walking through the Bible: John 1:16-17

John 1:16-17

16 From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

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In these verses, John is pointing to one of the immediate changes that we find in the messiah.  John does not expound on it, but instead hints ever so slightly that the Jewish expectations of the messiah may not be correct.  The Jewish people expected a messiah to come and to reign immediately on the earth.  However, as we know, Jesus did  not – - at least, not on the earth.  And so while John does not address this fact immediately, he does hint at it by indicating the purpose of Christ when he says, “grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”  By connecting this statement to the one preceding it (the law was given through Moses), we also find the connection of Jesus to the Jewish scriptures.

Again, as indicated previously, John is setting the framework for our thoughts about Jesus prior to going into the events of His life.  So, the function of this verse fits nicely into that overall purpose.  First, John ensured in prior verses that we saw Jesus as more than a man.  In fact, John told us that Jesus was God incarnate (come in the flesh).  Now, John is telling us that his coming has essentially two purposes (among others):

Grace:  Jesus came this first time to die on the cross.  By doing so, He laid down His life as the perfect sacrifice, bearing the judgment of God, and offering His grace to those who believe in Him.

Truth:  For those who do believe Him, he offers truth, brought along by the Holy Spirit in our lives as we are molded and made into the image of Christ.

These two concepts are the primary reasons that the covenant held together by the law has been replaced.  Jesus has provided a new way, a direct connection to the truth and grace of Christ.

Passages discussed in John Chapter 1: John 1:1, John 1:2, John 1:3, John 1:4, John 1:5, John 1:6-9, John 1:10-13, John 1:14, John 1:15, John 1:16-17

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Walking through the Bible is a verse by verse study of the Bible. A small segment of verses will be looked at each time and a brief, but relevant study of the text will be conducted.

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:

Jack Black and Friends Butcher Bible in Short Skit Criticizing Prop. 8

By and large, I will let the below video speak for itself.  It doesn’t need much commentary because it is on the level with the foolish people who believe that Jesus never even existed.  It is a tired argument that does not have any real understanding of the Bible, or for that matter, why the Bible holds to the traditional view of marriage.

Here’s the video:

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.

Atheists Sue to Take ‘God’ Out of Obama Inauguration| Christianpost.com

Atheists Sue to Take ‘God’ Out of Obama Inauguration| Christianpost.com.

Proclaim the Truth’s Take: What can I say, but wow?!  I am sure that there are plenty of atheist’s who are willing to live in a land where the majority of people are Christian in some respect, and are willing to do so without trying to change the laws and culture to suit them.  It is just that you never hear them voicing their opinion when things like this happen.  Hopefully, this lawsuit will fail as it has previously, but you never know.  In fact, at some point, I would say it is likely to succeed given the prevailing social winds.  Pure and simple, it is a shame.

Walking through the Bible: John 1:15

John 1:15

15 John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ ”

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It would be extremely easy to skip over this verse.  We could easily say, “Yeah, John testified that Jesus was the messiah, so let’s get onto the meat and potatoes.”  And yet, if we take the time, we can discover how intricate the Bible really is.  John did not construct this opening to this Gospel haphazardly.  No, he was quite deliberate in his choice of language.  Here we see that.  As we mentioned previously, John is preparing to go into the events of Jesus’ life and before doing so, he is laying the framework for what we think of those events.  So before going onto those events, let’s make sure we are clear on the framework he has set for us.

First, John (the Baptist) testified concerning Christ.  John’s function was to identify the messiah.  We learn in Matthew 3 that John preached a message of repentance, that he was baptizing people as a result of that message, and that he spoke of the kingdom of heaven that is near.  What is key in this verse is that John once again affirms the special nature of Jesus of Nazareth.  By referencing the specific message of John the Batist, that “He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me”, John is ensuring that the framework of our understanding of Jesus be centered on his deity.

Passages discussed in John Chapter 1: John 1:1, John 1:2, John 1:3, John 1:4, John 1:5, John 1:6-9, John 1:10-13, John 1:14, John 1:15, John 1:16-17

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Walking through the Bible is a verse by verse study of the Bible. A small segment of verses will be looked at each time and a brief, but relevant study of the text will be conducted.

Walking through the Bible: John 1:14

John 1:14

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

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John is preparing to transition into the more historical aspects of his Gospel, the events of Jesus life, and so it is appropriate that he come to this point where he hearkens back to his opening line about the logos.  He is about to start writing about Jesus and all of the things he did and so he says here, “The Word [Logos] became flesh.”  Thus, this is a key line that prevents us from marginalizing Jesus the man.  He was certainly more than a man.  By saying, the word became flesh, we are unable to call him a mere man and instead have to acknowledge at the least that he was greater than a man.  And yet, as we recall from verse 1, “the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  John is tying these together and clearly claiming that Jesus was God come in the flesh.  He is effectively setting the backdrop for the rest of his Gospel and unlike the other three Gospels, John is making his theological claims right from the start.  Whereas they may have done it in a more subtle manner, John is laying it out there and saying, God came to visit his people.

What is greater than the fact that God came, was that he came with a plan of redemption.  The deeper I think about my Christian faith, the more I see myself in a mirror and realize how truly unworthy I am.  And I think of Paul who said in regards to sinners in 1 Timothy 1:15, “I am the worst.”  This is the same Paul that we rely on for so much of the New Testament.

To think that God was mindful of man enough to come and die for us – amazing!  He not only came, but he had a plan!

We must be ever mindful of the nature of Jesus and so I appreciate that John wrote his Gospel in the manner that he did.  As we read on about the events of Jesus life, it should always be within our thoughts that Jesus, while fully man, was also fully God.  As he later submits humbly to be killed, we must also recall that he did so while restraining the power that he had at his disposal.  It is one thing for a man to submit to a greater power humbly when he knows he has no alternatives.  However, Jesus submitted humbly to be sacrificed even though he had the power to do otherwise.  What can we say, but WOW?!

Passages discussed in John Chapter 1: John 1:1, John 1:2, John 1:3, John 1:4, John 1:5, John 1:6-9, John 1:10-13, John 1:14, John 1:15, John 1:16-17

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Walking through the Bible is a verse by verse study of the Bible. A small segment of verses will be looked at each time and a brief, but relevant study of the text will be conducted.