Jesus Is the Only Way to God - Part 1

References: (1)  I followed the arguments that that Norman Geisler used in his book "Twelve Points that Show Christianity is True." But in his book Stealing from God  Frank Turek boils that argument down to 4 questions:     1. Does TRUTH exist?     2. Does GOD exist?     3. Are MIRACLES possible?     4. Is the NEW TESTAMENT historically reliable? (2) Allah, the God of Islam, and Jahweh, the God of Christianity share some similarities. For example, both are proclaimed as one (as opposed to the gods of pantheism or polytheism); both are transcendent, creators of the universe, supreme rulers, and omnipotent. Both have communicated through angels and prophets and will eventually judge all humankind. But the differences are so SUBSTANTIVE  that to claim the  2 religions are IDENTICAL is IMPOSSIBLE. (3) “5 Minute Apologetics for Today” by Ron Rhodes lists 10 differences between Allah and Yahweh. (4) When the apostle Peter stood in front of the religious leaders of his day in Jerusalem and said regarding Jesus, “Salvation is found in NO ONE ELSE, for there is NO OTHER NAME under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12, NIV). (5) Neither Peter nor Paul were refusing anyone the right to believe DIFFERENTLY. Instead, they were taking a CLEAR STAND about their own UNDERSTANDING of spiritual truth — which is something all Christians must do. (6) C. S. Lewis, in his book Mere Christianity, wrote that “If you are a Christian you do not have to believe that all the other religions are simply wrong ALL THROUGH . . . . If you are a Christian, you are FREE to think that all these religions, even the queerest ones, contain at least SOME HINT of the truth.”  Lewis says further that we should think of other religions in terms of ARITHMETIC. There is only one right answer to 2 + 2 — and that’s 4, of course — but if someone answered 6, that answer would be closer to the truth than someone who answers 37. (7) As a Christian I can appreciate the truth in some aspects of Buddhism. For example, the first 2 of the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism state that there is a lot of SUFFERING in the world, and our DESIRES are often the cause of the suffering. Buddhism also teaches many things that I appreciate and affirm as clearly MORAL: we should not murder, lie, steal, or engage in immoral sexual behavior. (8) But here’s where the discussion starts to get MESSY. While many world religion academic courses show how much is held in common, the reality is that there are vast DIFFERENCES on the most FUNDAMENTAL ISSUES. So while there is some common ground say between Buddhism and Christianity, there are also enormous TENSION POINTS. (9) The Dalai Lama has stated publicly that the CENTRAL DOCTRINES of Buddhism and Christianity are NOT COMPATIBLE. He has been quite open about you cannot be a Christian Buddhist or a Buddhist Christian. (See, for example, the Dalai Lama’s book The Good Heart, pp. 81-82). (10) Christians embrace Jesus as God in human form; Islam ranks Him as a prophet second to Muhammad. Neither does Islam consider Jesus as divine or as the Savior of the world. Also Islam says someone else took His place on the cross, so Jesus did not die for sins and He did not appear to over 500 people after being raised from the dead contrary to 1 Cor. 15:3-8. (11) Okay, let me sum this up. There is just one way to God, and it is through Jesus (John 14:6). “So,” you might ask, “are you saying that all those people who aren’t Christians are going to hell? Does someone really GOOD and NOBLE, like Gandhi, go to hell just because he didn’t ACKNOWLEDGE Jesus as the only way to God?” Many who ask these questions, will go further and say, “Because if you are saying that, you have lost me. I just can’t believe that THAT is right. Are you saying that good Muslims, good Hindus, good Jews, good Buddhists are going to hell if they don’t profess Jesus is Lord?” (12) We must trust the character of Yahweh. Much of the Christian’s relationship with God rests on our understanding of, and faith in, His CHARACTER and His NATURE. If God is the one true God, He is utterly, completely fair and just. He will do the right thing by every person. Gen. 18:25 says, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth, do right?” Psa. 25:8, 10 say, “Good and upright is the LORD . . . . All the paths of the LORD  are lovingkindness and truth.” (13) Yahweh God will treat every person with complete and total love.  “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). Yes, people are saved by Christ alone, but it is God who will make the final ASSESSMENT of where someone STANDS in relation to Christ’s saving grace. This is episode 266.