What Do You Mean, "There Is Only One Way to God"? I. Introduction A. We are living in a society that exalts three principles, among others B. Tolerance: belief in not just respecting the rights of others to have different views and opinions, but also in not speaking against other views C. Choice: Americans are assaulted with decision upon decision, option upon option-- same attitude enters religion D. Relativism: "what is right for you is right for you but does not have to be right for me, and we can agree to disagree" E. These principles are held as self-evident and for too many are not open to discussion F. We then look at the New Testament and find these declarations 1. John 14:6: Jesus is the way, the truth, the life, only way to the Father 2. 1 Corinthians 8:6, Ephesians 4:6, 1 Timothy 2:5: there is but one God 3. 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9: those who do not know or obey said God will be condemned G. These statements cause fits for many people in our society! 1. Most people accept the idea that Jesus was a good man and a good teacher, having many good things to say 2. But, to many people, that's about all-- He is one teacher among many 3. To such people, to claim that there is only one way to God is intolerant, bigoted, and arrogant H. Perhaps you have been asked: "what do you mean, 'there is only one way to God?'" 1. "Why are you so intolerant of other religions?" 2. "Are you saying that everyone else is going to hell?" 3. "Aren't there good ideas in every religion?" 4. "How are you so sure that you are right and everyone else is wrong?" 5. "Who are you to judge others as being wrong?" I. These are important questions to consider 1. Giving a defense for our hope (1 Peter 3:15) 2. Let us consider the three principles in our society and see if they really work 3. Then let us consider the claims of Jesus of Nazareth J. What do we mean when we declare that there is only one way to God? II. Tolerance, Choice, and Relativism A. These three principles are what has led many in our society to reject the idea that there is but one way to God 1. In many ways, hard to entirely separate them 2. Without relativism, tolerance would not have much teeth; without choice, nothing to be tolerant or relativistic about; without tolerance, back to hostile conflict 3. Nevertheless, let us consider the challenges of each B. Relativism: the self-defeating argument 1. Relativism is the idea that there are no absolutes; truth is what you perceive truth to be 2. It is ultimately self-defeating, however, since the idea that "there is no absolute" is itself an absolute! 3. Relativism would attempt to deny the existence of an objective reality 4. Such attempts, however, do not really work 5. No human being is the ultimate arbiter of anything (Jeremiah 10:23)-- no human has perfect perception of reality 6. This does not deny objective reality-- it just calls into question any given individual's ability to claim that he can perceive that reality! 7. We all have an innate recognition of our own limitations and that there is more "out there" than we can perceive (Acts 17:26-28) 8. Our Creator is in that space "out there" beyond our perception, and we confess that He has a complete handle on what is real! 9. Try as it may, relativism cannot disprove Aristotle's principle of non-contradiction a. The principle: A cannot both be A and not A at the same time b. Thus, red cannot be red and black; a person cannot be both here and not here, etc. 10. Thus, nothing can be both right and wrong at the same time! 11. Relativism also does not play out well in reality a. What happens if stealing is "right" to me but not to you? b. Voltaire's conundrum: he did not believe in God, but wanted all his servants to believe so that they would not cheat him and defraud him! c. Without an agreed upon standard of right behavior and wrong behavior, human interaction fails, and chaos reigns! 12. Thus, no one is completely relativistic: they only seek to claim relativism in certain areas, especially in religion! 13. Yet, in truth, the law of non-contradiction remains: either Jesus is the resurrected Son of God or He is not; He is right or He is wrong; His claims are to be accepted or they are to be rejected (1 Corinthians 15, etc.) C. Choice: Not All the Same 1. Americans have plenty of choice-- in fact, one could argue that Americans have too many choices! 2. Where to live, where to work, what to wear, what to eat, how to play, what to read, what to buy...the list never ends! 3. While Americans may despair regarding the number of choices they are called upon to make, they are also fiercely supportive of the ability to make choices! 4. They don't want anyone else making the choices for them! 5. Since Americans value choice, and most choices come without "moral" consequences, religious preferences are seen as just another choice! 6. You can thus choose whatever religious organization makes you comfortable, and failing to find one, you can choose your religion "cafeteria style," picking out what you like from each and rejecting the rest! 7. Let none be deceived: serving God is a choice, one that each individual must make for him or herself: God does not coerce or compel anyone (1 Timothy 2:4, Matthew 11:28-30, Luke 14:28-33) 8. On the other hand, not all choices are equal! a. Different types of choices come with different levels of consequences! b. Choosing whether to steal is not like choosing what one wants to eat c. Choosing to engage in sexual behavior is not like choosing what to wear d. Likewise, choosing what to believe is not like choosing where to shop! 9. While most people would realize this in terms of matters of legality and illegality, sexual activity and its consequences, and such like, they seem to forget it in terms of religion! a. Religion should not be about us, but instead about serving God (Jeremiah 10:23, Proverbs 3:5-7, Proverbs 14:12, Romans 6:16-18) b. Therefore, religious choice has consequences! 10. Thus, while there is a choice, it's a "controlled choice" a. Just like we have "controlled" choices in moral areas, so it is with religion! b. We can surely choose to believe as we want, go our own way, but we will suffer the eternal consequences (2 Thessalonians 1:6-9)! c. If we want to obtain the good, we are going to have to choose to do God's will (Romans 2:5-10)! D. Tolerance: The Inconsistent Standard 1. As our society has become more diverse, "tolerance" is the preferred religion 2. We are to all accept one another, respect each other's decisions, and even validate their decisions 3. Condemnation or speaking against a particular belief system or lifestyle is anathema to modern "tolerance" 4. Let none be deceived: we should be tolerant of other people in terms of respecting their right to disagree with us and to make their own decisions-- just as God does not coerce or compel anyone, we are not to coerce or compel anyone (Ephesians 6:12) 5. Likewise, we should not only tolerate people of different colors, ethnicities, cultures, and genders, we should appreciate how God has brought all together in one body (Galatians 3:28) 6. On the other hand, Christians cannot accept sin or sinfulness (Romans 12:9, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, Galatians 5:19-21) 7. Christians must also speak out and expose such darkness (Ephesians 5:11) 8. And thus we have the inconsistency of "tolerance:" those preaching "tolerance" are "tolerant" of everyone who agrees with them and their definition of "tolerance," but are quite, well, "intolerant" of anyone who dares to preach what they deem to be "intolerance"! 9. If they were consistent, they would show as much "tolerance" toward those who preach what is in their mind "intolerance" as they would to those who preach what is "tolerant" in their mind! 10. Therefore, this "tolerance" is really a myth, an emperor with no clothes-- "tolerance" only exists for those who accept the paradigm of "tolerance," and all others are excluded 11. This view of "tolerance," therefore, is its own brand of religion, making as many exclusive claims as those it would condemn! E. Thus we see that these three societal standards are not much of standards at all! F. They are not to be trusted! G. Such a demonstration, however, does not prove our point H. Why is it that we believe that of all the possibilities out there, Jesus is the right one? III. Why Jesus? A. The short answer to the question of why to believe in Jesus is that it makes the most sense! B. Recognition: some truth in every religion 1. Paul was able to find some decent ideas in Greek authors (Acts 17) 2. We can find some praiseworthy concepts in every religion 3. On the other hand, such does not validate every religion! C. Through the revelation of God in the Bible, we get the best understanding of the way reality is and what can be done about it D. Reality: world full of sin, under sentence of corruption-- hope for new order in transcendent Kingdom of God (Romans 5:12-18, 8:19-23, 2 Peter 3:9-11, Revelation 20-22) 1. Eastern religions focus on the here and now, the personal development of each person 2. Such does not really address the inherent corruption in the world 3. Judaism has little concept of afterlife; Islam, afterlife a glorified Bedouin existence 4. It is through God in Christ that we understand how the actions of this life will reflect on the next life 5. It is through the Kingdom that we can have hope for wrongs to be made right E. Reality: If justice exists, some penalty must be paid (Hebrews 9:22) 1. Concept of "sin" hazy if existent in eastern religions 2. Modern Judaism, Islam speak of sin, praying for forgiveness-- no real concept of an act of atonement 3. Only in Jesus Christ do we find a means by which we can see sin atoned for-- an actual penalty paid-- to satisfy the demands of justice (cf. John 1:29) 4. Ironic twist of other questions-- is justice really served if people can be forgiven without any penalty having been paid? No! F. Christianity grounded in historical reality 1. Other religions focus on experiential "spiritual" understanding, family heritage or tradition, alleged instruction of some great leader 2. Yet the claims of Christianity involve claims of events that are claimed to have really taken place! 3. Such claims warrant examination and a firm decision 4. Questions about historicity of Buddha, Hindu gods, etc. would not change anything about said religions, but Christianity intentionally stands or falls on the historical data! 5. If there was a man named Jesus of Nazareth who came from God, lived in first century Judea, died on a cross, was raised on the third day, and then who empowered His followers to preach a message of a new Kingdom based in His Lordship, and it actually happened, the claims of the religion are hard to deny! 6. But if any of these are not true, then the religion is proven false (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:1-19)! 7. No one has yet been able to prove the story false: every alternative theory has too many holes, and the only sensible explanation of the events is that they took place just as the Scriptures revealed they did! G. This is why Christianity is eminently believable: it makes the best sense out of how reality is fallen but not entirely hopeless, and God does not expect you to believe something outside the realm of reality, but to judge the claims made within our own sphere of existence H. Yet there is more! IV. Why Not Jesus? A. The question, "what do you mean, 'there is only one way to God'?", is quite prejudiced B. We have shown why the standards of society are flawed, and also given reasons to believe Christianity over other religions C. But let us consider it another way D. Some illustrations 1. What if I were able to present to you an ideal car-- solar powered, great horsepower, little maintenance, leather seats, fully loaded-- and said that it would cost you $100? 2. If it were really true, would you look elsewhere for a car? Would you even think to compare such a car to one that was not as fuel efficient, not as loaded, and more expensive? 3. Or perhaps I would offer to you an authentic Roman coin or excellent replicas of Roman coins, and declare that they all cost the same. Which would you choose? 4. Would you not take the ideal car and the authentic coin? E. Such is the way we should look at the question: if Jesus really is the truth, why would you need to look anywhere else? F. Jesus of Nazareth has been a compelling figure throughout time 1. For centuries, people have criticized Christianity, the Apostles, various denominations and their leaders, etc., but few have dared to assault the character of Jesus Himself 2. He garners universal respect for His teaching and His practices 3. What other figure in history made the claims He made and lived up to them? 4. Who taught like Jesus taught (cf. John 7:46)? 5. Who practiced what was preached like Jesus did (Hebrews 4:15, 5:7-8)? G. In short, of whom else can it be said that He reflected the image of the Father completely (John 1:18, 14:9-11)? H. If all these things are true, we can see that Jesus' claim to be the only way to the Father is not declared out of hostility or arrogance, but out of sheer reality: no one else has made the Father known like Jesus has (John 14:4-11)! I. If He shows you all that must be shown, why look elsewhere (cf. John 1:18, 2 Timothy 3:16-17)? V. Conclusion A. What do we mean, "there is only one way to God?" B. Societal standards are flawed C. And regardless of societal standards, Jesus demands for us to make a decision about Him 1. Hear the truth: no one can be on the fence about Jesus 2. You absolutely cannot believe that He was a "good man" and a "good teacher" but believe that He is just one of many 3. He declared Himself to be One with the Father, God in the flesh, the truth, the only way to the Father, and Lord of heaven and earth (John 10:30, John 8:57, John 14:6, Matthew 28:18) 4. If you believe that Jesus was truly good, then you will accept these claims and recognize that Jesus is the sole and exclusive way to God, being the only One who could make Him known (John 1:18) 5. If you cannot accept these claims, then you cannot believe that Jesus was either a "good man" or a "good teacher," since anyone who makes these claims falsely is a liar, deceiver, or a lunatic! 6. Jesus' claims about Himself are true or they are false-- they cannot be both! D. Do you accept Jesus or will you reject Him? The choice is yours-- but it comes with eternal consequences (Romans 6:23, 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9)! E. Believe in Jesus as the truth, the way, and the life today! F. Invitation/songbook