Jesus is the only way to heaven, yes the only way. Exclusive truth claims like this are not popular in our modern culture. In fact claiming that there is only one way to heaven is down right offensive. But we cannot go by our own opinions or by what makes us feel good. Since God is God he is the ultimate authority. So we must look to him for the answers. God has revealed himself to us in the Bible. So we look to the Word of God to find the truth.
(John 14:6) "Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (ESV)
We must notice that Jesus says I am the way, not a way. We can only come to the Father through Jesus, all other ways lead to hell. All roads do not lead to heaven.
(Acts 4:12) "And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (ESV)
Salvation is found in Christ alone. All other names such as Muhammad, Buddha, and Joseph Smith lead to hell. Christianity is true therefore all other religions are false.
(Romans 3:10) "as it is written: None is righteous, no, not one;" (ESV)
(Romans 3:23) "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (ESV)
Many think that they will go to heaven because they are good people but this is not true. As we can see there is no one who is righteous. We are all sinners and even when we do good things they are not done for the glory of God.
(Hebrews 9:27) "And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment," (ESV)
We die and then comes judgment. It is final, we will either go to heaven or hell for eternity. All people will not eventually go to heaven.
(Matthew 7:13-14) "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few." (ESV)
The majority of people are not going to heaven. Salvation is found only in Jesus and this is the narrow way. The wide gate includes all the other paths that people choose.
(John 3:16) "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." (ESV)
We can go to heaven, this is the good news. God sent Jesus his only, unique Son to save his people from their sins. All who repent of theirs sins and believe in Christ alone for salvation have eternal life.
Monday, February 19, 2018
Monday, February 12, 2018
How Do You Answer A Fool?
(Proverbs 26:4-5) "Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes." (ESV)
First we must define what is meant by the term fool. It is not name calling or a personal attack. It speaks to a person's moral orientation and not to his intellectual orientation. A fool is anyone who denies the existence of God and does not honor him. We do not just mean someone who denies the existence of a god but anyone who denies the existence of the God of the Bible. In other words all unbelievers are fools because they reject the truth of the Bible. The God of the Bible is Trinity, he is the infinite, personal Creator.
You should not answer a fool according to his folly or you will also be foolish. You should not accept his presuppositions or basic assumptions about God, man, knowledge, and ethics. Instead you must expose his worldview as false showing him his foolishness.
The Christian must not compromise on the authority and truthfulness of Scripture. He must presuppose the Bible as truth whenever he deals with the unbeliever. The Bible defends itself, it is self attesting. There is no neutral ground between the believer and the unbeliever. The unbeliever rejects the authority of the Bible from the outset and instead assumes his own human reason or sense perception as authoritative. He is worshiping false gods.
We should not set aside the Bible and try to provide evidence and make arguments for the existence of a god. The unbeliever already has the evidence that God is there. Creation itself and man's own constitution testify to the existence of God. They testify not to the existence of a god but to the existence of the Christian God. In their heart of hearts all people know that God exists, unbelievers are simply suppressing the truth in unrighteousness. They refuse to honor God as God, exchanging the truth for a lie. Claiming to be wise they have become fools (See Romans 1:18-25).
The Bible must be accepted as authoritative and true at our starting point. Only the Christian worldview provides the necessary preconditions for intelligibility. It is the only worldview that makes sense of your world. Only the Christian worldview is livable and fits reality. All other worldviews reduce down to absurdity. Unbelievers cannot live out their worldview consistently. They must borrow from the Christian worldview in order to live their lives.
The unbeliever must be pressed to admit to what he already knows, namely that the God of the Bible exists. The unbeliever needs to repent (have a change of mind) and place his faith in Christ alone for salvation. Ultimately this can only be brought about by the work of the Holy Spirit.
First we must define what is meant by the term fool. It is not name calling or a personal attack. It speaks to a person's moral orientation and not to his intellectual orientation. A fool is anyone who denies the existence of God and does not honor him. We do not just mean someone who denies the existence of a god but anyone who denies the existence of the God of the Bible. In other words all unbelievers are fools because they reject the truth of the Bible. The God of the Bible is Trinity, he is the infinite, personal Creator.
You should not answer a fool according to his folly or you will also be foolish. You should not accept his presuppositions or basic assumptions about God, man, knowledge, and ethics. Instead you must expose his worldview as false showing him his foolishness.
The Christian must not compromise on the authority and truthfulness of Scripture. He must presuppose the Bible as truth whenever he deals with the unbeliever. The Bible defends itself, it is self attesting. There is no neutral ground between the believer and the unbeliever. The unbeliever rejects the authority of the Bible from the outset and instead assumes his own human reason or sense perception as authoritative. He is worshiping false gods.
We should not set aside the Bible and try to provide evidence and make arguments for the existence of a god. The unbeliever already has the evidence that God is there. Creation itself and man's own constitution testify to the existence of God. They testify not to the existence of a god but to the existence of the Christian God. In their heart of hearts all people know that God exists, unbelievers are simply suppressing the truth in unrighteousness. They refuse to honor God as God, exchanging the truth for a lie. Claiming to be wise they have become fools (See Romans 1:18-25).
The Bible must be accepted as authoritative and true at our starting point. Only the Christian worldview provides the necessary preconditions for intelligibility. It is the only worldview that makes sense of your world. Only the Christian worldview is livable and fits reality. All other worldviews reduce down to absurdity. Unbelievers cannot live out their worldview consistently. They must borrow from the Christian worldview in order to live their lives.
The unbeliever must be pressed to admit to what he already knows, namely that the God of the Bible exists. The unbeliever needs to repent (have a change of mind) and place his faith in Christ alone for salvation. Ultimately this can only be brought about by the work of the Holy Spirit.
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