As most of you know, earlier this year I flew to Chicago to attend a PRE-SCREENING of The Passion. Jim Main went with me-and I’m sure he’d agree it was a whirlwind of a day. We left at about 5AM and headed down to National Airport, caught a plane to Chicago, rented a car, drove to Willow Creek Community Church, took turns grabbing a quick lunch, saw the movie, hurried back to turn in our car and catch our plane-and were home about midnight. But it was well worth it. I mean, not only did we get to experience this powerful film before it hit the theaters-we were also able to hear Lee Strobel speak, I actually got to shake hands with Bill Hybels, and then to top it all of we were able to “meet” Mel Gibson himself.
In fact, we learned that he had a whirlwind day of his own, flying into Chicago early that morning after being up most of the night working in the editing room. Gibson had come to Willow Creek-not only support this pre-screening-but also to be interviewed by Hybels and, I must say, I really enjoyed THIS PART of my whirlwind day. It was very moving for me to hear this Hollywood heavy-weight share his testimony, including the events that led him to not only produce-but also finance this film with his own money.
In his testimony Gibson talked about the fact that he was the kind of guy who could get addicted to anything-he said he couldn’t get enough of anything that brought him pleasure. But, he went on to say that in spite of his fame and fortune, which made it possible for him to afford to feed his addictions, he felt empty. To fill that void in his life he decided to return to His Christian faith. Shortly after that this idea entered his mind to make a movie about the last 12 hours of Jesus’ life. At this point in the interview Hybels asked Gibson about a particular scene in The Passion where Jesus utters the words that are recorded in John 14:6. They were spoken by our Lord as He shared the Passover meal with His disciples that last time and, I for one think it’s wonderful that each of the millions of people who have seen this movie have actually read those words:
“I am THE Way and THE Truth and THE Life. No man comes to the Father but by Me.”
Hybels asked Gibson why he decided to put this verse in his film-because in our culture, those words are dynamite. I mean, it’s so controversial to say that Jesus is the only way to God. Well, Gibson kind of squirmed in his seat-I think he sensed that all ears were open to hear his reply to this question-AND THEY WERE. In fact, I could kind of sense all 5,000 of us shifting forward in our seats so as not to miss his response. We wanted to see if Gibson would get this one right. He said something like this, “I put those words in there because Jesus said them…” And then he kind of back-tracked down the “politically-correct highway”and said, “…but I believe when everything is said and done at the end of time everyone will get to go to heaven..” Then I think he realized he was talking to conservative Christians because he explained, “…but they’ll get there only through Jesus…” And then I think he sensed we were disappointed with his response because he went on to say, “But…I don’t know guys…I’m not God…I’m just a movie star turned director. I guess I put that verse in there because Jesus said it and I believe Jesus is not in the habit of telling fibs.” I thought, “Well, he didn’t answer completely correctly but he didn’t do a half-bad job for someone who has spent most of his life away from God.”
Sermon:
Now-as I said a moment ago this particular statement of Jesus IS very controversial. It’s not POPULAR these days to say that Jesus is the only way to Heaven. In fact, this statement really rankles people-even some Christians chafe at the idea that Jesus could be the only way to God. People who embrace this conviction about Jesus are called narrow-mined, bigoted-even snobbish or pious. Well-what about it? To use Gibson’s words, “Was Jesus telling a fib when He said this? Is this statement that He is the only Way to God TRUE or FALSE?”
Now as I’ve hinted at already, I believe this statement is TRUE. I believe that a personal faith in Jesus Christ is the ONLY way to know God-the only way to be assured that when we die-and we all will-we will go to spend eternity in Heaven. Plus, I believe my Lord said this not out of arrogance but great compassion. I mean, it would be cold-hearted NOT to inform people of a truth like this that affects their eternal destinies!
I also want to point out that John 14:6 is not the only text in the Bible that proclaims this truth. In Acts 4:12 Peter said, “There is salvation in no other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” In John 3:36 John the Baptist said,”Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.” In 1 Timothy 2:5 it says, “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, [and that Mediator is] the Man Christ Jesus.” In 1 John 5:11-12 it says,”And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”
And, in our text for this morning we see another time that Jesus addressed this issue. In fact, the first scene of Gibson’s film is based on these verses. Remember? It takes place in the Garden of Gesthemane on the night of Jesus’ arrest. Our Lord is in agony-praying-and basically He is asking this question, “Is there another way Father? Is there another way to atone for the sin of man?” From the context we know that God’s answer was “NO”-and can you imagine the pain that caused our Heavenly Father? Dads-can you begin to grasp how hard it would be for you to say to your son, “No, there is no other way. You will have to endure the agony of the cross. If You love mankind and want to remove this sin barrier…there is no other way.” And Jesus’ response was, “Then, Thy will be done.” Read along with me and now. We’re looking at Matthew 26:36-46:
36 – Then Jesus went with His disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and He said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”
37 – He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with Him, and He began to be sorrowful and troubled.
38 – Then He said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with Me.”
39 – Going a little farther, He fell with His face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.”
40 – Then He returned to His disciples and found them sleeping. “Could you men not keep watch with Me for one hour?” He asked Peter.
41 – “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”
42 – He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may Your will be done.”
43 – When He came back, He again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy.
44 – So He left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.
45 – Then He returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
46 – Rise, let us go! Here comes My betrayer!”
So, you see, Jesus Himself asked this question-and God’s response indicates that there was and still is no other way. As the old hymn text puts it, “I must needs go home by the way of the cross. There’s no other way but this. I shall ne’er get sight of the gates of light if the way of the cross I miss.” The only way to God-the only way to Heaven-is THE WAY that has been provided by Jesus’ death and resurrection.
Okay-to help you understand why I believe this controversial statement of Jesus is true, and to help you come to the same conclusion, I want us to take our time this morning to confront three current MYTHS and MISCONCEPTIONS that surround this issue.
1. The first is this: All religions are the SAME.
You see, many people today are upset by the claim that Jesus is the only way to God because they believe that all religions are basically identical, that all spiritual paths lead up the same mountain so to speak. They maintain that while there may be surface-level distinctions between the various world religions, when stripped down to their essentials, all faith systems fundamentally teach the same thing. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa said,
“One can ascend to the top of a house by means of a ladder or a bamboo or a staircase or a rope; so too, diverse are the ways of approaching God, and each religion in the world shows one of the ways.”
M. Cherif Bassiouni, law professor at DePaul University College of Law is one of the world’s leading authorities on international criminal law and human rights. In 1999 he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in establishing the International Criminal Court. At a January 4, 2000 interfaith dialogue near Chicago, Bassiouni said this:
“All religions lead to God using different paths. Judgement is not by the choice we make, but by how we pursue the path of the choice we make. Different religions and cultures are equal in the eyes of God and should be see as equal in the eyes of man.”
And it isn’t just Hindu gurus or Nobel Laureates who believe this. Sarah Michelle Gellar, star of the TV show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer said,
“I consider myself a spiritual person. I believe in an idea of God, although it’s my own personal idea. I find most religions interesting, and I’ve been to every kind of denomination: Catholic, Christian, Jewish, Buddhist. I’ve taken bits from everything and customized it.”
In other words, Gellar thinks that since all religions are equally valid, she can pick which parts of each that she likes-kind of like going down a buffet table and picking your favorite foods and in her opinion, no matter how she “fills her plate” she’s sure to get to heaven.
People like Gellar and the others I quoted-people who embrace this myth-point out that most faiths emphasize the brotherhood and sisterhood of men and women and the universal fatherhood of God, so they say it doesn’t matter which faith you follow. And, as Christians we should concede that there is SOME common ground shared by many of the world’s religions-especially when you look at their teachings of basic morality. But at the same time, there ARE also drastic and irreconcilable differences between Christianity and other faith systems that cannot be papered over.
As C. S. Lewis pointed out, one MAJOR difference is that-unlike other religions-Christianity proclaims a gospel of GRACE and not WORKS. You see, every other religion is based on people DOING something. Adherents struggle to somehow EARN the favor of God. Some faiths teach that people have to use a Tibetan prayer wheel, or they have to go on pilgrimages, or they have to give alms to the poor, or they have to avoid eating certain foods, or they have to perform a certain number of unspecified good deeds, or they have to pray at a certain time in a certain position each day, or they have to go through a cycle of reincarnations, OR WHATEVER. You see other religious systems are essentially DO-IT-YOURSELF propositions. Follow this way of life, they say, and you stand a good chance of gaining favor with God and eventually achieving salvation.
Think of it like this: Other faiths are attempts by PEOPLE to reach out to GOD but Christianity teaches that in Jesus Christ GOD is reaching out to US. Scripture tells us that God’s gift of salvation through Jesus was GOD-given, GOD-driven, GOD-empowered, and GOD-originated.
The gift of salvation is not from man to God through our efforts. It is from God to man.
And Christianity ALONE teaches this fact-that in His great grace, God REACHED DOWN to us because we were incapable of REACHING UP to Him. As it says in 1 John 4:10,
“It is not our love for God; it is God’s love for us in sending His Son to be the way to take away our sins.”
There’s a story told of a man who died and went to heaven. When he got to the pearly gates St. Peter told him his life would be reviewed and his good deeds would be added up. To be granted admission into heaven he had to have earned 1000 points. The man said, “That should be easy. I taught Sunday School every Sunday for 40 years.” Peter said, “Okay, that’s worth one point.” The man was a little surprised and then said, “Well, I was also a faithful and loving husband as well as a dedicated and nurturing father.” Peter said, “Okay, That’s worth one point.” The man was becoming concerned. So he blurted out, “I tithed all of my income!” Peter said, “Okay, that’s worth 1 point.” Now the man was worried. He said, “I was a deacon in my church and served on the church council. Peter said, “That’s only worth a half point.” After the man had gone through the entire list of every good thing he had ever done, he had only 12 points. Finally, in exasperation, he said, “I give up! The only way a guy could get in here is by the grace of God.” Peter said, “That’s worth 1000 points! Come on in!”
On the basis of this point alone-GRACE and not works-Christianity is set apart from any other religion in the world. No other system, ideology, or religion proclaims a free forgiveness and a new life to those who have done nothing to deserve it and in fact deserve judgement instead. John MacArthur writes,
“As far as the way of salvation is concerned, there are only two religions the world has ever known or will ever know-the religion of divine accomplishment, which is biblical Christianity, and the religion of human achievement, which includes all other kinds of religion, by whatever name they may go under.”
This distinction is starkly demonstrated by comparing a parable that was taught by Jesus with a similar story found in Buddhist literature. Both stories involve sons who became rebellious and left home in a huff, but who later saw the error of their ways and decided to return home to be reconciled with their families. But it’s the ending of the two stories that so clearly points out the difference between Christianity and all other belief systems. In the Buddhist story, the errant son is required to work off the penalty for his past misdeeds by spending years in servitude. But the Christian Parable of the Prodical Son ends with the repentant son being warmly welcomed home by a loving father who showers him with undeserved forgiveness and grace.
You see, grace-LESS religions are “DO” religions-adherents must constantly DO things to even hope to earn their salvation. In fact, in other religions it is impossible to have any certainty that you have achieved eternal life. I mean, you never know that you’ve DONE enough good works and you never can! Paul Little writes,
“I have often asked Hindus, Muslims, and Buddhists whether they would achieve nirvana or go to paradise when they died. I have not yet had one reply in the affirmative. Rather they referred to the imperfection of their lives as being a barrier to this realization. There is no assurance in their religious systems because salvation depends on the individual’s gaining enough merit.”
Well, Christianity gives us assurance because it is a “DONE” religion-it is based on what Jesus Christ has DONE for us in dying on calvary’s cross. As Jesus said in His last words from the cross, “IT IS FINISHED!” Through that sacrifice, love’s redeeming work was DONE!
So, understand…the message of “DO” religions is fundamentally incompatible with the message of “DONE” religion. Both could not come from the same GOD. After all, God isn’t schizophrenic. Lee Strobel puts it this way,
“It would be unlikely that a God who embodies love and TRUTH would go to one side of the planet and say, ‘PSST! Let me tell you how you can become reconciled with Me.’…and then go to another spot on the globe and describe a completely contradictory way for humans to understand and worship Him, and tell yet a third population something totally new.”
It makes much more sense that God would act according to His nature as the Author of all truth and provide ONE path for us to follow. And in fact this is what HE did when He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to enter human history.
And I want to point out that there are OTHER fundamental differences between Christianity and other faiths.
For instance, Christianity says that there is one eternal God who created the universe. But Hinduism says that everything is God. You are god. I am god. This pulpit is god. Christianity says that Jesus was God in the flesh. Islam denies this and that He died for our sins. Christianity’s written source of authority is the Bible alone. We believe this is God’s Word. But Mormons use the book of Mormon and Muslims use the Koran. Friends all of these beliefs cannot be true! They contradict each other too severely and so, contrary to this popular myth, all religions are NOT the same. Two things that contradict each other cannot both be true at the same time.
By the way Christianity is not the only faith system that makes this exclusive claim.
Muslims, Mormons, Hindus, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christian Scientists, Buddhists, Orthodox Jews-all of these faith systems say theirs is the only way. But, for some reason Christians are the only ones who are criticized for doing so!
2. And then a second myth that is popular these days is this one. It doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you’re SINCERE.
People who embrace THIS misconception admit that Christianity IS different from other faith systems but they feel that it is just one valid philosophy among many. This is the “You have your truth. I have my truth.” way of thinking. And this myth is POPULAR because it reflects society’s pluralistic attitudes in which we are encouraged to be tolerant of other faiths. Now, please don’t misunderstand me here. It IS important that we are tolerant of people who believe differently than we do. The Bible tells us that as followers of Jesus we need to be loving and respectful as we share our faith with all people. 1 Peter 3:15 says,”Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with GENTLENESS and RESPECT.” So tolerance is a good thing. In fact it’s a biblical concept. As I am so fond of saying, this IS America-a free country. Our citizens can believe whatever they want. Under the U.S. Constitution, as long as they don’t infringe on the rights of others, all religious viewpoints should be equally protected. But some people jump to the erroneous conclusion that because different philosophies are equally protected, they must be equally true and this is not the case. The fact that a belief system is tolerated under the law has nothing to do with whether or not it is based on truth. As the old saying goes,
“If a million people believed a ridiculous thing to true, it would still be a ridiculous thing.”
Sincerely believing something does not make it true, as anyone who has ever picked the wrong bottle out of the medicine cabinet in the dark will testify. Faith-no matter how sincere it is-is no more valid than the object in which it is placed. Believing something is true does not make it any more true than failing to believe something that is true makes it false. I mean, if you were to jump off the Cabin John bridge believing you would not fall-you still would fall-that’s the truth. Facts are facts, regardless of people’s attitudes toward them.
Well, what are the facts when it comes to the object of our Christian faith? What is the truth when it comes to Jesus Christ who claimed to be the only path to God? Well, as I pointed out last Sunday, the reality is that Jesus Christ has unique credentials that make His claim to deity uniquely credible. Only Jesus both claimed to be God and then proved that claim by living a perfect sinless life, by embodying the attributes of God, and by fulfilling every single prophecy of the coming Messiah written hundreds of years before He was born.
You see, Christianity is not just another religion or philosophy. It is a reality. Jesus didn’t just claim that He was the one and only Son of God. He validated that claim with convincing evidence. So our belief that He is the only way to God is well-founded. While other religious leaders can offer wise sayings and helpful advice and insights, only JESUS CHRIST, because He is the perfect Son of God, is qualified to offer Himself as payment for our wrong-doing. No other religious leader can even pretend to be able to do that. Theologian R. C. Sproul puts it this way,
“Moses could mediate on the law, Mohammed could brandish a sword, Buddha could give personal counsel, Confucius could offer wise sayings. But none of these men was qualified to offer an atonement for the sins of the world.”
As the only Son of God, Jesus alone qualified. So it DOES matter which route you take in your spiritual journey. The Bible clearly teaches that all other routes ultimately are dead ends. Only Jesus Christ is THE WAY that leads to God. Only He is the TRUTH. Only He is the LIFE. And then one other popular misconception these days is this:
3. Christians who believe this are just being PIOUS or HOLIER than thou.
Now, I’d agree that Christians are being narrow-minded or holier-than-thou if there really were many roads to God and we were saying that our road was the best. But this is not what Christianity says. We know that the Bible teaches that there IS only one truth-not many. And the truth is that all of us have sinned and if we are going to get to Heaven, Someone has to pay the penalty for our wrongdoing. And Jesus, by virtue of His sinlessness and divinity, is the only One qualified to do this-the only ONE Who could be our substitute. This is true. This is factual, and it is not narrow-minded to act in accordance with the evidence.
You know often babies are born with a condition known as jaundice. It’s caused by a disorder of the liver and it causes the infant’s skin and the whites of the eyes to turn yellow. This is a potentially devastating disorder but it has a simple cure. These babies are put under a special light, which somehow stimulates the functioning of the liver and corrects the problem in a matter of hours. If you’ve ever visited the newborn area of a hospital then you have probably seen jaundiced newborns being treated. They wear little sunglasses to protect their eyes and they lay there under that light with just a diaper on, looking like they are on the beach catching a few rays.
Now, suppose you had a child born with this disorder and the physician urged you to allow him to treat your child with this light. You could respond by saying, “That sounds too easy…in fact it’s downright silly! Put the baby under a light? I think it would be better if we scrubbed him with soap and water and dipped him in some bleach instead. Certainly if we worked hard enough to scrub him in this way, we could get the normal coloring back.” If you did this the doctor would look at you and say, “No, you don’t understand. There is only one way to cure your son.” You could still refuse his guidance and say, “How about if we just ignored all of this. You know the jaundice is your truth doctor. It’s not our truth. If we sincerely believe our truth, then things are going to turn out for the best.” The doctor would counter by saying, “You’re going to jeopardize the life of your child if you do that. There is only one truth in all of this….only one way to cure him. It may sound too easy but look at the credentials on my office wall. I’ve studied at medical school. I’ve used what I learned to treat and cure countless babies. Trust me on this.”
Would anybody accuse you of being narrow-minded if you looked at those credentials and decided to trust the doctor and purse the only course of treatment that would cure your son? Of course not! That is not being narrow-minded. That is acting rationally in accordance with the evidence. Well, the fact is every human being on this planet has a terminal illness called sin. And the reason that followers of Jesus cling to Him so tightly is because they have discovered that He is the great Physician who has the only cure. We could try to scrub away our sins with good deeds but that would not work. We could sincerely believe that there are other ways of dealing with our sin but we would be sincerely wrong. The truth is that only the Great Physician offers a treatment that will erase the stain of sin. Only He has the credentials and the credibility to back it up. So when we turn to Him, we’re not being narrow-minded. We are simply acting rationally in accordance with where the evidence points and when it comes to your eternal destiny, you can’t afford to pick the wrong faith. Greg Koukl writes,
“If issues of religion have eternal consequences, then errors in thinking are infinitely tragic. To rephrase Karl Marx, FALSE religion is the opiate of the people. It soothes, but does not cure.”
In addition to NOT being narrow-minded, Christians are not snobbish or pious when they say they believe that Jesus is the only way to God.
To illustrate this, let’s pretend that there are two country clubs. The first country club only admits people who have EARNED their membership. In order to get into this country club, you have to obtain superior wisdom. You’ve got to fulfill a long list of demands. You’ve got to advance spiritually in some way. You’ve got to go through cycles of reincarnation. And despite their best efforts, lots of people just do not make the grade. In the end, the door is going to be slammed in their faces. They are not going to be good enough. They are not going to make the qualifications to get into this country club.
This is what other religions are saying when they teach that people have to work their way to God.
But Christianity is different. Christianity is like a SECOND country club that says anybody who wants in is invited, because Jesus has already paid for their membership. Rich or poor, red, yellow, black, or white, regardless of your ethnic heritage, regardless of where you live, the doors are wide open. Entry is not based on your qualifications. It is only based on your admitting your sin and accepting Jesus’ invitation. This is what Christianity is like.
Now let me ask you, WHICH FAITH SYSTEM IS BEING SNOBBISH?
Certainly not Christianity! We know we are not better than anyone else. Our own experience with God’s grace has taught us that we have no right to be pious or holier-than-thou. Mature Christians agree with the prophet Isaiah who said that “our best efforts at righteousness are as filthy rags.” (Isaiah 54:6) As D. T. Niles put it, “Christians are just like beggars trying to tell other beggars where they can find food.”
Invitation:
So, what is your verdict? Jesus is the only Way to God…TRUE OR FALSE? As you wrestle with an answer let me remind you again that all religions are not the same. Sincere belief in something is not enough. Only Jesus Christ is worthy of our eternal trust. And Christians are not being pious or holier-than-thou to believe all of this.
You know, when I was a little boy we would always spend our vacations in Alabama and Mississippi visiting family. Dad would use his trusty Exxon map to find the way every year from our home in Dover, Delaware all the way to my grandparents’ homes in the deep south. But I remember there were times on our annual family road trips that Dad would ignore the map.
For some reason he would decide that he knew a better way to go than the map advised. When he did this we would inevitably get lost. He and mom had some interesting “discussions” in times like these. Well, you can ignore the instructions in God’s road map but if you do you will be lost on the road of life. This morning if you are lost you can leave this place headed in the right direction. All you have to do is follow the directions in God’s word and confess your sin, accept God’s forgiveness through Jesus alone and commit to follow His directions throughout your life.
If you do this today you can walk out of this place with a new sense of direction and purpose.
I would love to talk to you about this decision. Come and speak with me as we sing so we can share it with everyone here. You may be here this morning and God is guiding you to walk down this aisle and join this church as we work together to spread this vitally important news that Jesus is the only way to God. We sing to give you a chance to follow God’s direction. Will you come and share your decision with us as we sing?