Thursday, December 20, 2012

Exclusive or Inclusive or do all roads lead to God?

John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Say you want to establish a scholarship to honor a loved one. You work hard and earn the money to fund this scholarship. You decide that this scholarship to honor your loved one is going to be offered only at the university that your loved one attended and only in the same field of study that they worked in all of their life. Anyone is welcome to apply for this scholarship as long as they go to that particular university and choose to study that particular discipline. Would you give this scholarship to someone who didn't attend the university in question even if they were in that same field of study? Would you give this scholarship to someone who attended the university in question but wanted to study something else? Of course not. The money is yours, the scholarship is yours to bestow on the people who qualify according to the standards you have set up. You wouldn't expect to have to change what you have set up just because someone else thinks it should be different, doesn't like the rules ,or doesn't think that the rules apply to them because they after all are in the same field of study or hey they go to that same school. God has set up how we reach Him. The way is narrow but all are welcome and all are asked to come and find rest. The problem is that we want to do it our way and with our own works or our own rules. Folks it doesn't work like that. Everyone is welcome to come to God but we do it his way. That way is through Christ alone. All other religions and belief systems are what we have to do to work to reach a God. Biblical faith and Christianity is realizing that there is absolutely nothing we can do in our own efforts to reach God but that He stepped out of time, became flesh (Merry Christmas) dwelt among us, died for us and rose again for us (Happy Resurrection Sunday or Easter). All we are required to do is believe in what God has done to reach out to us and rescue us. Other belief systems have some commonality with the teachings of Jesus. Makes sense though. If I were going to develop a belief system meant to deceive people and lead them further from the truth I wouldn't develop a belief system that was made up of complete lies. The difference between the complete truth and a complete lie will deceive some people but most people would be able to see the difference and make decisions accordingly. Converts might be easy to get but pretty hard to retain. However take the feel good parts of the truth and mix it with some lies and a whole lot more people are going to be deceived and they will be much harder to dissuade that they don't have the truth because they have a little bit of truth.

3 comments:

jib said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
OldAFSarge said...

Hi jib, I come to you via the DiploMad where you and I seem to agree on certain things. Such as the need to submit to God through Our Lord Jesus Christ. Pretty important that is to me as I believe it is to you as well. Hope to see you at the DiploMad occasionally, your comments there speak to truth. I've bookmarked your blog (as well as a couple of others I found through your links) and will be visiting here again. God bless you and keep up the Good Work. - Old AF Sarge

jib said...

I enjoy your blog as well OldAFSarge. Keep the faith!