“I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me”Jesus in John 14:6.
We live in a relativistic age, and in spite of the pressure from enemies of the cross in Canada, we are still able to believe what we want. Our country has experienced large immigration numbers – many of those from non-Christian religions. We can acknowledge the general wisdom found in some of these religions. We can communicate with people of other religions and have cordial relations. But there are only three world faiths that are exclusive: Judaism, Islam and Christianity, and only Christianity says that we trust someone other than the good works we do ourselves to enter heaven. Religion says we do while Christianity says it has been done by Jesus Christ.
We have just come through Easter, culminating in the resurrection of Jesus – the seal of all he claimed about himself. Peter said in Acts 4:12 “Salvation is found in no one else for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Paul said: “There is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus” (I Timothy 2:5). John said: “He who has the Son has life and he who does not have the Son of God does not have life” (I John 5:12).
Jesus himself claimed to be the exclusive way to heaven. He called himself the I Am – the name of God spoken to Moses in Exodus 3. He called himself the bread of life, living water, good shepherd, gate for the sheep. He claimed to be before Abraham was, claimed to be Messiah – the Promised One. Light of the world, resurrection and the life, one with the Father. In fact, these claims are what stirred up his enemies to seek crucifixion.
We do not believe that all roads lead to Rome – that all religions lead to the same place. We are not exclusive about our church, our denomination or our particular cultural expression of church. But in a relativistic society we maintain that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven. There are many areas we can be inclusive about, but this is not one of them.
This is what the Great Commission is about – Jesus told us to take this news of his salvation all over the world. Could there be a worse sin than for someone to find the way out of a burning building and not tell the rest of the people trapped inside?? If we truly believe that Jesus is the only way to God, then it must impact how we live. We have experienced salvation and we want others to know that salvation too!
Pastor Leon Throness
