Rebellion & Redemption - A call to action!: Article

How many roads lead to God, the ultimate and sovereign creator of the universe? Can there be more than one? If there’s only one, can we know which one is true and which are not? While the sheer number of religions and faith systems in our world seem to allow for various paths to the Creator, can we really establish a genuine and intimate relationship with God through numerous paths – based, for instance, on our cultural and geographic circumstances? These questions form the basis of a popular train of thought among Christians and non-Christians alike, which I believe needs to be critically examined. Why? Because the answers to these questions are part of the foundation upon which ones faith is built. Case in point: to choose a pluralistic point of view, one that allows for many paths to God, will take one in a very different direction than for those who believe there is only one path to God.

I believe there’s only one way to God. I do believe that when one considers the many faith options available, only one clear choice will emerge, because there is only one Son of God/Son of Man that created the way back to God. There is only one faith that clearly spells out humanity’s broken relationship with God and what is needed to return to God, to re-establish an intimate and deeply personal relationship. Yes, re-establish; because at one time humanity enjoyed that kind of relationship with the Creator. At one time, we were innocent and free; walking and talking with him as if he was our best friend – because he was! Then, we went in a different direction and we chose disobedience and became slaves of our perceived independence.

And that’s where we are today; separated from our Creator, trying in vain to repair our broken relationship. The French philosopher Blaise Pascal put it best when he said, “There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man (and woman) which cannot be filled by any created thing . . .” Yet we continue to stuff all manner of things into that vacuum – drugs, alcohol, lust, greed, the pursuit of what the world deems ‘success’ - hoping it will fulfill our often unconscious need for that deep bond with our maker. But, of course, it cannot and does not. The rest of Pascal’s quote gives us the only one true entity that can fill our vacuum, “but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus.” Only when we accept Jesus’ offer of forgiveness and freedom will we be restored as the creation God intended. Only when we, as Pastor Dick Waters used to say, “plug into the power source,” will the chasm between God and his beloved creation be closed and the relationship repaired.

Why then is Jesus, the foundation of the Christian faith, so different from the other central figures in some of the major world religions? Why is he the only way back to God? The Buddha - Siddhārtha Gautama – and the prophet Muhammad were men who were born and died. They weren’t God. They didn’t claim to be, as Jesus did when he told the Jews, “The Father and I are one.” (John 10:30) Same with Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi - a great man, to be sure. But one who lived and died. Jesus, however, claimed to be the exclusive manifestation of the one true God. This inferred that, along with the Father, he created life and was present in the beginning. (John 1:1-3) To all those in the temple he said, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, I am,” (John 8:58) using words that left no doubt he believed himself to be one with Yahweh. The Jews in power believed that to be blasphemy and sought to kill him on the spot, but he slipped away from them.

If you remove the Buddha, Muhammad, Gandhi and the many, many Gods in Hinduism, from their respective faiths, the teachings of those faiths remain. However, if you take Jesus out of Christianity, you have no Christianity at all. Why? Because Jesus claimed to be one with the Creator (John 10:30 & 14:6-7 - almost always referring to him as Father), claimed to have all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt 28:18), told his followers that he would be rejected by the ruling authorities, killed, and would be raised up in three days to complete their faith (Luke 9:22). If he were wrong on any one of those points, then he would be considered a liar or a mad man who couldn’t be trusted and whose teachings would be false.

But Jesus isn’t a liar or a mad man. He is the risen Savior of our planet. Unlike any of the other central figures in any other religions, he is alive in real space and time and is alive in the hearts and souls of those who trust him. Jesus is:

the only mediator between God and humanity.

“Jesus answered: I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12

“All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name." Acts 10:43

the only God-Man in history. Jesus is the only one who can be God in the presence of humanity, and human in the presence of God.

“The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.” John 5:22-23

the only one who, because of His sinless life, could take the rap for humans and pay the price for our crimes against God. He is the only one who can reconcile and bring healing to the broken relationship between God and humanity.

“For the Son of man also came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45

the only one who DID redeem humanity.

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33

“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” John 12:32

the only necessary and sufficient means by which we may be saved.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12

the only one to face death and make it out the other side, with hundreds of witnesses to verify that truth.

“Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” John 11:25-26a

“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.” I Corinthians 15:3-7

The fact that Jesus claimed to be the only way to God is what separates him from any other figure on the stage of history. He didn’t say he was ‘one’ of the ways. He never said that there were others doing a ‘similar’ work or providing ‘alternate routes’. From his birth, through his ministry and culminating in his death, his whole life was lived in order to provide the necessary and sufficient sacrifice to atone for the sins of all humanity. In modern-day vernacular, Jesus was groomed to fulfill his destiny as Savior. What he said, where he went, who his friends were, was all carefully planned so that his life and mission would be clearly understood. When God raised Jesus from the dead, he validated his life and sacrifice, once and for always providing for all humanity the exclusive and undeniable ‘way’ back to him. That said, why would God create additional or alternate paths when his Son, a very real and tangible part of himself, had already blazed the path and accomplished the mission? To allow for ‘alternate’ paths would be trivializing the life of Jesus and the horrific, but necessary, work of the cross. Only Jesus’ sacrifice could pay the price for our sins and create the forgiven path back to the Father.

Having accomplished this ‘way’ back to God, it only makes sense that the Father would make plain to everyone exactly who the Savior is. As of 2007, it has been determined that over 7.5 billion Bibles have been distributed worldwide - almost one per person - and these figures do not include the various digital versions of the Bible being used today by millions on computers, iPhones and Blackberries. Little wonder that the plan and story of God’s salvation, the Bible, is the bestselling book of all time. It just makes sense that God would want as many people as possible to know about his gift. God becoming a man to rescue us from sin is totally unique among all the world religions and is the only solution for the separation between humanity and God. God’s forgiveness is a gift - the gift of grace. It is a gift we do not deserve, and can never earn. Grace is how we are saved, through Jesus alone. All the other religions, faiths, paths and myriad ways are imposters and seek to deceive us and divert us from the truth.

Ultimately, there is one way to the Creator God and only one way. We can both acknowledge that and believe in Jesus - or not. That is our decision to make.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.
John 3:17-18

Jesus is:
the light of the world. John 8:12
the good shepherd. John 10:11
the bread of life. John 6:35
the only way to God. John 14:6
the creator of all things. John 1:3
the true vine. John 15:1
the resurrection and the life. John 11:25-26
the savior of the world. John 3:16, Acts 4:12