We're are currently doing a study in Adult Sunday School on the marks of a healthy church. Our second lesson was on the importance of having a biblical theology. By way of introduction to that lesson I shared this statistic from a recent survey of believers in America. According to the survey results 57% of evangelical church attenders said that they believe many religions can lead to eternal life. This is a startling statistic!
There can be no doubt that many of these respondents are not truly born again. There are many who profess but who do not possess faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 7:21; Tit. 1:16; 2 Tim. 3:5, etc.).
But the fact that there are so many attending churches today holding such an opinion should alarm us! And one of things that I would argue is that this statistic amounts to a devaluing of our Lord Jesus Christ. If it supposed that many religions can lead to eternal life, that Jesus is not the only way. He is but one of several options. One of many equally viable routes.
But Jesus did not leave room for such thinking. He declared Himself to be the one way of salvation: John 14:6, "Jesus said to him, "I am THE way, and THE truth, and THE life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me."
After His great miracle-the feeding of the 5000-the people were pretty excited about Jesus. They liked what He did. They thought it might be prudent to make a King out of Him. He would be their great provider. But Jesus demanded more. He spoke exclusively of what was required of them: John 6:53, "Jesus therefore said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves." His message was not well received. The multitudes abandoned him (6:66). Jesus asked the twelve if they were going to leave Him too. Peter replied, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life?"
Later Peter would heal a man. He then preached a sermon and 5000 people were saved (Acts 4:4). The religious leaders had Peter and John arrested. They were brought before the Council and interrogated. Just before the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, Peter had denied Jesus three times, but now, filled with the Spirit, Peter declared, "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
Most of us are familiar with these verses. And they all speak to the exclusive message of the Gospel--salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone. But consider again that statistic. What does it say to a person's understanding of the nature of the person of Christ? All things exist by Him, through Him, and for Him (Col. 1:16). He alone is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). He alone is the Alpha and Omega (Rev. 22:13). He alone has been crucifed once for all for sin and raised from the dead proving God's acceptance of His sacrifice (Heb. 10:10; Rom. 5:25). It is to Him alone--not Bhudda, Mohammed, Joseph Smith, etc.--that every knee will bow and every tongue confess His Lordship (Phil. 2:10).
The fact that 57% of so-called evangelical church attenders believe that many religions can lead to eternal life speaks volumes to what has been taught and what is being taught in our churches today. Paul said, "But we preach Christ crucified" (1 Cor. 1:23). How important it is that we ongoingly stress the supremacy and sufficiency of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul was gravely concerned lest the believers in Corinth be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ (2 Cor. 11:3). He chided them inasmuch as they would readily receive a another Jesus, a different spirit, or a different gospel (2 Cor. 11:4). Apparently the church today has far too much "Corinthian" in it.
The Apostle John gives the ultimate test for discerning not only false teaching but false professing. 1 John 4:2, "By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God." Can you believe that many religions lead to eternal life and be saved? Not hardly. The Spirit of God indwells every believer (Rom. 8:9). He imparts truth (1 John 2:27). Where there is no understanding of the person and work of Christ, there can be no salvation. Salvation involves the Spirit-led confession of Jesus as Lord (Rom. 10:9; 1 Cor. 12:3).
Perhaps a good thing to come out of these negative surveys is the understanding of the need for a renewed commitment to Christ-centered teaching and preaching in our churches. It is His church. He alone is Savior and Lord. Heaven is all about Him. Why should we preach about anything else?
Pastor Jerry
Friday, July 18, 2008
WHAT ABOUT JESUS?
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What about Jesus? That is a great question, however, through the survey taken here; we learn very little about Jesus and a great deal about the shallowness of man. First, here are some numbers to establish a perspective. According to the information that I found on the internet, approximately 26% of the adult respondents in the United States claim to be affiliated with an Evangelical Protestant church. Of this 26%, 57% believe that there are many ways to eternal life, other than through Jesus Christ exclusively. Furthermore, 53% believe that there is more than one way to interpret Scripture, 79% felt that religion is very important in their life, only 58% regularly attend church and 1%, incredible as it may sound, don’t believe that God exists!
Keep in mind here that these statistics do not consider any other church affiliations. Not Mormon, Catholic, Jehovah’s Witness, etc. These respondents all claim to belong to Evangelical churches and their responses indicate more than a “devaluation” of our Lord, but rather, they have trivialized Him. I get a mental picture of the average respondent’s state of mind, and how boring participating in this survey must have been for them. Let’s see: Question #1 – Boxers or Briefs? #2 – Favorite Color? 3# – Is Jesus The Way? #4 – Does God Exist? On second thought, many of these “percenters” (nonbelievers) are not trivializing Jesus; they deny Him and call Him a liar!
Yes, in John 14:6 we find Jesus saying, “…I am THE way, and THE truth, and THE life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” and back in John 6:65, Jesus says, “…no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.” To a nonbeliever (imposter), John 14:6 and 6:65 probably sounds like contradictory statements representing a silly “chicken or egg” circular argument.” To a true believer though, this truth is not circular, but rather, it is a testament to the sovereign “triangular” Christian Godhead, or Holy Trinity, comprised of God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit …oh, and by the way, the triangle is the strongest geometric shape – of course!
While the matter of the 57% of the respondents is a startling statistic, I wonder about the other 43%. Can we assume that they know Jesus in a saving way? Are some of them unsure and fail to commit either way, or maybe some are liars themselves? The odds here are not favorable for man in light of Jesus’ warning, “…strive to enter the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able…” Luke 13:24. Even if all 43% of the original 26% have it right, the percentage is still barely 11%! Time is running out for the lost, and there is no safety in numbers regarding this matter. Surveys are simply a reflection of man’s opinion, but if you insist on them, The Holy Bible contains the results of the final 2 surveys to be conducted – for eternity: Souls in Heaven experiencing total bliss – 100%. Souls in Hell writhing in complete misery – 100%. In which survey will your response be counted?
Bob
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