Introduction:
Good day to you ladies and gentlemen. Tonight is the fifth of the ten questions that we are studying at Church. I have been taking notes and I am going to try and portray what I heard at Church onto here. The fifth question of the ten questions is this: Can there really just be one true religion? This is a very relevant question when starting out. You hear about many religions and you don't know which one to believe. We have all gone through this stage in life. This very topic gets debated on the forums very fiercely.
The birth of religion
The first thing I'll do is post a small story from the Bible.
John 14:1-6 NIV
Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.
Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
Now with that topic of discussion question what might be going on behind the question is this, aren't all religions basically the same? This is looking at the question behind the question. Now the reason why that might be the case is all religions are looking at the same thing from a different angle. However, reach religion has only a part of the full picture. Consider the following example:
Here we have 6 blind people touching an elephant. Now each of these people are touching a different part of the elephant, they are limited to that one small spectrum. If they combine their minds and make it out to be one whole being they could perhaps put the puzzle piece together or most likely not. The point is they have one small piece of the bigger picture and they have come up with their own conclusions. Now consider each of these people are different religions and they are looking at the big picture from a different angle each. Now consider each religion are all saying that they are right and you must be wrong. What they are saying is "My way is the only way." Now society today tries to get everyone to get along. You might have a friend who is a Muslim or a neighbour who is a Buddhist. Now society says: "Can't we all just get along?" Show tolerance towards others. We all know that doesn't happen. There have been countless terrorist attacks on the world over the years.
Now Jesus had a very different view to religion to societies view. Jesus viewed religion as the problem instead of the solution.
Back to the Bible passage. John 14:6 NIV: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
Now that is a very bold claim by Jesus. I must ask you if you think that claim is arrogant? Jesus is claiming that there is only one way to the Father and that is through him. There is NO OTHER WAY!
However, we do have a piece of this big picture don't we? So we should kind of know the way right? Wrong. We are all in the same boat as what Thomas said a verse earlier.
John 14:5 NIV “Lord,
we don’t know where you are going, so
how can we know the way?”
Does Thomas say that he knows a bit? Does he say he knows at all? No he doesn't, Thomas plainly and clearly says he doesn't know the way. That is the situation each and every one of us are in. Jesus had to show Thomas the way.
With the elephant once again, with that picture posted we do see the whole picture. We do see the elephant. We are the blind people. Now if we are the blind people who is the one who sees the whole picture? God Almighty. Then what are we all touching? If you can make the transition from that photo the elephant is in fact Jesus. Now in order for the blind people to know that what they are touching is an elephant what they need is for the elephant to speak up right? If the elephant makes a noise they'll all know it is an elephant. Same idea with us, we needed Jesus to speak up and show us the full picture and show us the way to the Father.
Now there have been many religions that have been formed over the centuries. Jesus did not come to bring birth to another religion. Religion is not like a huge pile and you got to choose which one suits you then along comes Jesus and tosses another religion into the pile. No, Jesus came to bring DEATH to religion. You should let that statement sink in. Now religion can easily be viewed as a bargaining chip, if you do this and this then God will do this for you. Religion is basically works based. Jesus put that all to death on the cross. Back to John 14:6 where Jesus claims he is the way and the truth and the life. Is that still a very arrogant claim? If you still do then you should take it up with Jesus himself. The truth is that statement is a very humble claim. Jesus never said that arrogantly, he invites everybody to come and meet the Father through him.
There are 3 big religions that date back to Abraham. 'Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are all Abrahamic religions. Abraham dates back to 1800 BC.' Abraham is a historic figure in the Old Testament. However Christianity can be dated back before that.
John 8:58 NIV “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born,
I am!”
Did you see that? Jesus claimed that he was there before the historic figure known as Abraham! Now is that another arrogant claim by Jesus? By no means, that is another very humble claim. Jesus takes us back to the beginning of creation. In the beginning there was only one religion. Adam and Eve back in the Garden. They walked and talked with God himself.
I said before that Jesus came to bring death to religion. On to the next point.
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The death of religion
On our own do we have a part of the picture? No we don't, we have no picture at all of what the way would be. When Jesus killed all the religions it is like all the blind people seeing the whole picture that it was an elephant the whole time because the elephant spoke up! All previous ideas became null and void.
Now is there another way? Of course not, Jesus himself said these words: "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." Luke 22:42 NIV What Jesus is saying there is if there is any other way then take the cup of dying on the cross away from me, yet not by his own will but by the Father's will.
If there was another way then why did Jesus go through all that mockery and physical pain and death? The arrogant claim by people is saying that there is another way and that Jesus died for nothing. Religion is a game of do, do, do. Jesus said "It if finished" on the cross. It did not end there because Jesus rose again!
John 11:25 NIV
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
Death has conquered all in the past. Death conquered Muhammed, Allah, all previous Popes and all other prophets and religious figures. Death conquered Jesus---oh wait, the tomb is empty. No, Jesus conquered death by death. All religious teachers will eventually die - except Jesus who is alive!
So all religion is dead except for one - Jesus. Jesus said that he is the way and the truth and the life. Nobody comes to the Father except through him. There is NO other way.
It is not about do, do, do like religion wants us to believe in works based. Is is about God doing it all for us and Jesus saying "It is done." It is finished. All we need to do is believe. Will you give your life over to Jesus today? I pray that you do!