The only way. Isn’t that narrow minded, bigoted, exclusive, intolerant? Maybe a way to heaven but the way? It sounds so judgmental.

If you’re not thinking this way your friends are. Your neighbors are. Skeptics are. Those on the outside of Christianity looking in are. In our world that we live in there are so many options for everything. When it comes to truth this whole idea of one way, it really creates a stumbling block for people’s faith. And it’s surrounded by confusion, anger, misunderstanding.

Look what the Bible says in John 14, a bold statement by Jesus. “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one can come to the Father except through Me.” Those in here maybe who like a pluralistic philosophy, this verse is tough to swallow. Pluralism kind of sees religion kind of like a kaleidoscope. You take all the religions and they’re all kind of mixed together and there’s no reason to really argue or resolve anything. Truth really doesn’t conflict and all roads lead to God and just pick a road that leads to God and believe it sincerely.

Unfortunately there’s a problem with that. Sincerity doesn’t have anything to do with it. When it comes to my opinion I can be wrong. What’s happened now in the world we live in is that tolerance has tipped the scale of truth. And opinion now weighs more than objective truth.

As you dig a little bit deeper and you know the character of Jesus this wasn’t said out of arrogance but out of compassion. It’s God’s desire that every person on this planet have a relationship with Him.

The Bible says in 2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” All – everyone – are invited into a relationship with God. God isn’t exclusive of anyone but He is exclusive about Jesus. Basically all are welcome to come but Jesus is the only way.

That brings up another frequently asked question: Don’t all religions basically teach the same thing? Really when you strip them away to their essentials aren’t they all the same? That’s an important question to have answered because if they are then you just choose any one. You just believe it because they’re all the same.

I think where people get confused is here. That under our constitution all religious viewpoints are equally protected. Anybody can believe anything they want. I could start a church today with a new set of beliefs. I would call it the Church of Jeff. In the Church of Jeff I could have some beliefs that say if you want to be close to God, if you want to get to heaven, here’s what you’ve got to do. You’ve got to eat cheesecake five times a day facing east while riding a unicycle. That is my belief. And I could lobby that belief and that belief would be equally protected as well as any other belief.

The problem happens that when people jump to the conclusion that because different philosophies are equally protected that they must also be equally valid and equally true. And that’s not the case.

Every time I study world religions it always bottoms out with one word. Works. They all come down to works. You must work your way to heaven to be closer to God. They’re all attempts by humans to get closer to God. But when Jesus says, “I am the way,” He puts Christianity in a whole other category. Christianity is Jesus Christ as God reaching out to us. Not us having to earn our way to heaven.

The uniqueness of Christianity is rooted in the uniqueness of Jesus. So the ultimate answer to the question “Are all religions the same?” is no, they’re not. In Acts 4:12 the Bible teaches, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

I want you to turn over in your mind and heart to a new direction. And I want to ask the question, So what? “Hey, Jeff, that’s nice. The Bible says Jesus was 100% human and 100% God and the only way to heaven. So what?

Tomorrow I will share the “so what” to this question.