If you have friends or ever sit down to watch a few minutes of television, you’ve probably heard someone’s opinion about religion and how a person receives salvation. As Americans, we pride ourselves in our opinions, and we just can’t wait to share them with other people. In this postmodern world we live in, we’re told to move past traditional thoughts on religion and think “out of the box.” In an attempt to be politically correct, we are expected to accept every religious opinion or teaching as equal with every other. You may already know how big of an oxymoron religious tolerance is, but there are many who truly believe it can and should be practiced. In a world full of so many conflicting answers to life’s questions about God and salvation, how can we say that there is one way and only one way? I hope you’ll give me a few more minutes of your time as I explore that question.
I recently read a news article about Oprah Winfrey and her religious views that she is now making public. She claims Christianity as her faith, but she did something recently that has many of her fans not only questioning that but also questioning their fan status. While taping a recent show, Oprah engaged in a debate with one fan sitting in her studio audience. Oprah made a statement similar to, “Jesus is not the only way to heaven,” and a very upset Christian fan stood firm on her faith and challenged that outrageous claim. The fact that Oprah’s statement was made in such a public way opened my eyes even more to the ugly fact that there are far more people teaching their opinions than there are teaching truth. After reading about that fan’s courage to stand and challenge “the most influential woman in America,” I know I need to do more in my circle of the world to spread God’s truth also.
If you would call yourself a Christian and believe what the Bible teaches, the answer to this question should be easy. Jesus said in John 14:6 that, through a relationship with Him, is the only way to receive salvation. That leaves no room for doubt! Those of us who call ourselves Christians have no choice in believing that statement or not. One requirement for becoming a Christian in the first place is believing the good news message of Jesus Christ. We can’t pick and chose what to believe or reject. Most non-Christians don’t understand that, so they may justify asking this question by claiming that we can’t trust what the Bible says is true. If that describes you, I would simply ask you to study and research with an open mind the Bible’s historical reliability and accuracy.
As you may already notice, this topic is a little more complex than the simple question about only one way to receive salvation. I don’t have room to write all that would be necessary, and you might not like to read all of those pages if I did. To study this topic further, please follow the link below to download an audio file of a sermon I preached recently on this very topic. The sermon is titled "Salvation...God's Way." Whether you are a Christian or not, I strongly encourage you to listen to this lesson as it is a message that is seldom taught. Feel free to post your comments on this page.
Audio Sermon Archive
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment