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You have heard all roads lead somewhere, almost. All but one lead to hell, one narrow road lends to Heaven.

Q. Is Jesus the only way, or are Christians just egocentric.
A. Yes Jesus is the only way and Christians shouldn’t be.

Q. Does that mean people born before Christ.... are lost? What about those natives in Africa? If muslins pray to Allah as a god, and Jesus is God, could they be praying to Jesus under a different name? If that is so, could Buddha, Shiva, or the neighbors cat be god also? What about really, really, really good people? And which Jesus, does it make a difference?
A. No short answer to this one folks.

    All these are valid questions and many people have had trouble with these over the years. So with the lack of knowledge today about the Bible, it’s even more difficult. But the Bible does speak to these issues, point blank and in practice.

    First Jesus did claim to be the way, the truth and the life. He also claims that no one comes to the Father, but by way of the Son. You will hear Christians make these claims and they are right. Jesus is the only way. He is the mediator and advocate on mans behalf. He is the only one who paid the debt for man's sin. But what about those questions from earlier? Lets take a look.

    Sometimes Christians make these claims with an elitist attitude. I’ve heard the statements made with a tone of pride, or out of a pumped up ego. You come to the Father by way of the Son, and you don’t come to the Son unless you are called. No one “finds” God unless He grabs a hold of you first. With some people He just about has to grab the top of their head, turn it to His face and yell “Here, I’m right HERE !”. And yet people will say “I” found God”, as if He was lost in the frozen food isle at the local Wally World. Instead of displaying an air of superiority they should be humble. Not false humility that some Christians walk around with, but the real thing. Is it wrong to feel proud to be a Christian? Yes, very much so. Pride is never alright. Not pride in being a Christian, or anything else. I know this smacks in the face of common thought, but it’s the truth. Pride is the deadliest of sins. It was the first sin. But Jesus pays for this also. Pride is a feeling that something you did, or something you are, sets you apart, above, or somehow makes you better then someone else. Your salvation is a work of God, not you. If you are “better” then someone else in stature or action, it’s not by your own doing. A Christian can feel blessed, called, and a number of other things, but not prideful. God saved you, not yourself. You had no hand in the manner.

    Then you may ask does that mean only Christians have been called, or, God doesn’t care about those who haven’t heard the Gospel. No, that’s not true either. Jesus died for everyone. The Bible says that God has put his stamp on the entire universe. That no one will have an excuse. This is where many people, cults, new age Christians, or the uninformed take it to far. If there is no excuse to have missed knowing God by just observing the universe, then by logic one must be able to know God or Jesus (one in the same) by observing Him in his creation. Under what conditions could this be? Again one can read too much into this and it’s easy to carry it way to far.

    First if you found this web site then I can’t think of a reason this would apply to you. In fact it’s almost impossible to think of a way, in this age, not to have seen, heard, or come into contact with the name of Jesus or the Gospel message. If you’ve read any of these pages, tuned into a Christian radio station, know of Christmas, heck if you have seen the nut at the football game with John 3:16 written across his chest, you’ve been confronted. I suppose some could make a argument that these aren’t a true exposure to the Gospel message. But they have sparked your interest. That interest is God saying "Hey check this out". If you’re not a Christian and your reading this, then you’ve been confronted. If your not a Christian and your reading this, guess what? It isn't a accident your here. Do yourself a favor and that a look at “What is Salvation?”, you have nothing to lose and it doesn’t cost anything. Like I have said, you may want to make a stand on “I didn’t know”, but the One you will be standing before will be Jesus, and He will show you when, and where, you decided to turn your back on Him. Whether you knew His name was Jesus, or not, doesn’t make any difference. He will show you that He made Himself known. I know I wouldn’t want to make a stand of ignorance. Not when God has made it so easy to be saved.

   *Fair warning; some of what I'm going to explain here is a opinion that I have formed from study in the Bible, implied ideas, common sense, and what I know of God. The Bible isn't clear cut about this, and the reason for that is if your reading the Bible, it wouldn't apply to you. Paul does cover some of this, or at least the root of this opinion, as does other sections of the Bible, but don't bank your salvation on it.*
    Lets take a look at those natives, from anywhere. First let me make one point, again. Jesus is the only way to heaven. It is by His sacrifice on our behalf that we are saved. We just need to put our faith in it. Again, only that faith in His sacrifice saves. It saved before He did it, and it saves now.
   Those natives need to see, in nature and the universe, that there is a God. Will they be looking for a God, some will. Why? Some explain this as a "God shaped hole". I think this is a fair explanation. It's the "hollow" feeling that the unsaved have till they find God. People will try to fill this hole with, jobs, cars, money, homes, relationships, vacations, etc., and even with "church". This "hole" is never really filled, but the feeling is numbed to the point were they can live. They get accustomed to the numbness, to the point, they don't even know what they were missing, till they are saved. Once they are saved the numbness leaves, and it becomes self evident that they were missing God.
   So lets suppose this "native" now has this desire to find God. The most primitive, uneducated person, can see that nature can't be a accident. That it was created and a creation needs an Creator. Now the devil understands that man desires to know his Creator (God), and works very hard to supply a long list of false gods to answer this desire. These false gods go by the name Allah, buddha, money, etc. They won't fill that "hollow" so man try's harder to please these false gods, with time, more money, prayers, or what is called, "works". They try the best they can, and if they are "good", a feeling of pride will surface. This pride will mask a lot of that hollow feeling.
   But back to our "native". Lets say he doesn't believe the false gods presented to him by the devil. He sees there must be a God, and that God must be all powerful, and prefect, to have made such a creation. This "native" would then have to realize that he, being a man, isn't prefect or all powerful. That this God would be upset with his mistakes and errors (sins). Since he himself isn't perfect, he can't hope to pay, or make amends for these sins. He, at that point, would have to realize that this prefect God is also all loving, in that He has supplied this creation for this "native's" benefit. And since this God is all powerful, perfect, and all loving, He would also supply a payment for his sins, since this God would know he couldn't pay for it. If he had faith in this "payment", then that "native" would be saved. Not by anything he did, but in the payment Jesus made. When the end comes this "native" would stand before Jesus and say I didn't know your name, but I knew you, and that you would supply a payment (sacrifice), for my sins.
    This is a possibility, but not one that anyone today, but a very few, can hang their hopes on. If you can claim this you don't know it, because you have been completely cut off from today's world, and the written/spoken Gospel. If this is possible (and I do think there is a chance) it won't apply to any area that the Gospel has reached. Over the last 2000 years the Gospel has spread to just about every nook and cranny on this planet. The reader here can't claim it, the name of Jesus is all over this site. With TV and radio, papers, tracks, books, churches, missionary's, just about anywhere in this world you look, the name of Jesus has made it. Jesus will show you the time you had the chance to know him, and believe in the Gospel, and willfully decided not too.
     This is my belief, whether it's true or not doesn't have a thing to do with the decision that is before you. You have to decide whether you will put your faith in the death of Jesus to pay for your sins. The "native" may be able to plead ignorance, you can't.
    Some missionaries over the years have reported a unique event that happens when they first come into an area, that has never heard the Gospel. There is a certain amount of people that will, almost instantly, take the Gospel to heart. The fastest conversion rates come in areas that haven’t had a chance to hear the Word. Once they have been there for a while, the ones that haven’t converted, are just as difficult to win over as they are in counties with a long history of the Christian faith. I remember hearing a report from a missionary that was told by a "native", after he became a Christian, of knowing who this Christ was. He said that some knew who Christ was, as soon as they were told his name, and the Gospel. He was the "Spirit" that the witch doctor/shaman had told them was bad, and to stay away from. The rest of the village had access, to the same information in nature, as them, and followed a false god. After they were presented with the Gospel, they wouldn’t convert. Just like us, and any people that live in a county that has Bibles, or at least knowledge of the Gospel, they could no longer claim “I didn’t Know’.
    God judges us by the amount of reveled truth that we have. Those He has given much, He aspects much. Before Christ walked the earth in human form, the Jews were judged on what they knew (law). Before the law they were required even less. Without any knowledge, as with the native, the bar is even lower. Modern man, for the most part, has a higher standard they will be judged by. 99 percent of the people today have access to Gods Word, that Word is Jesus, and it's faith in the Word (Jesus) that saves. It was faith before, and it's faith now, just in whom or what do you have your faith in?
 *Opinion over.

    Now the above  opinion is based on what is called "General revelation". "General revelation" is well supported in the Bible as a reason why man won't be free of condemnation. The dispute comes as to whether anyone can be saved by "General revelation".

What is "General revelation" you ask? Let take a quick look at what the Bible has to say.
This is just a little of what the Bible has to say.

One, God tells us that our conscience is wired with a sense of right and wrong.

     Rome:1:19: Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
    Rome:1:20: For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

    Rome:2:12: For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;
    Rome:2:13: (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.
    Rome:2:14: For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:
   Rome:2:15: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)
    Rome:2:16: In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.

God can be known from the world around us, if man just considers it.

    Psalms:8:3: When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;

    Psalms:19:1: The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.

    How much you know is taken into consideration when judged. As you learn more the bar is risen. Man that has never heard the Gospel, or the law, or never had contract with the Judeo-Christian world may have the bar low enough, if he can find God in the clues that God has placed in the world and his heart. What I do know for certain is Jesus said that people who knew more would be punished more.

    M't:11:21: Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
    M't:11:22: But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.
    M't:11:23: And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
    M't:11:24: But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.

    I think, myself, that yes a man who has faith for salvation in the God he can see in his heart, and in nature, can be saved by that faith, but only if he never has heard the Gospel, or the law. Only if he never has had the chance at the salvation message. Like I said that is almost no one in the world today. A false god wouldn't count, he would have to find faith in the true God by the signs. Maybe, but it would be very hard either way.

    Next lets take a look at whether muslins, or buddhist, etc. are praying to the same God. First God has a number of names, with His earthly form being His Son Jesus. In the Old Testament, Jesus Himself has a number of names. These entire names have a reason, and are descriptive of Him. For a better understanding look at “What’s in a Name?”. At the time Jesus walked the earth as a man, He would have been called Yahshua or Yeshua or Yahoshua, and those names are translated Joshua in the modern Hebrew/English. Both mean "Yahweh saves" or "salvation is from Yahweh" When translated into Greek, it is "Iesous" ([ee] yeh-sooce), then into Latin as "Jesu" (yehsoo), then into English as Jesus. All are the same person, and that person is God the Son. Believe it or not some people are having knock down, drag out, verbal battles over these names. Knowing the correct pronunciation isn't what saves, it's accepting the gift of salvation from whom they are meant to represent. Can allah, buddha, or any other be this "Jesus" also(?), No. Only Jesus can save, no other has died for their followers sins. Many today are teaching all roads lead to God, or there are many roads. There aren’t, only Jesus is the way, and these gods aren’t the God of the Christians or Jews. Jesus is fundamental to the Christian faith. Christianity's whole existence rests on the death of Jesus for our sins, and on his resurrection. Take away this and Jesus just becomes a good man that can't save. Buddhism and the Islamic faith is not depended on buddha or mohammed. Since both these faiths, and all false faiths, aren't depended on their god to have died and been resurrected, and in this death to have paid for the sins of their believers, they can't be Jesus. Jesus is the only one that died for the sins of his believers, and offers salvation by this death, for all who have faith in Him and his work.

    God's names are a description of Him and not meant to be a "name".  How do we know this? Glad you asked. When Moses asked what shall I tell them Your name is, God answered “I Am”. He doesn't have a name like Bob or Chuck. He knew that man and the devil would play with any names to muddy the water. To misdirect people to false gods. What you called Jesus was/is less important then if you know who Jesus is. If you pronounce His name Jesus, or like the Mexican's - hey-suss, or  like the "Jews for Jesus" - yeh-shooa, doesn’t make any difference, as long as it’s Jesus, the Son of God that you mean. Jesus said many would come in His name and we shouldn’t be fooled. People will say they performed miracles in His name but, He will say, “I never knew you”. Just because you know the name "Jesus", doesn’t mean you know Jesus.

    How do we know who Jesus is. Well God and His Word, the Bible, tell us. God describes Him, explains Him, tell us everything we need to know to get a accurate and solid faith in the real Jesus, so as to not be fooled. Are any other gods Him, NO. They for one don’t fit what the Bible tells us who Jesus is. They may counterfeit a couple of his traits but only the real Jesus fulfills everything God tells us his Son is. Also those other gods are either humans that had their own personalities, or are false spirit gods that have deep seated and accepted aspects, that aren’t anything God like. They all are different. Let’s take a quick look at Allah. One, the Arabs have a general term for a god and it is El. It’s also the same general term the Jews used (look at What’s in a name for more detail). Allah was a defined god, among many, that the Arabs prayed to. He was the moon god (the reason for the moon crescent on the flags of islamic countries) he had daughters (the stars on the flags) and he was a god of war. He could change his mind; he was fickle, cold and unknowable. Mohammad tried to pass this god unto the early Christians and Jews, but they did know who God was and could spot a false god. They ran him out on rails. There started the riff between the muslins, Jews and Christians. They tried to claim Allah was the same God, and everyone else was wrong, and they still make that claim. It takes very little study to find the many faults in Islam. Take a look at “Other religions” for more info. Buddha was a man who lived and died and is still dead, as are the other gods of this world. The non-human gods never lived. They just existed in wood, metal, and written myth. Again you must KNOW who Jesus is, so as to not be deceived.

    A false Jesus won’t do any more good then monopoly money does at a store. Step up to the checkout with a wad of monopoly money and tell the person you believe with all your heart, and with ever cell of your body, that this money is real. Guess what, your either going to jail, or to the nearest mental ward. The same is true with Christian faith. Attempting to pass off a false Jesus will get you put away also. That asylum/jail is called hell. If you don’t know the real Jesus, then you will be hard pressed to know what real Salvation is.

    Just to make sure you understand, you can’t pay for your Salvation and the reason for that is, it’s been paid for, by Jesus, the real one that is. Salvation doesn’t come by just knowing who Jesus is but by accepting that gift. That gift being Salvation it’s self. The devil knows the real Jesus and it isn’t going to do him a bit of good.

   Just a note on the Jews, I'm going to cover them on their own page. If any race of people deserve their own consideration, it's the Jews. The Jews are Gods chosen people and if you think that's all roses, think again. If it wasn't for the Jewish nation and race, none of us would be going to heaven. It was though them that God was to bring about his Word, his salvation plan, and our only hope for heaven, Jesus. Face it folks, Jesus and almost all the greats of the Bible were of Jewish Blood. Yes, Jesus is the Son of God but it was a Jewish virgin that was selected for His human birth. The Jews have the law, a very special relationship with God. The law can't save, it can only convict us of our sins, and teach us what sin is, and how far removed we are from God. Were Jews saved also. Yes they were, the same way they will be, by faith in the sacrifice of Jesus. Abraham believed in this coming sacrifice, David knew it was to come. All before Jesus, who were to be saved, were saved by the coming sacrifice. Unlike the "native" before, the Jews knew of God and his Messiah. They performed animal sanctifies because they knew a death was needed to pay for mans sin. They just didn't recognize God's sacrifice, Jesus. They wanted the lion of Judah to free them of Rome's yoke, to bring in the end times (that Jesus is coming, and in a short time). But in their desire to be free of Rome they missed the lamb, that was sent to free them of the yoke of death. Before you condemn them just remember it was this misunderstanding that allowed us to enter the play. We Christians are about to exit stage left and once again God's principle characters are taking center stage. The church hasn't replaced the Jews, they're back! Has the church replaced Israel?

   Now let’s take a look at really good people. The Mother Theresa's, Gandhi’s, and “Popes” of the world. Are they saved? Maybe, but their Salvation doesn’t rely on them being good. Their Salvation depends on if they received salvation by way of Jesus. Being saved depends on your relationship with Christ, not on what you have done. What you do effects your punishment, and your rewards, but being saved isn’t one of those rewards. The rewards come after being saved. Salvation is a gift that can’t be earned or paid for. First, what is "good"? Good in human terms is relational to who’s doing the judging. Good to me is not what you, or others, may consider good. What yard stick do we use? Each and everyone of us have in our mind, what good means. Each and every society has their own laws, and rules, as to what is good for their people. Over the years wars have been fought for the "good" of the people, divorces for the "good" of the family, ask a person why they attempted suicide and they will, most of the time, tell you it was for theirs, or another’s "good". What is unique is that everyone is born with a sense of what is fair or "good". It is instilled is us, but where does that come from? Only man has a sense of what’s fair. Animals take care of themselves. If you have two dogs and come home to find a mess on the floor, then punish the wrong dog , the guilty one won’t lose any sleep over it. He may go over and eat everything in the food dish, while the other is outside, but fair won’t enter his mind. Humans have a sense of fair because right and wrong, on a basic level, has been pre-wired in our soul. Can we use this inter-sense of right and wrong to judge what’s "good"? Wish we could, but depending on how we are raised, and what we are taught, we can short circuit this pre-wiring. We are also great at reasoning around this sense for our benefit. Also what is good may depend on the circumstances. If you see a man try to steal a six pack from the corner market, it maybe a little extreme to shoot him as he leaves. If that same man is about to drive a full school bus off a cliff, to certain death for all concerned, more extreme measures may be in order.

    All of us know there is “right and wrong” and that doesn’t have to be taught. God is the one whom has instilled this in us. God never changes, and what is right and wrong to God, is always right or wrong. So do we judge by mans constantly changing concept of right and wrong, or by Gods, that is constant? Man has a term, “bench mark”. This refers to a notch that has been cut into a work bench, as a permanent mark to measure by. It is a point that never changes. We judge what we are working on by this mark. Man has no bench mark for himself, for what is "good", but God does. God’s bench mark is his Son Jesus. We either measure up to him or we don’t. God doesn’t grade on a curve, it’s either pass or fail. Christ is sinless and anything else is falling short (sinful). Coming close doesn’t count either. Like a trapeze artist who flies from one swing to another, close just means your going to take a quick trip to the pavement. This means we are either sinless (good) or we are sinful (bad).

     Man has another term, “the lesser of two evils”. This is more descriptive of the human race. Some of us may have committed fewer sins then others, but we all have sinned. We therefore are just as guilty as if we had committed them all. If your pregnant, your pregnant, whether your showing or not. Like I said with God, it is pass or fail, the punishment for failing (sin) is death. 99.9% of the way to the trapeze swing still leaves you face first in the pavement. So what can be done? If death is the payment for sin, then a death has to be paid. It’s that simple, no wriggle room here folks. The Jews fell under the law, and to pay for sins, the Jews sacrificed animals (a Lamb many times) to pay for their sins. This was a forerunner, or shadow of a payment that would need to be made for the debt (sin) of man. The animal having no part in the sins of the people was, in a sense, sinless. This was only to teach the concept of what was needed to be done. It had no long lasting effect, as man kept sinning and sacrifices had to be constantly made. Once Jesus came, the law was in a sense, "fulfilled", and any hope for Salvation by this means was abolished. The law couldn’t save. For more information check out “the Law” and “Q. Jews” What was needed was one sacrifice to cover all sins from the beginning to the end. A sacrifice that would last eternally.

     Now when we have our goofy presidential conventions every 4 years we have delegates. We all can’t show up to the convention center, so one person goes to represent a large number of people. With God what was needed was a delegate to represent the whole human race. Not just any delegate, this one would have to be sinless ,or he would be just representing himself. Since we know that only God is sinless, for this to work, He would have to delegate Himself. Which is just what he did in His Son Jesus. No one is perfect and without sin, not Mother Theresa, not me, not your church leader, no one. So Jesus was sacrificed for all, a gift to all mankind. You can’t buy it, pay for it or demand it. You can receive it and there’s no waiting line. Take a look at “Salvation”, it’s very simple, no dead chickens, no strange rites, you don’t have to get dressed up, or cut your hair. Come as you are, warts and all, there isn’t anyone God doesn’t love, or that has been excluded. I still think at times, I wouldn’t have put me on the list to be saved, but He did. And if your not saved, your name is on that list to receive this gift also, but not on the important list. The important list is in the "book of life". Get on this list now. Once you die it’s to late, there’s no reincarnation, no rewind, no do–overs, once you die the gift is no longer available. And no one other then Jesus has rights to this book. Jesus IS the only way.

So lets review

Last modified: 12/15/07

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Proverb:30:4: Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in His fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is His name, and what is His Son's name, if thou canst tell?

Proverb:30:5: Every Word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.

Proverb:30:6: Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.

Re:22:18: For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
Re:22:19: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
Re:22:20: He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
Re:22:21: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

 

 

 

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