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The Path to the Top

SERIES: The Big Five #5 of 5

2006-08-27

PRODUCTION #: 1025

SPEAKERS: Shawn Boonstra, Mark Finley,

There is a famous expression that suggests that there are many paths to the top of a mountain. And the essential idea behind that is when it comes to religion, everybody is right, and nobody is wrong. It's a philosophy that makes it easier for most people to deal with the pluralistic world our generation finds itself living in. You don't have to make value judgments about the claims of various religions, you just accept them all as true in their own unique way.

But against this popular trend is the claim of the Christian religion to have the absolute truth. So in a post-modern world, what do we do with that? Is there really more than one path to the top of the mountain?

There are many paths to the top of the mountain. All roads lead to Rome. You say tomato, I say to-ma-to, and the suggestion is that there's no such thing as a wrong approach to religion. It's all a matter of personal taste.

And the most important thing is that you find your own way to express your spirituality.

But those who stop to seriously consider this claim run into trouble almost right away. Common sense tells us that everybody can't be right at the same time. And some of the more extreme forms of religious expression tell us it's not true.

And when you examine some of the religious nut cases running around our world, you know everybody can't be right.

What about the man who abducted Elizabeth Smart? He was a religious man, was he right?

And then there's Charles Manson, David Koresh, Jim Jones and the Solar Temple. In every one of those cases, nobody would dare to suggest that these religions weren't wrong.

But, you know, when it comes to mainstream religion, modern thinking has suggested that it's inappropriate to apply any sort of value judgment to them. "Leave well enough alone," people say, because there's proof in every religion.

Today my friend Pastor Mark Finley is joining me in the studio. We're going to tackle this question.

Shawn: Pastor Finley, it's great that we can be together again.

Mark: It is. And the question, "Is there exclusivity in Christianity?" is a vital question. People are asking that today. Are there many different pathways, many avenues to turn?

Shawn: Absolutely. You know, as you look at the landscape of world religion, many world religions seem to be very inclusive. They make room for everybody and everything. There are religions that include everybody. They will say, "Okay, let's include Mohammed and Moses and Jesus and Confucius and Buddha and everybody," but if you look at the landscape of world religions, Christianity stands apart from the crowd. It claims to be exclusive. Now, the question is, does the Bible make this claim that there's only one path to heaven?

Mark: When you think about it, Christianity on the one hand is the most inclusive religion in the world.

Shawn: Absolutely!

Mark: On the other hand, it's the most exclusive religion in the world.

Shawn: Let's unpack that a little more.

Mark: Okay, by inclusive, I mean this: the claims of Christianity are that the entire world must hear and know Jesus Christ. You look at those great passages, Matthew, chapter 20, and verse 19 and 20, Jesus said, "Go ye therefore and teach all nations." That's inclusive.

Shawn: You're right. That's everybody.

Mark: Revelation 14:6, 7, the verse says:

"I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven having the everlasting gospel to preach to every kindred, tongue and nation."

Shawn: Now that's very inclusive.

Mark: It really is. In Christianity, in genuine, pure Christianity, there is no racism, there is no classism, there is no caste system, there is no gender exclusiveness. In genuine Christianity, in coming to Jesus Christ, men and women are bonded together in a common salvation that makes them equal. It's an equality based not on education, it's an equality based not on wealth, it's an equality based not on eucharistic or ethnic background, but there's an equality in Christ. The Christian ethic also teaches that we are created by God, and that this God gives us a bondedness. So in that sense, Christianity is very inclusive.

Shawn: Yes, I think of that passage in John's gospel where Jesus said, "If I be lifted up, I will draw ALL men unto me."

Mark: It means everybody.

Shawn: Right.

Mark: Now there is a sense in which Christianity is exclusive. Let me give you a couple of passages of Scripture. And that's Acts 4:12. The Bible does not say there are many pathways to heaven. Acts 4, verse 12, says:

"Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven [that's the name of Jesus] given among men whereby we must be saved."

Shawn: Right.

Mark: So the Bible teaches that salvation comes only through Jesus. Now let's unpack that a little more.

Why doesn't salvation come through Buddha, or Mohammed, or Confucius?

Shawn: Now that's a great question. I know it's one that a lot of people are asking. I'm sure somebody watching today is asking that right now as you bring it up.

Mark: You see, what is salvation? Salvation is forgiveness of sin. Salvation is the power of the living God to change my life. Salvation is the author of eternal life to live beyond the grave.

Can Buddha offer me forgiveness of sin? Can Confucius offer me forgiveness of sin? Can Mohammed offer me forgiveness of sin? Only the One I've sinned against can offer me forgiveness of sin. So, if Jesus indeed is the divine Son of God, and I've sinned against God, only Christ can offer me forgiveness of sin. Buddha may offer enlightenment, Confucius may offer wisdom, Mohammed may offer a way of life for his followers, but can they provide the resurrection power from the dead? With Buddha or Confucius or Mohammed, did they go into the grave and were they resurrected, did they come out? So the reason Jesus can only provide eternal life is because Christ is the only one in human history that lived the perfect life that I should have lived, that died the death that I should have died, and that came out of the grave, resurrected eternally.

Shawn: Absolutely! Now, I agree with you 100 percent, yet I know what some of our viewers are thinking and, you know, Peter, as he was preaching this, made the claim that "there is no other name given among men." But did Jesus ever claim to be the only way to heaven?

Mark: He sure did. There were numerous occasions where Jesus, for example, in that classic meeting with Nicodemus in John, chapter 3, one of the most famous facts in all of the New Testament. John 3, verse 16, Jesus said (John 3:16):

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, and whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." 

Then he goes on, "For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." Repeatedly Jesus linked "salvation" and "believe in" and "acceptance of Him."

Shawn: It's amazing! You know, one of the things that comes to mind, as you are talking about this, you've mentioned salvation several times and obviously the uniqueness of Jesus is linked to salvation. Now I know that there is somebody who is reading today who has heard Christians talk about salvation all the time and say things like, "Are you saved?" or "Are you born again?" or "I've been saved by the blood." What could those expressions mean? What does it actually mean to be born again? What does Jesus do for us?

Mark: Shawn, to understand the answer to that question, one must understand a little bit about the fall of man and the nature of sin. The world we live in today, people say, developed a God within you. You see, that's the idea, that everybody has this God-consciousness within them.

Shawn: Right.

Mark: The Bible teaches that God created the world perfectly. And as He did, a fallen angel who had rebelled against God in heaven, whom God had given perfect freedom of choice, led Adam and Eve to sin. They consciously chose to sin. Sin, according to the Bible, is rebellion against God and separation from God. Isaiah 59:1, 2 says:

"Behold your sins have separated you from God." 

When Adam and Eve sinned, they were separated from God, separated from the source of life, separated from the source of love, separated from the source of joy and peace. As they sinned, and as they were separated from God, they were destined to death.

You see, there are two powers in the world, the power of love and the power of hate. Hate is the last straw. Hate leads to separation from God. The power of love is the power of life. You look at love and selfishness. Selfishness always leads to self-destruction. Love always leads to building up life and joy and happiness. So when Adam and Eve were separated from God, they were separated from the source of life and love. They had the seeds of death in their body and there was no possibility they could live forever. The Bible says, "The wages [that is, the natural result of the consequence of life independent, separated from God] is death."

Shawn: Now, that makes sense. If God is the Creator and Sustainer of all things, and you cut yourself off from that which sustains life, what do you have?

Mark: It's like breaking a branch off an apple tree. The branch is not going live for very long. So we were made, we were created to live forever. But that living forever was conditional upon our relationship with God.

Shawn: Gotcha.

Mark: And when Adam sinned, Jesus and the Father and the councils of eternity said, "We'll not push earth out into space. We will not take earth and quarantine it. We will not let these being kill one another." Jesus came forth at that critical moment and said, "Father, I will come. And I will live the perfect life that Mark Finley should have lived, that Shawn Boonstra should have lived; I will live the perfect life that John and Mary should have lived. I will live the life they should have lived. I will walk over the same territory, and I will face the same temptations of all humanity." That's why our Savior is near to us. That's why our Savior is like us. He took on human flesh. He faced all the struggles and temptations of human flesh. He defeated Satan in the flesh. And He went to the cross and He died the death that you should have died and that I should have died.

That is what the Bible says in Hebrews 2, verse 9, that He tasted death for every human being. That's why the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 21 (2 Corinthians 5:21):

"He who knew no sin, became sin for us." 

So Jesus took all my guilt, all my accusation, and all my shame upon the cross and died for me. And I can come to Him and say, "Lord, I accept that death in my behalf. You have already wrought out my salvation on the cross, and by faith I accept it."

Shawn: So Jesus stands unique. I remember there is a passage where Jesus says, (I think it's in the 14th chapter of John), "I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father but by Me." So He is the only one, He is a sinless human being yet still God. Now stands at the head of a new human race, one forgiven by God. Now, here's a question I know a lot of people are asking, and I know they are asking it right now because I've heard it and you've heard it hundreds and hundreds of times, and it's this. "If Jesus is the only way to heaven, what about that bushman living in a remote tribe somewhere off on an island in the Pacific, who has never heard about Jesus, where is the fairness of God in excluding him from heaven? He never had a Bible, he never had a missionary arrive, he never heard the truth, what about him?"

Mark: Shawn, you are a Canadian, aren't you?

Shawn: Yes, I'm a Canadian.

Mark: And Canadians are very creative. Have you and your government created a coin with only one side?

Shawn: Well, they're working on it, I think.

Mark: We have a dime in America and it has two sides. Show them your two sides to this matter. Now here's the first side. If you look at Scripture in the book of Romans particularly, there is no salvation outside of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the only method of salvation. There's no other method of salvation. You look at Romans 1 without Christ, and all the world is lost. Romans 2, without Christ, Jew and Gentile are lost. Romans 3, without Christ all have sinned and come short of the glory of God; they are lost. And then Romans 4, 5 and 6, in Jesus, all are saved. So one side of the coin is, without Jesus all are lost. But there is another side of the coin. The other side of the coin is this: A gracious, merciful, loving God knows the background of every human being. It is not that they are saved through the philosophical system, the religious system they are in, but it is possible to be saved in God's kingdom by a Christ they do not yet know and have not come to comprehend.

Shawn: You are going to have to back that up.

Mark: Let me give you a few passages of Scripture on this. Psalm 87 is a good Psalm. And then I want to explain it philosophically to you, but I need to share with you this Scripture.

Shawn: Okay.

Mark: Psalm 87 says, "The Lord will count when he writes up the people, this man was born there."

Shawn: Now, that is very interesting.

Mark: The Lord counts, when He writes up the people of the judgment, "This man was born there." So there is an infinite God who understands the circumstances of every life, He understands the opportunities of every life. And salvation is not a geographical accident. It's not merely a geological accident that you and I were born in a Christian country. Is there salvation outside of Christ? No. But who is saved and not saved we have to leave in the hands of Jesus. Jesus knows their background, He knows their understanding, He knows what they would accept. For example, in the little book of Jude, right before the book of Revelation, there is a marvelous passage of Scripture.

Shawn: Okay.

Mark: I think it's really important in life that we don't play God.

Shawn: I think that's true.

Mark: We don't become complacent and say, "You know what, you have to recite this particular formula." No. Is Jesus the only method of salvation? Certainly. But does the Bible teach that, in His gracious mercy and incredible love, there may be some people saved who have never heard His name, that He will teach it later? That's up to God, and I'm not going to play God and say everybody that doesn't make that confession is absolutely lost. Let God make that decision. Salvation is a gift that he gives and salvation is in His hands. In Jude, for example, it says, verse 22, "On some having compassion making a distinction." Does God sometimes distinguish between people who have not had a geographical opportunity to hear about His grace and love" I'm going to leave that with Him. I'm not going to play God.

Shawn: Right.

Mark: There is something that is quite amazing, Shawn, in the book of Zachariah.

Shawn: Yah, I was hoping we would get there.

Mark: You know, it talks about a group of people in heaven, and as they come up to Jesus, they see that Jesus has nail prints in His hands. And these people are in heaven. And they say Him, "Where did you get the prints?"

Shawn: Yeah, I've looked it up. It's in Zechariah 13, verse 6, and this is a moving, moving verse. I've actually highlighted this in my Bible because it spoke volumes to me. "And one shall say unto him, 'What are these wounds in your hands?' Then he shall answer, 'Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends."' That is remarkable. Here is somebody who meets Jesus, sees the wounds in His hands and has no idea how He got them.

Mark: Now, the logical question which is asked is, "If what we have said is true, [and I believe it is, biblically] why then does the church, the Christian church go passionately do missionary work and reach out to save people in evangelism if it is possible that God's knows the background, of course?" My response to that would be this: We reach out to share Jesus, not to give people their first chance, or their only chance, but to give them their best chance. The best possibility of being saved in God's kingdom is to hear the story of love in the gospels, because that breaks your heart. 

There is a revelation of God in nature. There is a revelation of God around us. There are people whose hearts are drawn out to God who never knew the name of Christ. But we want to give them the very best opportunity, because when you look at nature, it gives mixed messages. There's the rose, but then there are thorns on the rose. There is the sun that warms my body, but there's the sun that scorches the plants.

Shawn: Or gives you a sunburn.

Mark: Yes, there's the wind that gives me a gentle breeze, but also the hurricanes that tear up my house. In the universe, there is good and evil. But when we look at Scripture, we see the reason for that controversy between good and evil and we see Jesus plunging Himself into it as Savior. 

So, the reason we do evangelism is to give people the best opportunity to know Jesus, so they can have the greatest possibility of being saved. But again, if God chooses to save people without them directly hearing about Him, because He knows what's in their heart and He knows the honesty and the integrity and knows that they would respond, I have to leave that with God.

Shawn: In the end, Mark, why would a loving God not bring somebody to heaven? Why is it that some people won't be there?

Mark: Because of their conscious choices. You see, if God brought all of Los Angeles to heaven, it would not be heaven, it would be Los Angeles.

Shawn: That's not heaven.

Mark: That's not heaven, people would be beating them up. If God brought all humanity to heaven, including those who love sin and don't have the desire to be rid of it, it would simply perpetuate the sin problem and it would continue. The only other option that God would have, if he didn't bring people up there like they are today, would be to perform cosmic surgery on their minds, so they would not ever be able to sin. And if God was going to do that, why didn't He do that thousands and thousands of years ago? Why did He make human beings with the capacity to choose if He is going to reverse that capacity at the end of time and put them in a mindset so it would be impossible to sin? So the reason He wouldn't bring somebody to heaven is because they haven't responded to the claims of His love, they haven't responded to His graciousness, they haven't allowed this living Christ to forgive their sins and to change them inside. They haven't made that choice to follow the way of love. They've made that choice to follow the way of selfishness. And that is the way of self-destructiveness.

Shawn: Somebody who is following the way of selfishness would never be happy in a place like heaven.

Mark: They would be absolutely miserable.

Shawn: It would be hell for them.

Mark: You know, I saw a cartoon once on this very topic and it was marvelous. On one page, the cartoonist showed heaven. And in heaven there were these figures and everything looked wonderful about them, except they had robotic arms that they could not bend, and the banquet at the heavenly table was spread with luscious fruits, and nuts, and baked goods, it was so fantastic. And this man was taking it, but he couldn't get it to his mouth and he had to back off the table.

Shawn: Selflessness.

Mark: And people were happy and cheerful. And then if showed hell, the exact same things, the arms were stiff, the food was on the table, and the guy had it like this, but he could never get it to his mouth. He was so angry. The way of love is the way of selflessness, kindness of Christ. Jesus on the cross gave Himself away so we could have eternal life. And we give ourselves away we find life. We give ourselves to Jesus and we long for Him to live in our hearts. But the way of selfishness, the way of self-centered living, the way of egotism is death. You asked earlier, Shawn, what is the way of salvation? Salvation is coming to Jesus, allowing Him to forgive your sin, allowing Him to change your life, and living a self-sacrificing, kind, compassionate life in a world of selfishness.

Shawn: Thank you, Mark.

You know, in a world where the concept of moral relatively has shackled our ability to call some things right and other things wrong, it's become unpopular to suggest that some people might be, well, wrong. And yet simple reason tells us everybody can't be right. In any other field like math or physics, we know some things are true and other things are false. And there's no emotional baggage attached to that kind of judgment. Because when we say that 2 + 2 cannot possible equal 17, it doesn't have moral implications. It doesn't require somebody to change the way they live. But when Jesus says, no one comes to the Father but by Me, that demands a response from the human heart.

As God in human flesh, Jesus positioned Himself as the only key to heaven. Without the divine link He provides between God and man, there is no eternity for the human race. You know, most people's reluctance to accept Jesus really comes from a reluctance to take an honest look at their own lives.

Many of the world's philosophies don't demand the kind of radical change of heart like the one spoken of in the Bible. And so many people simply take the path of least resistance and they turn to alternative religions.

But is it possible that the broad path really does lead to destruction? And is it possible that many people avoid dealing with Jesus because of a profound misunderstanding of how He intends to deal with them?

Years of religious rhetoric has given some people the idea that God delights in destroying sinners. But the truth is that he delights in destroying sin while saving the sinner.

So today, as Jesus speaks to your heart, He is not pointing out how much He would like to destroy you, He is signaling you. He is asking you to come for forgiveness. "Come unto me, all you that labor or are heavy laden and I will give you rest," Jesus said. "For my yoke is easy and my burden is light, and you shall find rest unto your souls."

Do you long for rest? Do you crave peace of mind? "Then come," says Jesus. "I think you will be delighted with what you find."

You know, Pastor Mark, somebody reading this today is thinking, "All right, Jesus is the only way. How do I accept that way, how do I find direction for my life? How do I accept Jesus?"

Mark: Shawn, that is a vital question and I'm sure that there is somebody reading this who is reaching out to this Christ, recognizing that He loves you with an incredible love, that you are so valuable to Him, that you are so important to Him, and that you are not a speck of cosmic dust blowing in the breeze.

And to really come to this Christ is as simple as A-B-C. Accept that you disobeyed Him, accept that you have fallen from His grace, and accept that you cannot save yourself. Believe that Jesus Christ, on Calvary's Cross, died the death you should have died. He took your place there. Confess your sin to Him and decide that you want to serve Him forever.

You see, He invites you to come just as you are and be saved by His marvelous, infinite mercy, grace and love. Would you like to do that right now, as we pray?

PRAYER:
Dear Father in heaven, we accept today that we are sinners. That it is not possible for us to save ourselves, but we believe that Jesus Christ is a mighty Savior. We believe that He did for us what we could never do for ourselves. He gave His life on a cross called Calvary. 

We tearfully and sorrowfully confess our sins, and we decide to serve You forever and ever believing that, right now, You are removing the guilt. In this instant, You are forgiving us. I know that mercy and grace flow from the love of God. And I pray for that one person, Lord, that right now has their head bowed in front of their computer screen, who right now is kneeling. O Father, be with them and give them the sense that they are a new man, or a new woman, forgiven with the gift of salvation in their heart through Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen.

h2.Scriptures Quoted in Show #1025
THE PATH TO THE TOP

"And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again. Then came to him the mother of Zebedees children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him."
—Matthew 20:19, 20 KJV

"And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle."
—Revelation 4:6, 7 KJV

"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."
—Acts 4:12 KJV

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."
—John 3:16, 17 KJV

"Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear."
—Isaiah 59: 1, 2 KJV

"But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man."
—Hebrews 2:9 KJV

"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."
—2 Corinthians 5:21 KJV

"And of some have compassion, making a difference."
—Jude 1:22 KJV

"And one shall say unto him, 'what are these wounds in thine hands?' Then he shall answer, 'those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends."'
—Zechariah 13:6 KJV

Scriptures Used in “The Path to the Top”