In my message Sunday I addressed the question – “Is Jesus really the only way to God and eternal life?” This is a question in a culture that has embraced complete tolerance and rejects exclusive claims by any religion or faith. More and more folks embrace religious pluralism which claims all religious paths are equal, valid and there is no one true faith.
This is often supported by a Hindu parable that describes a group of blind men who encounter an elephant. One touches the trunk and compares it to a snake. Another touches the leg and describes it as a tree trunk. One grabs hold of the tail and says it is a rope…and so on. The point of the parable is that each religion touches, feels or sees only a part of a very big god (small g intentional). The point is that all religions have a partial understanding of God and all are valid in their limited understanding. That’s the spiritual elephant in the room.
What I like about the parable is that it does point to the fact that all humans and all religions will be limited in what we can understand about God. In fact, the Jewish and Christian faith teach that a human cannot fully grasp all there is to God (Romans 11:33-36; 1 Corinthians 13:12). While God can be known, there is also a mystery to him.
But the parable of the elephant falls short. It suggests there is no ultimate right or wrong, and that every person has a part of the truth. The fact is we are not totally blind. We can see that we are touching an elephant! Following the teaching of Muhammad is not the same as following the way of Jesus. They are very different and exclusive of each other. Pure Buddhism is in fact atheist in that there is no god; and that is mutually exclusive of our faith in one true God. In Judaism, you and I, as Christians, are excluded from the covenant made only with the chosen tribes of Israel. I could unpack how Hinduism and most world religions have no parallel with our Christian faith.
The other point of the Hindu elephant parable is that we should be kind, respectful, and in fact, love those who hold different beliefs. That’s what Jesus taught – “love your enemies and those who persecute you.” That’s what Peter said in 1 Peter 3:15. When someone asks questions or even attacks our faith, we are to be ready to give an answer with “gentleness and respect.” We shouldn’t accept or even respect a belief we believe to be false, but we respect the person who holds that belief! And, we go further and even love the person with whom we disagree.
There is truth. If there is truth, then there must be untruth. There is right, which means there is wrong. What is true and not true is to be discovered in this world. We live in a spiritual world that is exclusive.
The way of Jesus is an exclusive way as Jesus declared in John 14:6 – “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus is God. He came from God. He best knows who God is and how to get to him. Because he’s God he knows the truth. Jesus is the only way to God or back to God. Stating that truth is not mean, bigotted or based in hate (like many claim of us who believe this). It’s the truth and in sincere love we want all to know the truth because it has eternal consequences.
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The primary way that the devil tries to tempt us, trick us and trap us is though lies (see John 8:44). He wants us to believe lies about ourselves, others, our life, about God, about what’s good or fair and more. Our best defense against this is truth. Lies have the power to hurt us, and we need to know the truth and use it to destroy that power. That’s why Paul wrote this in 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV) – We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. We use the truth to evaluate every thought and take captive every lie.
I went through a two-year season where I listened to the devil’s lies about me. The core consistent message I heard was that I wasn’t a good enough leader or pastor for our church. I was stuck listening to the lies repeated in my head, so I sought help from a Christian counselor. He helped me realize I was listening to lies and then directed me to reconnect with God’s truth. After looking carefully at the scriptures and embracing God’s truth again, I was able to resist the devil and his lies and find freedom. He then encouraged me to take the scriptures and put them into a letter as if God were writing them to me. I shared part of that letter in last Sunday’s message. Here’s the full letter:
Dear Glen;
I have called you to be faithful not successful. You are not responsible for kingdom success. In the end, it is I who will be the one to evaluate and judge your work and My judgments are just (1 Corinthians 4:1-5).
Your competence comes from me. I delight in using you to accomplish My purposes. Allow Me to make you competent to be the pastor and leader I need to boldly advance the revolution of the kingdom (2 Corinthians 3:4, 5). As a carefully crafted piece of art, I will continue to make you into someone who will fulfill My purposes. I am preparing you for good works (Ephesians 2:10). Trust Me in this and fully show up.
Your focus is to first be deeply rooted (abide, remain) in Jesus. That is the only path to producing lasting spiritual kingdom fruit. I want you to produce much fruit, but only as you stay rooted in My love, truth, and power (John 15:4, 5).
So, refuse to listen to the harsh critical voices of condemnation, whether internal or external (2 Corinthians 10:5). Those voices are not My voice. I do not condemn My own children (Romans 8:1; Isaiah 50:7-9). Trust Me to help you faithfully show up with holy boldness, doing what I have called you to do without self-doubt. Cast off anything that weighs you down as you run the race I have set for you (Hebrews 12:1).
I have not asked you to do the work of ministry alone (Philippians 2:12, 13 – the “you” is plural). Trust Me to make you competent and invite others to help you carry the load. Depend on Me and collaborate with others. True collaboration is a part of your faithful service. And finally, don’t rely on yourself to make it all happen. Rather, make it a priority to invest in and equip others to do the work of the kingdom (Ephesians 4:11-13).
What are the lies to which you are listening that are damaging or ruining you? May I encourage you to re-engage with God and his truth to take those lies captive? Join us this Sunday, July 21st, as we look at how to resist the devil. I’ll also be inviting people to make the commitment to follow Jesus in baptism. You won’t want to miss this Sunday.
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We all have fears. Some cause us nightmares that literally keep us up at night. Or, out of anxiety, we have trouble sleeping. Sunday we’ll start a new series called “What Keeps You Up at Night?” We’ll be looking closer at our fears and how God wants to lead us out of our anxiety into a place of peace.
Maybe you have struggled with fear, in general, most of your life, or at least for a long time. Maybe there is one key fear that keeps showing up. Maybe you are facing a fear that is tied to your situation right now. As I said, we all have fears. That’s part of being human. While we all will face fears, God does not want us to live or get stuck in our fears.
As we enter this new teaching series, I want to give you some hope when it comes to our fears; I love the wisdom found in Proverbs 3:21-26 (NIV):
My son, do not let wisdom and understanding out of your sight,
preserve sound judgment and discretion;
they will be life for you,
an ornament to grace your neck.
Then you will go on your way in safety,
and your foot will not stumble.
When you lie down, you will not be afraid;
when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.
Have no fear of sudden disaster
or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked,
for the Lord will be at your side
and will keep your foot from being snared.
Now again in the Message version – Proverbs 3:21-26:
Dear friend, guard Clear Thinking and Common Sense with your life;
don’t for a minute lose sight of them.
They’ll keep your soul alive and well,
they’ll keep you fit and attractive.
You’ll travel safely,
you’ll neither tire nor trip.
You’ll take afternoon naps without a worry,
you’ll enjoy a good night’s sleep.
No need to panic over alarms or surprises,
or predictions that doomsday’s just around the corner,
Because God will be right there with you;
he’ll keep you safe and sound.
God’s truth and God’s wisdom, which results in clear thinking and common sense will help us have correct thoughts about life and our fears. God’s truth and wisdom help keep us from spiritual danger. God’s truth and wisdom help us to sleep well at night. We put our faith in God and his wisdom to help us to overcome our fears because we know God will not abandon us, his guidance is sure and trustworthy.
