Why All Religions Don’t Lead to Heaven
I Corinthians 15:1-19
Scripture Reading
I Corinthians 15:1-8
Now I would remind you, brothers,[a] of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.
Introduction / Illustration: Bill Klem was the father of baseball umpires: colorful, judicious, and dignified. He was beyond passionate about America's favorite pastime, declaring, "To me, baseball is not a game, but a religion." The first umpire to use arm signals while working behind home plate, Bill umped for 37 years, including 18 World Series. He became known as "the Old Arbitrator," a deferential nod to his keen eye for calling balls and strikes.
On one such occasion, as he crouched and readied behind the plate, the pitcher threw the ball, the batter didn't swing, and, for just an instant, Bill said nothing. The batter turned and snorted, "Okay, so what was it, a ball or a strike?" To which Bill responded, "Sonny, it ain't nothing 'till I call it."
David Sturt, Great Work (McGraw Hill, 2013), page 139
• Who are you and I listening to in our society to tell us what truth is and what it is?
o Is it based on the majority vote of the population
o Is it up to whatever each individual thinks is right and wrong?
o Is it based on an absolute universal truth?
o If that is so than where does the absolute and universal truth come from?
Transition: Let’s look at our notes as we try to understand the answers to these questions.
Purpose: Every Christ follower must understand the differences between culture and biblical tolerance and to love people who do not agree with the presuppositions of Christianity
Understanding the Differences
Traditional Tolerance – to recognize and respect, (others beliefs, practices, etc.) without sharing them and to bear or put up with (someone or something not especially liked). - Webster’s Dictionary
• “Values, respects and accepts the individual without necessarily approving of or participating in that person’s beliefs or behaviors” – Sean and Josh McDowell in “The Beauty of Intolerance”
Cultural Tolerance is that every individual’s beliefs, values, lifestyles and perception of truth claims are equal and all truth is relative – Thomas Helmbock – executive vice president of the Lambda Chi Alpha national fraternity
• “What every individual believes or says is equally right and equally valid and that no individual’s beliefs or behavior should be judged or criticized. There is no morality that is right for everyone”. - Sean and Josh McDowell in “The Beauty of Intolerance”
• It is not just simply understanding the differences between what you believe and what someone else believes in our culture, but demands that we accept, respect and affirm the rightness of others views and behavior
• Otherwise you will be labeled intolerant, bigoted and even hateful
Biblical Tolerance – Recognizing the differences in the beliefs of others and showing value, dignity, respect and love agreeing to disagree.
Transition: We started with understanding the definitions of this cultural divide by look at the definitions of tolerance. Let’s now look at the problem for the Christian if he follows cultural tolerance
Understanding the Problem
Psalm 11:3
If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?
• One of the major foundation blocks of the faith is that God is truth and that truth is absolute. All truth is God’s truth whether it is in the Bible or in mathematics, or science or you fill in the blank. You don’t have to concede truth to believe in God in anything outside the realm of scriptures.
• But many Christians especially in areas of sexual morality, science, and other areas cave in to cultural tolerance over scripture because they don’t want to be looked upon in a negative way.
• We as Christians need to continually be sensitive to not let philosophies creep into our practical lives
• It is so hard to paddle against the flow of the culture around us here in America as it is trending to become more secular and more antagonistic toward Christ and His followers
• It is so easy to compromise and become a practical atheist. It is easier to just go along with the flow and not offend people than speaking the truth in love.
• But that is not what God has called us to do.
o Jesus said we are to be in the world but not of it. In other words we are to be in the world but the world should not be in us.
o There is absolute truth and it is found in the Laws of Nature, in disciplines of study and the Word of God
o Truth and morals are found in a person. John 14:6. We are merely on a constant journey in humanity to continue to discover and unveil God’s truths, His revelations of Himself
o People who live by cultural tolerance and claim truth is subjective and that truth is up to each person to decide for themselves borrow many times from the absolute truth of Christianity. They are inconsistent in their worldview
Illustration: For example, one of the leading philosophers here in America was Richard Rorty, who died recently and he literally acknowledged that "I'm a Darwinist. I'm a materialist. I'm an atheist. I'm an evolutionist." And he said, "I realize I don't have a basis for human rights. I don't have a basis for universal human rights" because in evolutionary theory, the strong win out and the weak are left behind. So there's no basis there for human rights. He said, "So, you know what I do? I reach over and I borrow the concept of human rights from Christianity." And he literally used the word "freeloading." He said, "I'm a freeloading atheist and I'm happy to borrow from Christianity what my own worldview doesn't give me."
According to the 2014 data_______39%__________ percent of self-identified evangelical voters in the Republican Party do not believe the Bible is the literal Word of God. – Pew Research Center
According to a survey taken in 2008, ______52%_______ percent of American Christians believe that some non-Christian faiths can lead someone to eternal life
• 80% of American Christians who believe there is more than one way to gain eternal life can name a non-Christian faith that would accomplish this if the people are sincerely committed.
o Makes logical sense
o Some people in other religions are more committed than many Christians
o We should love everyone and let them seek their own path
o It seems the ultimate respect
o But if someone had a disease that you knew where the vaccine or the cure could be found, wouldn’t you do everything you could to share with them the truth?
• These statistics and this thought process show how cultural tolerance is influencing our thinking when it comes to how we deal with relationships, business practices, raising our kids, and the way we live our Christian life
• Cultural tolerance which began in the 60’s when people began to challenge the old establishment way of thinking and people became skeptics of absolute truth and authority.
• The bumper sticker “Question Authority” was the motto of the time as sexual morals and obedience to those in authority were challenged in big ways.
• Situation Ethics or Moral Relativism which was made famous by Joseph Fletcher and others became the prevalent thought and what was sown in the 60’s and 70’s as far as these attitudes and approaches to finding truth has led to where we are today.
• Truth is what you “feel” is the right thing instead of a black and white universal truth. Feeling trumps logic. By the way that is why it is hard to reason with people who believe truth is a feeling or something inside of each of ourselves to decide.
o If you believe mankind is good in and of himself then why do you lock your doors at night? Why do we have traffic laws
o I could give numerous examples where we follow absolute truth such as in mathematics but in our religious lives, we abandon this idea of absolute truth.
Transition: For the Christian it is ok, it is pleasing to the Lord to live with the fact that the Bible is intolerant to the philosophies of the world. We are to lovingly proclaim the message in love and a spirit of gentleness and respect. We can be confident that in the world of logic, ideas, and fitting with the way the world works, Christianity by far makes the most sense and is open to anyone who will come to God on His terms.
Understanding the Benefits of the Gospel
John 1:12
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God
1. Peace with God and the peace of God
o Peace in knowing God, being right with Him and knowing that He is in control of the world and my life. No matter what happens in life, God is the anchor of my soul as it says in Hebrews. He is my true north. He is always there promising to never leave us.
o Peace of God is the sense when we seek God and His ways, we receive insight into the direction He wants us to go and we can go in confidence and with peace knowing what we are to do.
2. Purpose and Meaning of Life
o People are searching for why they were placed here on this earth
o Unlike other religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, at some point you cease to exist as you break through reincarnation and become one with God, absorbed into him and losing your identity
o God made each person unique on this planet. No two people are alike. Snowflakes, Twins, Read Psalm 139
o God has a unique purpose in your life that you were created for. I and no one else will travel the journey you will travel nor will I do the things you do. Only you can use your gifts, talents and personalities to glorify God and to impact those you influence around you.
3. Worth and value as a human being
o God gave up His one and only Son to make it possible for you and I to have an abundant life here on earth
o He treats each one of His creation with dignity and respect because He made you and I in His image. To have some of the attributes of God in a limited fashion and yet with a free will
o He calls us His masterpiece in Ephesians 2:10 for one example. He sings of over us as we saw in the Minor Prophets and watches over us.
o We are of invaluable worth in His sight.
4. Joy even in suffering
o We not only get to experience happiness but we also get to have the lasting joy that endures through the difficult times and the times of celebration
Psalm 30:5
Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.
o Joy is something that many in the world have never experienced
o A calm assurance that all is well and all will be well because we are held in the hand of God and nothing can separate us from His love
o That God loves us unconditionally
5. A Comforter who lives with me
o The Holy Spirit comes and indwells us when we respond by faith to the message of the Gospel and we embrace it personally for ourselves
o No second hand faith. Each one must make that individual decision
o The Holy Spirit is my internal GPS
o The Holy Spirit helps me to understand what I read in my Bible
o The Holy Spirit helps me to know right from wrong
o The Holy Spirit tells me when I have sinned and that I need to confess my sin and receive forgiveness
o The Holy Spirit is my constant friend and companion. He helps me when I am lonely.
o The Holy Spirit gives me gifts to serve others and discern the truth.
Transition: These are just a small amount of the benefits of following Christ in your life. Let’s look now at the Why of the Gospel. Why should we believe the Gospel?
Understanding Why the Gospel is truth
• The Gospel is exclusive but inclusive – John 14:6;Acts 4:12;John 3:16; 2 Peter 3:9
John 14:6
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Acts 4:12
12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
o Currently, these two verses are the most challenged by people preaching cultural tolerance because it runs contrary to their definition
o Christianity is exclusive in that there is only one way to connect with the Father and it is to come to Him on His terms through His Son Jesus Christ
o Second, the only name under heaven by which people can be saved and have abundant and eternal life is in the name that is above all names, Jesus Christ.
o Remember that you and I are just the messenger of what God says
o But the Bible teaches that the Gospel is inclusive. It is open to every man and woman who has lived and is living on this planet.
Inclusive - including a great deal, or encompassing everything concerned; comprehensive: - Dictionary.com
John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
• The resurrection of Christ shows the truth of Christ’s teachings – Acts 2:22-24
o Internal Evidence
Acts 2:22 – 24
22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.
o According to these verses God stamped His approval on all the Jesus did, all that He taught when He raised Him from the dead
o The teachings on the kingdom of God and how to inherit eternal life were given His approval for man to come to God through Christ
o External Evidence
Quote: “About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one ought to call him a man. For he was one who performed surprising deeds and was a teacher of such people as accept the truth gladly. He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks. He was the Messiah. And when, upon the accusation of the principal men among us, Pilate had condemned him to a cross, those who had first come to love him did not cease. He appeared to them spending a third day restored to life, for the prophets of God had foretold these things and a thousand other marvels about him. And the tribe of the Christians, so called after him, has still to this day not disappeared.”- Josephus / Jewish Antiquities, 18.3.3 ยง63
• The Resurrection is the foundation of Christianity – I Corinthians 15:12 -19
I Corinthians 15:12 -19
12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
o Paul argues that if Christ had not been raised from the dead Christianity is worthless. We may as well throw our Bibles in the dumpster and go out and live any way we want
o If Jesus did not rise from the dead He is the ultimate liar since He predicted He would
o But thank God that because He did we know that He is the way to the Father and the ONLY way for salvation
o You can visit the temples where Buddha’s cremated remains are stored in India. You can visit Confucius grave in China, Mohammed’s grave at the Mosque of the Prophet in Medina, Saudi Arabia.
o But no founder of any religion has ever, ever risen from the dead. We serve a risen Savior!
Transition: We have looked at the benefits of the Gospel. We have looked at the why of the Gospel, why we should believe it? Now we will look at how one might embrace it for themselves and live it out.
Understanding How to Experience the Gospel
I Corinthians 15:1 -4
Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
o One of the earliest and most important creeds of the church
o Often repeated as the early believers gathered to worship
Illustration: Do you remember your wedding anniversary?
• Married 30 years –How has my wife put up with me all these years? She has only seen me about 5 of those years? Maybe that’s why we get along so well
• For me, there's a certain day in the fall - November 23rd, 1985 that might be just any old day for other people, but it's forever got a glow around it for two people – my wife and me.
• It's the day I walked into a church not married and I walked out married. It's the day I made a lifetime commitment to a wonderful girl. Now, if you had just met me, you might ask, "Are you married?" What if I said, "Well, I'm not sure?" We've got a problem here! Or, what if I said, "I hope so" or "You know, we've spent a lot of time together over the years. We must have gotten married somewhere!" Come on, if you're married, you know you're married! Or you're not!
• It is the same way with believing on Jesus Christ to be your Savior alone. That is what believe means in the NT. Belief in something and taking action
• The Bible says you can know for sure you can have all the benefits we mentioned of being a Christian in this life and the assurance of a place in heaven with your name on it when we pass from this life.
I John 5:13
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.
• How can you know that you have this abundant fulfilling life on earth and the confidence of a home in heaven?
o Coming to the place where you see that God is a holy, righteous and perfect God
o Realizing that we are not
James 2:10
For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.
o I don’t know about you but I fall short of perfection each day. I have broken some of the 10 commandments.
o If the requirement for God to have a relationship with me is perfection I am coming up a lot short
o God tells us at the end of this life, we are going to stand before Him and He demand payment for our sin. His created being has not lived up to what God wanted Him to do. Perfection. That is the bad news
o The Good News of the Gospel is that on Good Friday, Jesus was willing to take your punishment and my punishment for sin when He died on the cross. He was willing to lay down His life even though He Himself had never sinned
Romans 5:8
But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us
o We need to see ourselves truthfully in light of God’s standard
o We need to realize that in our own ability we cannot earn salvation
Ephesians 2:8-9
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
o We need to understand that it is exclusive by trusting in Jesus and His finished work on the cross done on our behalf for salvation
Illustration: Life Preserver
o Will you make sure of your salvation today? There is no other decision you will make in life that will affect you so much or determine where you will spend eternity.
o Going back to what I said a few minutes ago about marriage
o Courtship doesn't make you married, engagement doesn't make you married. Only that lifetime commitment.
o It's the same with the Savior who died for you. And I pray that if you've never had that moment of commitment to Him, you'd make it today. For all eternity, you'll be able to celebrate this as your personal anniversary of receiving eternal life.
Key Thought: If you are a Christ follower, be confident and live out the traditional / biblical view of tolerance. Loving people, sharing your faith, knowing you are just the messenger and praying for people to find the truth to be connected to the Father. If you are not a Christ follower or not sure you are, pray this prayer with me to begin your relationship or renew your relationship with the Father.
Let’s Pray
