PERSPECTIVES
By: JT When you have a door, you can have many people with the a key to the one door, but the key is the exact same for each person. You can’t just choose a random key on your ring and plug it in the keyhole and expect the door to open. The same is true for Jesus and heaven, there are many people in the world of have Jesus in their heart, who is the key, and that is the only key that will work for the door to heaven. You can’t take Buddha and expect him to open the door for you, he cant, he isn’t the key. By: Sy The law of non-contradiction says that ideas the contradict each other can’t both be correct. They may even both be wrong, but not right. An example is that the earth can’t be a sphere and and cube at the same time, it must be one or the other, or neither. The same is true for religions. Islam and Christianity have contradictory beliefs such as Christians believe that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are a trinity and Islam says that it is the worst sin in the world to believe in a trinity. They can’t both be right. Some say that all religions are all the same. They are not. Buddha does not offer salvation, Judaism doesn’t believe that Jesus was God, Islam seem to target the foundation of Christianity, and Hinduism has more than a few gods. In this case, the real question is which religion can be proven to be historically accurate. Which can be scientifically proven, and which makes the most sense. Jesus is the only way because we can prove that he existed, did miracles, rose from the dead, and confirmed the entire rest of the Bible (Old Testament). Islam does not offer salvation. Judaism missed Jesus when he was here. Buddhism didn’t become a religion with a God until after Buddha died, and Hinduism has far too many gods and no honest form of salvation. By: Devon The question itself presupposes the core tenet of the Christian worldview; that a man named Jesus died a substitutionary death in our place to pay for our sins. With that foundation in place, we will then examine the following points to answer the question about why adopting that worldview is the only way to get to heaven;
While we have the option to either believe or not believe the words Jesus spoke, we can’t believe that adopting the Christian worldview is just one way to get to heaven. That would violate the law of non-contradiction which states that opposite ideas can’t be true at the same time and in the same sense. Either Jesus is the only way or He’s not. He can’t be just one of many ways, that’s a logical contradiction. If there was more than one path to heaven, why did Jesus have to suffer and die a horrible death? If there was something we could do to save ourselves then why did God send His son to die in our place? The only logical reason why God would send His son to suffer and die, and the only logical reason why Jesus willingly submitted to this solution is because it was the only solution. There was no other way. All worldviews are exclusive. Islam says that only Muslims will get to heaven. Buddhists and Hindus have exclusive beliefs about heaven. Atheists believe that we cease to exist all together when we die. Every world view believes it is the “only way.” Theistic religions (Christianity, Judaism, Islam) are the only worldviews that offer us a choice about where we go when we die. Christian theism is the only option that is not a merit based system. Christianity says that no one can bear the burden of being “good enough.” For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23 And yet it is the only option that offers a full pardon for our sin – because of the sacrifice that Jesus made on our behalf! That’s why He is the only way! Consider these questions; Do you believe that moral crimes should be punished? Have you ever committed a moral crime? Would you like a full pardon? If so, Jesus is the only way. By: R. T.
If you wanted to go to heaven when you die, how would you get there? I suppose you would try to be a really good person and do a lot of things that would help you earn your way to this wonderful place. Okay! Let’s take look at this way to heaven. You might spend all your time, your entire life, doing things that are noble that you believe your acceptance into heaven surely must be guaranteed. The day comes for your life to end and now what? Are you sure you did enough and how will you get there? Did you talk to God about this momentous day and are you expecting God to let you in? It seems there could be something missing here! There is no way to know if you did enough virtuous things, no way to know if God will open up those pearly gates for you. This is one of the most important events in your life and you have to be absolutely certain it’s going to turn out the way you are hoping. What if this method doesn’t work? Let’s investigate another way. What you really want is eternal life in heaven, not just getting God to open that gate but also to be able to live there forever. How are you going to achieve this eternal state of living? We’ve already figured out doing good things really isn’t the answer so you will have to ask your god to change your dying body into one that can survive forever. What god are you going to ask to do that for you? Let’s take a look at some well-known religions and see which one offers you the best opportunity to get that eternal body. Hinduism offers reincarnation and the self is one with Brahman, you must do awesome things and take pilgrimages, but illusion prevents you from understanding it. There are about 10 deities that also have alternative avatars and names. It’s hard to say how many gods there really are but you’ll have to choose the right one. Buddhism offers 2 ways: The devotional way and the way of intuitive knowledge. Your obedience to the Four Noble Truths and the Eight Fold Path are required as well. How will you know which way to choose in the end and how will you know if you achieved the goal? Islam says Allah will weight your good and bad deeds in life and decide if you will get into paradise. You must also follow the Five Pillars. Jehovah’s Witness expects you to perform good works of all kinds and ultimately there is no guarantee you will be admitted into paradise because all the “spots” have already been filled. I think we covered this already, that doing awesome things isn’t enough to really get God to open the gate for you. There is no way to really know what your end result will be. I could go through each religion and lay out the requirements for eternal life, but really it’s pointless. Let me explain. You see, all of the other religions are based on someone who died and is still dead, or on a lifeless item crafted by men to represent a god that has never lived to begin with. It’s dead! This is what sets Christianity apart and above all other religions because Jesus is alive! God himself, Jesus, came to earth to become like you, to suffer like you, to feel all the things you feel. God lovingly reached down to us to save us through Jesus, His Son. (Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.) He was crucified and died but here is the huge difference. He arose from death back to life, he defeated death! (Revelation 1:18 "I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.) No other god claims these things. What difference does this make? First of all it’s not what you do to earn paradise, it’s what you have done. What have you done? Have you done anything that is unkind, mean, or deceitful? Have you lied, killed, hated or cheated? We all have! We have an unpaid debt called sin and no one on earth can pay it for you. We need the perfection of Jesus to pay our debts. You see, Jesus lived perfectly and is the only person who could ever paid your debts because God requires perfection to enter heaven. When Jesus willingly surrendered His life on the cross He paid your debts, all of them! You could say to yourself, “My debt is too big!” But Jesus says, “I paid it off.” You can say, “My debt is overwhelming, I’ve done so many terrible things!” But Jesus says, “I already paid for it.” The payment for your sins is offered to you as a free gift, there is nothing you can do to compensate God for it. You can’t earn a gift and it has nothing to do with your worthiness. (Titus 3:4-7 4 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.) Jesus became the bearer of our sin and took on the wrath of God. (1 Peter 2:22-24 22 "Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth"; 23 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; 24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness--by whose stripes you were healed.) This brings us back to the question, what difference does it make that Jesus arose from death? Jesus is alive having defeated death and He is offering you this as well. A dead god cannot offer you anything, only a living God can provide you the opportunity to go to heaven, and because He has already defeated death, you can too! He will give you life, a new body and eternity. All you have to do is trust in Him, repent of your sins and accept the gift. |
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