Jesus is the Only Way

Jesus is the Only Way                           

Does it surprise you to hear news reports stating or implying that people who claim to be Christian say they believe Jesus is not the only way to get to Heaven?

I’ve been hearing that a lot lately and find it troubling. To believe such a thing is the very antithesis of true Bible teachings. I tend to think that folks who believe this have not read the Bible very much and possibly sit under unsound teaching.

This kind of heresy does not surprise nor alarm God, which should give us some relief. Such beliefs have always existed.

Jesus Himself, declared His deity, stating, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30 NASB); “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9b NASB).

The truth is, there is only one option to be reconciled to Father God and get to Heaven. Jesus expressed that clearly when He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 16:6 NLT). 

Art by Maggie Turner

Jesus claimed to be God and the only way to Eternal Life. He gave no other option. It is only through faith in Jesus and His sacrificial death on the cross that our sins can be removed and we can receive salvation. 










People who don’t believe in God and don’t believe in Bible truth cannot be expected to accept Jesus’ claims. But for people who call themselves Christians—followers of Jesus—we have to scratch our heads and wonder, How can this be?

 
Perhaps they’re a fan, not a follower; don’t read the Bible; listen to bad teaching; or make it up to help them feel better.

In his popular book, Mere Christianity*, C.S. Lewis wrote, 

"A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher; he'd either be a lunatic -- on a level with a man who says he's a poached egg -- or else he'd be the devil of hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God; or else a madman or something worse."
"You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."
So, Jesus was either a madman, a liar, a myth, or He really was—and is—the Son of God, Savior of Mankind, and the only way to get to Heaven when we die.  
We, who are true followers of Christ, need to pray that the truth of Jesus and God’s Word will be made known. We know Truth will prevail in the end, but I hurt for those who fall for demonic schemes. 

Have you heard such false notions? Your thoughts are welcome.
(Disrespectful, inappropriate comments will be deleted.)

*C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, Harper Collins Publishers, 1952

©Copyright 2018 Connie Wohlford

Not saying this to upset you—but the truth must be known.

Not saying this to upset you—but the truth must be known.

I heard it again just a few days ago, “We’re all God’s children.”

It sounds so nice—so comforting—so inclusive. To someone who believes in God or thinks there might be a God, it gives some degree of false hope. But, it’s just not true. God Himself has the last word on this concept.

It is true that God loves everyone. He even loves us all equally. He created each of us in His own image (Genesis 1:27).

God wants every single human being to be in His forever family. He wants to be the Father of each one of us. It’s His desire that none parish—that is that none suffer eternal damnation (2 Peter 3:9). 

When God created the universe, the creatures and Mankind, He wanted all people who ever lived to be His family. But He wanted us to be in His family, not because He forced it, but because we chose it. We all have free will by God’s design. 

Even after being warned not to eat of the tree, Adam and Eve, of their own free will, turned against God and ate the fruit. Sin occurred and all manner of hardship befell Mankind. And like Adam and Eve, we can choose.

At God’s appointed time, He sent His Son, Jesus, to walk among men, teaching about the Kingdom of God. If you haven’t read the four gospels recently I highly recommend you do so. Learn Jesus. Be reminded of the things He said and did. (The four gospels are the books of Matthew, Mark Luke and John, in the Bible.)

Ultimately Jesus completed His earthly mission. He was crucified, died, buried, rose from the dead, and ascended to Heaven where He now sits at the right hand of God the Father. By His coming, suffering and dying Jesus bore the punishment we deserved. “Thank You, Jesus!”

This is the pathway our Heavenly Father provided for us to be restored to right relationship with Himself. The sacrifice of Jesus on the cross is the answer to the dilemma of Mankind’s sin which separated us from Holy God. Jesus said, “I am the Way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6 NIV).

Speaking of Jesus John wrote, “But as many who received Him to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:12-13 NKJV).

So when we are born of God—that is born-again—we become His own child. That’s how we become children of God. 

How do we get to be born of God? We believe in and receive Jesus. We believe He is who the Bible says He is and we invite Him and receive Him into our own hearts. We embrace Him as the Lord of our lives. Then we are the children of God.

When we do this, we have become children of God by adoption with all the rights of a natural-born child. “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons, crying out ‘Abba, Father!’ Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ” (Galatians 4:4-7 NKJV).  

So when we make the conscious decision to believe and receive Jesus as our Savior we’re then adopted into God’s own family and have every right to call out to Him, “Abba, Father—Daddy!” 

Conversely, anyone who is not born-again as described above is not a child of God—is not in God’s family. 

As stated in John 14, Jesus is the only way to reconciliation with God. 

Many people desperately want there to be several ways to God but no matter how hard they wish, it’s just not that way. 

The only alternative to being in God’s family is to be in Satan’s family, condemned to eternal damnation. Don’t get mad at me for stating this. Take it up with God. I suggest you get to know Him through studying His Word—the Bible. That will help explain why it is what it is. 

 

“‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ says the Lord. ‘For as the heavens area higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts’” (Isaiah 55:8-9 NKJV).

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32 NIV).

Your comments are welcome. Inappropriate comments will be deleted.

©Copyright 2017 Connie Wohlford

The First Evangelist

The First Evangelist

Who do you think of when you hear the word evangelist? For many of us, that would be Billy Graham.

By definition, an evangelist is a person who seeks to convert others to the Christian faith, especially by public preaching. (Google search)

Likely, you’ve never wondered who the first in that field was.

Let’s take another look at the woman at the well, as recorded in John’s Gospel. As mentioned in my last post, she was a person who would be unnoticed and disregarded by any Jew—especially any upstanding Jewish man. After all she had three strikes against her: she was a Samaritan; she was a woman; she had a bad reputation. 

Yet Jesus gave her His full attention and even told her He was, in fact, the Jewish Messiah. Other than His disciples, this unqualified woman, whose name we don’t even know, was the first person to whom Jesus revealed His identity as the Christ.

According to John, it was just after Jesus said, “I am He,” that His disciples showed up with lunch. They were shocked to find Jesus having a conversation with this undesirable person. 

The woman, by this time, was full to overflowing with living water. She left her waterpot by the well and rushed back into the city of Sychar. 

John records that she went into the city and told the men, “Come, see a man who told me all things I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” (John 4:39)

Her enthusiasm must have been convincing. Can you imagine the changed countenance of this woman? She was known to the locals as tainted. She was personally insecure and guilt-ridden. But now—now—she was radiant. She had met the Messiah—the Deliverer—Who had just delivered her from her shame and her past. Now, all of a sudden, she was a change agent—an influencer in her city. 

Immediately those she told left the city and went out to see Jesus for themselves. The Gospel writer says that many people of the city believed in Jesus because of her testimony when she said, “He told me all that I ever did” (John 4:39).

The townsfolk then urged Jesus to stay with them for they were hungry for more. Like the woman, they were thirsty for the living water that only Jesus could give.

So Jesus and His disciples stayed with them in Sychar for two days, and according to John, “Many more believed because of His own word. Then they said to the woman, ‘Now, we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world’” (John 4:41-42).

So now this city of Sychar, in the outcast region of Samaria, is known as the first place where a large group of people became followers of Christ. And this outcast woman was the first recorded evangelist. She believed Jesus, then went out to tell her testimony to others and said to them, “Come and see.”

We learn much form John’s chronicled account. Our King will not hesitate to go to downcast places to reach downcast people. We also see here some principles of the Great Commission. As Jesus ascended to Heaven after His resurrection, He said, “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19a).

In obeying His command, we are to tell of our own experiences with Jesus, and invite people to come and see for themselves. We can also introduce others to Jesus, using our Bibles and by inviting them to church.

Without a pulpit or a title, we can tell others about Jesus. Eloquence is not necessary and credentials are not required. Like the woman at the well, we can each be an evangelist. We should routinely ask God to show us who to tell and invite. I know it’s not easy for most of us, but the Holy Spirit is well able to lead us. Also, He just may be preparing that person’s heart to receive what we have to say. 

There are lots of thirsty people out there and within each follower of Christ is an ever-flowing fountain of living water. We have the words of Eternal Life. Let’s tell them to, “Come and see.”

Your comments are welcome.

©Connie Wohlford 2016