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Is Christianity really the only way to get to heaven? It seems kind of narrow minded to say that all other religions are wrong. Answer: I have a friend who likes to sky dive. When the weather is warm, he packs his parachute and heads for the airport. When he gets to a certain altitude, he opens the airplane door and leaps out. Let's imagine that my friend got tired of lugging his parachute around. He decided to try a new way of floating. Maybe he would make himself some wings out of bird feathers and cardboard. He might be very sincere and look convincing, but the minute he steps out of the plane ... disaster! There are many religions in the world today. They have sincere followers and some of them sound pretty convincing. But sincerity is not enough. You can be sincere and be sincerely wrong. None of the world's religions have endured the ultimate test. None of them have been able to conquer death ... none except Christianity. Before the Lord Jesus went to the cross, He told His disciples that on the third day He would rise again (see Matt. 20:19). And He did! Other religions have built great monuments for the tombs of their leaders. Jesus' tomb is empty. Death couldn't hold Him. This is what makes Christianity unique. Each believer has the assurance that some day, when he steps through the door of time into eternity, his parachute of faith will hold. His confidence is based on the fact that Jesus Christ went through that door and came back in victory. '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). Every other religion is a doityourself approach. Follow this way of life, they say, and you will gain God's favor and eventually earn salvation. Instead, the Bible teaches us that all the work has already been done. All we must do is accept the gift of salvation. In a sense, other religious systems are like throwing a book of swimming instructions to a drowning man. Christianity is a life preserver. It is what God has already done for man in seeking him and reaching down to help him. In other religions, man is seeking and struggling toward God. In your question, you mentioned that it seems narrow minded to say that all other religions are wrong. We're living in a society that tells us to be tolerant of other views. But many have become so "open minded" that their brains have fallen out. But when it comes to the issue of our eternal destiny, we can't afford to be wishy-washy. Just like math, the answer is either right or wrong. If 2 plus 2 is 4, the total cannot at the same time be 28. There is only one correct answer to the question of entering heaven. That answer is the Lord Jesus Christ. R. J. Bohner |
