There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. [John 3:18 (NLT)]
When writing about the prayers of Malala Yousafzai’s mother yesterday, I don’t want there to be any misunderstanding. Although she was praying to Allah, it was the one true God—our Triune God of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit—who heard and answered her prayers. While God is not a fan of Islam, He loves all of His children, whether Muslims, Hindus, Christians or others. Just because the Yousafzais don’t believe in Him doesn’t mean He doesn’t believe in them and their efforts to make our world a place where every girl can learn and lead.
If we believe that Christianity’s major claims are true, then the claims of any other religions must be false wherever they contradict it. Islam condemns the Trinity and denies the Fatherhood aspect of God, the deity of Jesus, and His death. By denying Jesus’s death, Islam denies His resurrection and ascension, His atonement for our sins, His Holy Spirit, and the salvation of His believers: the cornerstones of our Christian creeds! Islam and Christianity can’t both be correct any more than Buddhism, Hinduism or a whole lot of other isms and Christianity can.
My Hindu friends often say, “Well, it’s all the same God!” but it isn’t. Christianity recognizes one God in three person but my Hindu friends believe in a multitude of gods who are a manifestation of various aspects of one god, Brahma. Omnipotent, unknowable and impersonal, he may exist in three separate forms: Brahma (Creator), Vishnu (Preserver), and Shiva (Destroyer). While Hinduism views mankind as divine and believes each person is judged and punished by his own karma, Christianity believes that only God is divine, Jesus is the only way and there will be a final Judgment Day.
Saying we all worship the same God is what David Limbaugh calls “intellectual laziness.” The claim that all paths can lead to God is a statement we should never make or accept. It’s an insult to Jesus: God incarnate who came, suffered, and died on the cross for our sins—something totally unnecessary were there another way to God. Jesus definitively said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” [John 14:6] In spite of the Universalists’ claims, all religions do not lead to God. Then again, no “religion” leads to God; only faith in Jesus Christ does!
Our God is a God of love and His benevolence and mercy is extended to everyone. It was our Triune God, not Allah, who heard Mrs. Yousafzai’s prayers and extended His hand of healing to her daughter. Unfortunately, that mercy won’t be extended in the world to come. Simply put, for those who do not believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior, death means punishment and eternal separation from God. Let us remember, however, that the exclusive truths of Christianity do not mean that we are exclusive in our love. Everyone, regardless of race, faith, ethnicity, sex or culture, is our neighbor and a person to be loved!
Yesterday, when writing about discontent, I realized there is one area in our lives about which Christians are too content. It appears that we’re quite content to keep our salvation and God’s grace to ourselves and allow others to miss that grace and experience eternity in Hell.
Legend had it that an angel of the Lord occasionally would come into the pool at Bethesda, stir up the water, and that the first person to enter the pool would then be healed. Jesus, however, simply said to the crippled man lying there: “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” and the man did just that. Since it was the Sabbath, the man later was stopped by the Jewish leaders and condemned for carrying his mat and working on the day of rest. According to the law, either he should have stayed and watched his mat or left it behind and walked away. When he explained that the man who’d healed him told him otherwise, they wanted him to identify his healer. Their curiosity, however, had nothing to do with knowing who had performed this amazing miracle; they wanted to know who’d broken the law!
In our pastor’s absence, I led worship for two Sundays. For me, giving the sermons was far easier than leading the prayers. Our pastor has a way with words that inspire, enlighten and lift my spirits and his extemporaneous prayers appear to flow effortlessly from his heart through his mouth to my ears and up to God. He always seems to have the perfect Bible verse up his sleeve, the wisest thoughts in his mind, and the power of the Holy Spirit in his words. The Holy Spirit has truly given him a beautiful spiritual gift and our entire congregation is blessed by it.
He [Herod] put on his royal robes, sat on his throne, and made a speech to them. At its conclusion the people gave him a great ovation, shouting, “It is the voice of a god and not of a man!” Instantly, an angel of the Lord struck Herod with a sickness so that he was filled with maggots and died—because he accepted the people’s worship instead of giving the glory to God. [Acts 12:21b-23 (TLB)]
Sometimes, we Christians use religious jargon or “Christianese” when speaking. In fact, we might “testify” or “witness” instead of talk about our faith and “fellowship” instead of meet with friends! If, while speaking with non-believers, we use words we (and our fellow church-goers) can barely define we may as well be speaking a foreign language. Tossing about words like propitiation, sanctification, justification, glorification, conviction and reconciliation show that we can talk the talk, but what does it mean to anyone else? Let’s remember that Christianity isn’t a secret society like a lodge, college fraternity or sorority. There’s neither a secret handshake nor a password required for admittance.
