Episode 27 - Can All Religions Be True?
Many people today believe that all religions are true. According to a recent Barna study, 58% of teens and 62% of adults agree with the statement, “Many religions can lead to eternal life; there is no ‘one true religion.’” It would be nice if everybody could be right about their religious convictions. After all, these are beliefs we often hold dear to our hearts. Nobody likes telling others that they are wrong about their deepest convictions. Yet simple reason and common sense tell us all religions cannot possibly true. However, in our day, common sense isn't too common.
Let's reason together and take a look at what the Bible has to say about getting to God. Even a half-hearted examination of different religions would quickly reveal that different religions make very different truth claims on a number of issues. By its very nature, truth is exclusive. It is not logically possible for all religions to be right when their core claims differ so radically. Either they are all wrong, or one is right.
Consider that Buddhists belief in no God, Hindus believe in many gods, and Christians believe in a triune God consisting of God the Father, His Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit of God. Just looking at these beliefs alone, we can see that all religions are not the same, nor do they all point to God.
n fact, different religions don’t even claim to be the same. Every religion has its own specific idea of who God is (or is not) and how salvation may be attained. Yes, religions often agree on secondary, non-essential doctrines. But on core beliefs, they differ radically.
Unless we are willing to abandon the law of non-contradiction, Buddhism and Christianity cannot possibly both be true. God cannot both exist and not exist. There cannot be one God who exists as one person (Islam) and one God who exists as three persons (Christianity).
So all religions cannot be true. Despite our culture's love for pluralism and acceptance of everything, there can only be one true religion.
This is where Christianity takes center stage. Biblical Christianity is absolutely unique among all the religions and philosophies of mankind. Its claim to be necessary for salvation is based squarely on the uniquely powerful evidences for its truth and finality. Actually, true Christianity is not a religion, but a person, Jesus Christ.
Christianity is unique and set apart from all others for several reasons.
1. Only in the Bible is God revealed as the one eternal, personal Creator, who brought the entire universe into existence by His own Word.
All other religions start with the material universe as the only eternal reality, with their “gods” being essentially personifications of the natural forces which develop the universe into its present form.
On the other hand, the Creator-God of the Bible has all power and is Himself, therefore, not only the One who created the universe but also the One who establishes the basis for human salvation.
2. Christianity alone is centered in the historical events associated with a Person—the birth, death, resurrection, and imminent, glorious return of Jesus Christ.
Other religions are invariably based on the teachings, rather than the acts, of their founders.
3. Jesus Christ alone, of all men in history, has conquered man's greatest enemy—death. The founders of other religions are all dead and their tombs venerated. The tomb of Christ is empty, and His bodily resurrection from the grave is the best proved fact of all history. The fact that He alone could overcome death demonstrates that He alone has all power. He Himself said,
“I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me” (John 14:6).
4. All other religions of the world are fundamentally just one religion—one of salvation by works. Each religion sets up a particular set of religious rites, of commands and restrictions, and of ethical principles to follow, and then teaches that if a man does these things he will be saved. The human origin of each of these systems is indicated by the fact that each is humanly attainable.
The Bible, however, sets its moral and ethical standard as the very holiness and perfection of God Himself, and demands nothing less than this for salvation. Obviously, no man would invent a standard which was utterly impossible for any man to keep.
5. The man Christ Jesus, alone of all men who ever lived, maintained in every respect a life of perfect holiness and full obedience to the Father, thus demonstrating that He was the God-Man. He then died for the sins of all men and thus can offer full pardon and His own nature of perfect holiness to anyone who receives Him.
Christ alone offers salvation by grace alone, to be received only through faith in Him.
To the one who truly believes on Him, He then gives through the Holy Spirit a new nature, enabling that one to live a life pleasing to God.
There is no mere “religion” in all the world like this. Jesus Christ is the world's Creator, and its only true Redeemer.
“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).
Christ alone was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin.
Christ alone is God incarnate.
Christ alone lived a sinless life.
Christ alone died a penal, substitutionary death
Christ alone rose from the dead triumphant over sin
Christ alone qualifies as Savior, and Christ alone is Savior.
In the words of the country preacher...."there ain't nobody like Jesus"
Do you know Jesus today? Do you believe? That is what is necessary for salvation. The Bible tells us that God so loved the world......
Do you believe? For with the heart man believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Have you believed in your heart that Jesus is the only true Savior and way to get to God? Have you confessed that to Him with your mouth? If not, you can today. Call out to him and tell Him you believe and that you need forgiveness for your sins. He will cleanse you and transform your life.