Tuesday, July 21, 2009

July 21, 2009

"Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'" John14:6
On Sunday mornings this Summer we have been building the case for the Biblical worldview. We have examined strong evidence that God exists and that He is the Creator of the universe. And we have made a strong argument for the veracity and accuracy of the Bible as God's Word. This Sunday we considered the overwhelming evidence that Jesus is the Son of God. Those truths are essential pillars for a foundation of Christian faith.
The point I made in each of these messages is that in addition to all the strong evidence to support our worldview, the most convincing proof is a transformed life. It is hard to argue with that evidence when a person bound in destructive behavior suddenly and drastically changes.
For the next five Sundays were are going to talk about the implications of these five foundational truths. This is where it will get sticky. This is where we will need to really believe what we say we believe.
One of the things that offends people in this modern post-Christian era is the exclusivity of the claims of Christ. In a day when diversity is a sacred value, Christians get serious pushback when they verbalize the absolute claims of Scripture. The secular humanists believe that truth is relative and each individual is the arbiter of their own truth. So whatever seems true to you may be different than what is true for me. But for me to say that my truth is true for everyone and their truth is untrue, THAT'S A PROBLEM for them. Suddenly their exalted value of tolerance disappears.
Here's the problem, when a culture ceases to believe in absolutes, foundational biblical truths such a those we have been studying become incoherent to the very people we are trying to reach. Here are some troubling statistics to illustrate:
1) Almost 80% of all people believe there is more than one way to get to heaven.
2) 91% of Catholics embrace this belief.
3) 68% of "evangelical" Protestants say that a person of a faith other than Christianity will still go to heaven.
4) 65% of "evangelical" teens say that you can't be sure which religion is right.
G. K. Chesterton states, "When people cease to believe in God, they do not believe in nothing, they believe in anything."
Into this atmosphere enter Jesus and His claim that accepting Him as the Son of God and your Savior is the ONLY way to heaven. That is obviously not a popular view. It is becoming more unpopular by the minute.
So, what will you believe? What will be your final answer? Will you stand on the exclusive claim of Christ or join the popular sentiment of the many roads that lead to heaven? Are you willing to bear the rejection for being right?