Hey, podcast listeners! Thanks for streaming today's podcast, From Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory is a nonprofit ministry featuring the Bible teaching of Dr. Robert Jeffress. Our mission is to pierce the darkness with the light of God's word through the most effective media available, like this podcast. To support Pathway to Victory, go to ptv.org slash donate or follow the link in our show notes. Now, here's today's podcast, From Pathway to Victory. God's Word with you every day on this Bible teaching program.
On today's edition of Pathway to Victory. When it comes to the issue of salvation and what you and I believe about salvation, it is critical that we base our beliefs about salvation on what Jesus actually said instead of what we wish He had said. Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor, Dr. Robert Jeffress. You know, over the centuries, countless individuals have shared their thoughts and opinions on Christianity.
But no matter how popular one person's viewpoint might be, it's important to base your beliefs on what Scripture actually says, not what people think it says. Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress shares the Bible's difficult teachings on the exclusivity of Christ. Now, here's our Bible teacher to introduce today's message.
Dr. Jeffress. Thank you, David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. Just before we get started with today's message, I'd like to remind you about an exceptional opportunity to join hundreds of your fellow listeners from all over the country on our Pathway to Victory cruise to Alaska.
The dates are June 15 through 27. Now, ships leave for Alaska all summer long, but there's nothing quite like traveling with other like-minded Christians who will share your enthusiasm for God's awesome creation. We're planning a vacation for you that is uniquely Christian, bringing our own music and entertainment. We'll enjoy the worship music of Rebecca St. James and Michael O'Brien and the comedy of Dennis Womberg. I'll also be opening God's Word to study together.
While you still have time to choose a premier cabin, please go online soon and make your reservation at ptv.org. So, how many times have you seen a high-profile pastor on TV dodge the question we're talking about today? Nobody wants to appear intolerant, and I understand that. But getting the answer wrong to this question has eternal consequences. When someone in the secular media lobs a softball and says, Pastor, do you believe that there's only one true religion, only one way to God?
We need to swing for the fences. The answer is an unequivocal yes. Well, I've written a brand-new devotional for you that's going to bolster your confidence in this answer. Jesus Himself said, I am the way, the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father but through Me. My new devotional contains 100 daily readings. It's called The Not All Roads Lead to Heaven Daily Devotional. And when you give a generous gift, a pathway to victory, I'll make sure one of these devotionals is sent to your home right away.
More details later, but right now, let's get started. I have a provocative title for today's message, The Intolerant Christ. When you hear the name Jesus, what's the first word that comes to your mind? Some people might say love, compassionate, all-powerful.
But I imagine there is one word that isn't at the top of your list or anyone's list. It's the word intolerant. I mean, to describe the Son of God as intolerant, well, that borders on blasphemy we think. But the only reason that's true is we have confused the Jesus of our imagination with the Jesus who actually existed. Contrary to most people's opinion, Jesus was not this wimpy little rabbi who roamed the countryside plucking daisies and saying nice things to people. That's what most of the world thinks about Jesus. Dorothy Sayers, a gifted author, has contrasted the Jesus of most people's thinking with the Jesus who actually existed.
She writes, we have very efficiently paired the claws of the lion of Judah, certified him meek and mild, and recommended him as a fitting household pet for pious old ladies. We cannot blink at this fact that Jesus, meek and mild, was so stiff in his opinions and so inflammatory in his language that he was thrown out of church, stoned, hunted from place to place, and finally nailed to a cross. Somebody has said, when answering the question, what would Jesus do, we should always remember that turning over tables and chasing out the money changers with whips is within the range of options. The problem we have is we have confused the Jesus of the Bible with the Jesus of our imagination. When it comes to the issue of salvation and what you and I believe about salvation, it is critical that we base our beliefs about salvation on what Jesus actually said instead of what we wish he had said. Today we're going to look at what Jesus said about four very specific subjects, and when we synthesize his teaching about these four very specific topics, we will come to the conclusion that Jesus firmly believed that not all roads lead to heaven. If you have your Bibles, I want you to turn, first of all, to John chapter eight.
John chapter eight. First of all, today I want us to consider what Jesus taught about his uniqueness. What is it that made Jesus unique? There are many things Jesus claimed about himself, but today I want us to consider two things Jesus said about his uniqueness. First of all, Jesus claimed to be God. Remember when Jesus lived on the earth, the Gentiles ruled the world, and the Gentiles, specifically the Romans, were polytheistic.
They believed in a multitude of gods, and yet against that background, Jesus came to say, I am the one true God, and to the Jews, he said, not only am I the one true God, I'm the God your forefathers worshiped in the Old Testament. Now perhaps you've heard this myth, and those of you who are students in school, you'll hear it all of the time. It's a myth that has been around for ages.
It was popularized in the book and movie, The Da Vinci Code. The myth was Jesus never really claimed to be God himself. That's something that his followers claimed about him long after he had died. Some say it was claimed 300 years after his death for Christians to seize political power. The only problem with that is it doesn't coincide with historical fact, because over and over again, Jesus claimed to be God himself.
Let me just show you two instances of that. First of all, consider Jesus' revelation to the Pharisees you find in John 8. Jesus and the Pharisees were having this extended argument about the importance of Abraham. Remember, Abraham was to the Jews what George Washington is to Americans. Abraham was the father of their nation. And the Pharisees believed the way you go to heaven, the way you have a right relationship with God, is by being a physical descendant of Abraham.
Jesus said no. It's not being physically related to Abraham, it is being spiritually related to him. That is, by having the same faith that Abraham did.
We'll look at verse 53 of John 8. The Pharisees said, what are you talking about Abraham for? Surely you are not greater than our father Abraham who died. The prophets died too.
Whom do you make yourself out to be? Verse 56, Jesus said, your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and he was glad. Now, the Pharisees were really confused. Why are you even mentioning yourself and Abraham in the same breath? Why, Abraham died 2,000 years ago, and you're not even 50 years of age yet, they said. How could you have had any relationship with Abraham?
And look how he answered in verse 58. Jesus said to them, truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am. Jesus said, I existed long before Abraham was even born. I am eternal.
He could have stopped there, but he didn't. He said, before Abraham was born, I am. That simple phrase, I am, sent the alarm bells ringing in the Pharisees' minds. They recognize that phrase, I am, because that phrase, I am, is the most holy name for God, Yahweh.
It was the name that God identified himself by when he appeared before Moses in the burning bush. Remember, in Exodus 3, 14, Moses said, who am I to say, sent me to you, Pharaoh. And God said to Moses, I am who I am. And he said, thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, I am has sent me to you.
I am Yahweh, the most holy God, the only God. The Pharisees understood what Jesus was saying when he said, before Abraham was, I am, because look at verse 59. Therefore, they picked up stones to throw at him. They understood what Jesus was saying with two little words. Jesus was saying, I am God. Secondly, consider Jesus' declaration to Caiaphas.
It's found in Mark 14, verses 60 to 65. Remember the night before Jesus was crucified, he was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. And throughout the night, he went through five different trials. They weren't real trials. They were more like kangaroo courts.
But they were pseudo trials. And one of those trials was before Caiaphas, the high priest. It was late at night. Caiaphas was tired. The Jews came and said, this man Jesus is claiming to be the Messiah.
Caiaphas was ready to call it a night. And so he said, let's just cut to the chase about all of this. He says in verse 61 to Jesus, are you the Christ, the son of the blessed one? And Jesus answered with two words in verse 62, I am.
I am, there are those words again. Now Jesus could have stopped there easily and made his point. But then he goes on to say something else.
Not only to drive his point home, but to drive his accusers absolutely crazy. He said, I am and verse 62, you shall see the son of man sitting at the right hand of power and coming with clouds of heaven. This is a quote from the Old Testament book of Daniel 7 verse 13. It was a verse that prophesied of the Messiah's second coming when he would come with power. And by quoting that verse about himself, Jesus said, I am the fulfillment of that prophecy. You know what Jesus was saying to Caiaphas? He was saying, Caiaphas, you think you're the big cheese right now because you're sitting on this throne of power?
Guess what? One day you're going to see me coming with power. You're going to see me seated at the right hand of God the Father. Your authority is limited here on earth.
Mine is eternal. Now, if you think I'm reading too much into that, just look at what Caiaphas's reaction was to what Jesus said, verses 63 and 64. And carrying his clothes, the high priest said, what further need do we have of witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy.
How does it seem to you? And they all condemned him to be deserving of death. When people say to you, well, Jesus never claimed to be God, remind them. Jesus didn't get himself crucified for telling people to turn the other cheek.
Nobody would have found Jesus teaching offensive. It was because he claimed to be the Son of God that he was put to death. Throughout the Bible, he made that claim. In John 10, 30, I and the Father are one.
John 14, verse 9, he who has seen me has seen the Father. Jesus claimed to be God. Now, truthfully, anybody could claim to be God, though isn't it interesting that none of the founders of any of the major religions ever claimed to be God? Buddha never claimed to be God. Confucius never claimed to be God.
The prophet Muhammad never claimed to be God. Jesus claimed to be God. And he not only made that claim, but he proved the claim was true by what he did. Jesus claimed that he could heal the sick, and he did. He claimed that he could turn the water into wine, and he did. He claimed that he could rise again from the dead.
And guess what? He did. Jesus claimed to be God. That's what made him unique. Not only that, but secondly, Jesus claimed that belief in him led to eternal life. This is what made Jesus unique above other religious leaders. No other religious leader ever tied eternal life to what you believed about that leader, but Jesus did. In the passage we read just a few moments ago, John 6, verse 40, Jesus said, For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him has eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day. Jesus said, If you want to have eternal life, you must believe in Me. But what about those who don't believe in Him?
Listen to what Jesus said to the Pharisees, the righteous followers of God in John 8, 24. I said therefore to you that you shall die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am He, you shall die in your sins. Will you notice here, folks, Jesus doesn't offer eternal life to everyone who is sincerely seeking the truth. Jesus doesn't say whoever follows the God of his or her own choosing has eternal life.
No, he says very clearly, only those who believe in me have eternal life. Secondly, beyond what Jesus taught about his uniqueness, let's look at what Jesus taught about his death. You know, there is no way to overemphasize the positive impact that the life and teaching of Jesus have had on this planet, planet Earth. I mean, think about all of the things that have been accomplished for good by those who sought to emulate the life and teaching of Jesus. The whole concept of orphanages, caring for abandoned children, that was started by Christians. Or think about the Red Cross that was started by a Swiss philanthropist who wanted to follow the example of Jesus. The Salvation Army is all built on following the example of Jesus.
On and on and on it goes. But ladies and gentlemen, the life and the teaching and the example of Jesus are insignificant compared to the death of Jesus. Jesus came to die and what he accomplished by his death is far more important than what he accomplished with his life. That's what, by the way, Jesus said about himself. Jesus taught, first of all, that his death was central to his mission. You know, the popular take on Jesus' death was Jesus' death was a tragic end to an otherwise happy story. Jesus was doing all of these wonderful things when these bad men grabbed hold of him and nailed him to a cross. What a tragedy. No. Jesus said, no man takes my life from me.
I voluntarily give it. That was his whole reason for coming. He taught over and over again that his death was central to his mission. For example, in Matthew 16, verse 21, Jesus said, from that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and be raised up on the third day. He told his apostles this was the plan. Or look at John 12, verses 32 to 33.
And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself. But he was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which he was to die. Jesus' death was central to his mission. Well, why was it central?
What did it accomplish for me? Well, secondly, and I want you to write this down. Cross out what's on your outline because this hit me about midnight last night, so I'm changing it, okay? I want you to write this down. Secondly, Jesus' death was the payment for our sins and the ransom for our freedom. His death was the payment for our sins and the ransom for our freedom. The Bible uses two metaphors to describe what Christ's death accomplished for us. First of all, it was a payment for our sin debt.
Now listen to me. The Bible says every time you and I sin, we go into debt to God. The wages of sin is death. Every time we have an ungodly thought, every time we engage in an ungodly action, every second of every minute of every day that debt we owe to God is piling up higher and higher and higher. Now what happens when we die? If we die without having our debt to God satisfied, we will spend eternity paying that debt off ourselves in hell.
Remember that verse we looked at just a moment ago in John 8, 24? Jesus said to the Pharisees, unless you believe I am He, you will die in your sins. Do you know what it means to die in your sins? It means to die with your debt having not been paid.
It means dying, still owing God for the sins you have committed against Him. That is a terrible thing, to die in your sins. You see, the biggest choice we make in life is how are we going to pay for our sins? We can say, well, I'll just try to pay off the debt myself. I'll have God take a little bit out of my check every month.
Guess what? You and I owe God a debt we could never repay. And that's why if we die without our sin debt being taken care of, we will spend eternity paying for it. But the reason Jesus came was to satisfy that sin debt for us. When Jesus hung on the cross, remember some of His final words. John 19, 30, where?
It is finished. Teitelestai, paid in full. Jesus is the one who has paid our sin debt for us. He doesn't force us to accept that payment. We get to choose how we're going to pay for our sins. We can pay for it or let Christ pay for it. Jesus' death was, first of all, the payment for our sins. But secondly, it is a ransom for our freedom.
That's another image used in the Bible. In Matthew 20, verse 28, Jesus said, just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. You and I are born into this world slaves of Satan. We are His property. He is free to do whatever He wants to do with us.
He is a cruel taskmaster. But Jesus, seeing our plight, came to earth. He paid the price to buy our freedom. He ransomed us out of the market of sin and death and brought us into His own presence.
Now, listen to this. He did not pay the ransom for our deliverance to set us free to do whatever we want to do. When you become a Christian, when you trust in Christ as your Savior, you're just trading masters. You're giving up being a slave of Satan, and now you become a slave of Jesus Christ. He did not purchase your freedom to set you free to live however you wanted to live. Remember what Paul said? Do you not know you are not your own?
You have been bought with a price. Salvation is not the freedom to do what we want to do. It's the freedom to do what Christ wants us to do. He purchased us out of the slave market with His own blood. And that's why Jesus came. He came to be a payment for our sin and to be a ransom for our freedom.
And that is why His death is so central. The only way Jesus could pay our sin debt, the only way He could secure our freedom was by His own death. And that's why He said in John 14, verse 6, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except by me. If there is any other way to have paid our debt, if there is any other way to have secured our freedom, then the death of Jesus was totally unnecessary. But there was no other way.
That's the reason He came. Our subject today and again Monday is The Intolerant Christ. I commend you for listening today. This message, I realize, is unpopular in our times. People tend to bristle when they hear the exclusive claims of the Gospel. But remember, these claims come from Jesus Himself. And a pathway to victory we will never retreat from telling people the absolute truth.
The Gospel, in its purest form, is the only message we declare. We're grateful for the growing army of friends all across the country who are banding together with Pathway to Victory. I'm so encouraged when our friends step forward each month and say, Dr. Jeffress, we're with you.
Never stop preaching the truth. And we call those friends our Pathway Partners. You can sign up to become one of our Pathway Partners when you visit our website at ptv.org. Now, when you give your first gift as a Pathway Partner, or when you give a one-time generous gift, I'll make sure you receive a copy of my brand new devotional book, Not All Roads Lead to Heaven. It comes with our thanks for your financial partnership with us. Not only that, we'll also send you an extensive full-color pamphlet called Christianity Cults and Religions.
This pamphlet features a side-by-side comparison chart of 16 world religions like Mormonism, Buddhism, and Islam, and shows how they differ from biblical Christianity. Thank you so much for your financial support, which allows us to be heard on hundreds and hundreds of radio and television stations around the world. Your gift is the fuel that empowers us to broadcast this urgent message that not all roads lead to heaven.
David? Thanks, Dr. Jeffress. When you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory, you're invited to request your very own copy of the brand new devotional, Not All Roads Lead to Heaven, 100 daily readings about our only hope for eternal life. To request your copy, call 866-999-2965 or visit online at ptv.org. Now, when you give an especially generous gift of $100 or more, we'll also send you, in addition to the devotional, the complete Not All Roads Lead to Heaven teaching series on CD and DVD. You'll get that along with a personal or group study guide.
Plus, you'll receive the original best-selling book by Dr. Jeffress, Not All Roads Lead to Heaven. To request this special package of resources, call 866-999-2965 or visit ptv.org. Now, if you'd prefer to write, here's that address, P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas, 75222.
Again, that's P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. I'm David J. Mullins, wishing you a great weekend. Then join us again Monday when Dr. Jeffress continues his series called Not All Roads Lead to Heaven. That's right here on Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. You made it to the end of today's podcast from Pathway to Victory, and we're so glad you're here. Pathway to Victory relies on the generosity of loyal listeners like you to make this podcast possible. One of the most impactful ways you can give is by becoming a Pathway Partner. Your monthly gift will empower Pathway to Victory to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and help others become rooted more firmly in His word. To become a Pathway Partner, go to ptv.org slash donate or follow the link in our show notes. We hope you've been blessed by today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.
