Christianity’s Most Offensive Belief – Part 2

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Now, here's today's podcast, From Pathway to Victory. And I'm glad to study God's word with you every day on this Bible teaching program. On today's edition of Pathway to Victory, we've got to be willing to argue God's point of view in the public square, but to do that, we also have to be equipped to do so.

Think about Paul. When he went to Mars Hill to engage in a public arena, he came to arm not just with scripture, but also with compelling reasoning and logic and vivid illustrations to undergird those logical points. Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor, Dr. Robert Jeffress. You know, one of Christianity's core beliefs is that salvation comes only through faith in Jesus Christ.

Yet, according to a recent survey, the majority of Christians believe that other religions can lead to God. Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress defends the exclusive claims of Christ and explains why this belief is non-negotiable. Now, here's our Bible teacher to introduce today's message.

Dr. Jeffress. Thank you, David. At the outset of today's program, let me remind you that Amy and I would love to have you join us on our Pathway to Victory cruise to Alaska. The dates are June 15th through 22nd. It's a seven-day luxurious tour to Alaska, departing from the port of Vancouver, British Columbia, and cruising north to explore the majestic beauty of the great frontier. In addition to world-class sightseeing, we'll also find refreshment by spending time in God's Word together. And we'll have moments of praise under the direction of worship leaders Michael O'Brien and recording artist Rebecca St. James. Comedian Dennis Swanberg will entertain us along the way as well. Be sure to reserve your spot now by going to ptv.org.

Well, if you heard Wednesday's program, you know we've introduced one of the hottest topics in our generation. My series is called Not All Roads Lead to Heaven. Jesus never said, hey give me your best shot, serve your fellow man, and choose whatever spiritual path that suits you best. And yet that's essentially what many Christians believe. No, Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me. There's not a lot of wiggle room in Jesus' statement.

Maybe you have a son or daughter beginning to test their ideas. They're asking questions like, aren't you being intolerant when you say there's only one way to heaven? Or isn't it unloving to tell people their religion is wrong? This series and my best-selling book Not All Roads Lead to Heaven will equip you to provide credible and compassionate answers. A copy is yours when you give a generous gift to Pathway to Victory. And this month we're also offering, if you request it, my new daily devotional Not All Roads Lead to Heaven Daily Devotional, 100 Days of Encouragement from the Exclusive Gift of Christ. You can have the original Not All Roads Lead to Heaven or the new daily devotional by going to ptv.org.

I'll say more about both books later on, but right now it's time to get started with today's message. Today we're talking about Christianity's most offensive belief. Right now, Christians, conservative Christians, are waffling and wavering on the foundational belief of all Christianity, and that is that salvation is available only to those who trust in Christ as Savior. You may be saying, so what? I mean, as long as I believe that Jesus is the only way to heaven, what difference does it make if in fact there are other ways to heaven?

Here's the difference it makes. What you believe about this issue of exclusivity of Christ for salvation, what you believe about this issue will determine whether you spend eternity in heaven or in hell. Matthew 7 verses 13 and 14, enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it. Jesus said the way to heaven isn't broad, it's very, very narrow. And Jesus also slammed the door on any possibility that there's another route to heaven. In John 14 verses five and six, Thomas said to him, Lord, we don't know where you are going. How do we know the way? Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life.

Nobody comes to the Father but through me. Why are we losing this battle for the exclusivity of Jesus Christ as the only way to salvation? It's for the same reason we've lost the homosexual marriage debate. We have been outfought, out argued, and out marketed on this issue. Let's take a moment and look at each of these points.

First of all, we are being outfought on the issue of exclusivity. This issue that we're talking about in this series, Not All Roads Lead to Heaven, this issue is ground zero for the larger battle between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. I say it's ground zero because it is the heart of everything God is trying to do and everything Satan is trying to do. You see, the eternal issue for mankind is, will you accept God's way of forgiveness through Christ or will you try to find or manufacture your own way to God?

Now, listen to me on this. Because we were created as spiritual beings, we all have this desire to be reconciled to God. And Satan knows that. And that's why Satan doesn't hate religion. He loves religion because it appeals to man's inborn desire to be reconciled to God. So what does Satan do? He uses religion as a way of deceiving people away from the true way of knowing God.

How does Satan distract people into following the wrong way that will lead them away from God? He has servants in the world. Servants of righteousness, supposedly. Religious people who are Satan's mouthpieces to lead people to hell. I think these servants of Satan who disguise themselves as servants of righteousness include the founder of Mormonism, Joseph Smith, who claimed to have received a divine revelation from the angel Moroni. These satanic servants include the prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam, who also claimed that an angel spoke to him, showing him the way to ensure eternal life. These servants of Satan also include religious leaders wrapped in fine and beautiful clerical robes who say, oh, Jesus is important.

He's crucial. You must trust in him for eternal life. But that's not enough.

You need to do this and this and this and this. The servants of Satan also include the evangelical pastors who say, now, personally, I've trusted in Christ as my salvation, but who am I to judge? There may be other ways to God, and I can't condemn any way to God. What I'm saying to you is this battle for the exclusivity of Christ is really ground zero of the battle between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. You do understand we're in a battle, don't you?

Most people don't understand that. Most people don't understand the spiritual battle that we're in. Martin Lloyd-Jones wrote years ago, not to realize that you are in a conflict means one thing only, and that is that you are so hopelessly defeated and so knocked out, as it were, that you don't even know it.

You are completely defeated by the devil. Anyone who is not aware of a fight and a conflict in a spiritual sense is in a drug and a hazardous condition. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, Paul said, but against the unseen forces of wickedness in the spiritual places. We are being out-fought in this issue. But even those who accept the fact that this is an important issue, and they want to enter into the fight, they do want to fight for the exclusivity of Christ, they're losing the battle because, frankly, we are being out-argued in this issue as well.

We're being out-argued by the world. Sometimes people wonder why I spend time and effort in the secular media. I think about an associate of the late Jerry Falwell, who once told me this story. He said one time he was with Dr. Falwell, who was always giving interviews in the secular media.

And this had been a particularly tough one. And after the interview, Dr. Falwell got back in the car with this associate, and they were going back to the church. And the associate said, Dr. Falwell, why do you subject yourself to that? Why do you spend time doing this?

Why do you let people beat up on you in the media like that? And Jerry smiled, as he always does. And he said, just think about it. I got four minutes to share biblical truth with millions of people, and it didn't cost us a cent to do it. Isn't that good?

Isn't that wise? You'd have to be an imbecile not to take advantage of those opportunities to share God's truth. We've got to present God's truth, because quite frankly, the Christian message is being distorted by the media today. For example, the issue of the sanctity of life has been turned into a war on women's health. Or the conviction that marriage should be between one man and one woman has been twisted into some kind of hatred toward homosexuals. The belief in religious freedom of expression has been perverted into the oppression of other religions.

The good news that Christ has offered a way of forgiveness to everybody who believes in Christ has been twisted into a message of intolerance and condemnation of sincere followers of other faith. We've got to be willing to argue God's point of view in the public square. But to do that, we also have to be equipped to do so. Think about Paul. When he went to Mars Hill to engage in a public arena, he came armed not just with scripture, but also with compelling reasoning and logic and vivid illustrations to undergird those logical points.

And I believe we're going to have to do the same if we are going to win this argument in the public square. You know, in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 20, Paul said, Paul said, we are ambassadors for Christ. As though God himself were speaking through us and begging others, be reconciled to God. And that's why he's left us here, to be able to share that message.

We are God's representatives here on earth. But if we're going to be effective in that assignment, we have to know what the message is. We have to be prepared to share that message. And that's what this series is designed to do, to give you the resources you need to be that ambassador for Christ.

Thirdly, not only are we being outfought and out argued, we're being out marketed on this issue of exclusivity. You know, in Ephesians 2, 2, when Paul described Satan as the prince of the power of the air, I've often wondered if Paul had in mind what Anne Sweeney, the president of Disney ABC Television, I wonder if he had in mind what Anne Sweeney referred to as the most powerful medium in the world, television. Think of the messages that are being endlessly pumped out of that tube into people's minds. And let me tell you, when it comes to the issue of spirituality, the message that is coming from television is one that is not sympathetic.

It is antagonistic for the idea that there is only one way to be saved, and that's through faith in Jesus Christ. It's true that Christians are trying to utilize the media as well to voice opposition to that message of inclusivism. We're trying to drown it out. Frankly, it's impossible for us to drown it out. It's impossible for us to drown it out. You cannot compete with the secular media. The good news is we don't have to. Because you see, this battle for exclusivity is not an air war. It's a ground war. God's plan is to equip people just like you with that message to take to the uttermost parts of the world.

Now, please don't misunderstand. I'm not saying utilizing media isn't important. Our church places a lot of emphasis on television and radio and the internet, and we are having fantastic results. Friday night and Saturday, I was in Minneapolis, Minnesota preaching at a Bible prophecy conference. 5,000 people were there. They came from Florida. They came from Illinois. They came from Arkansas. They came from Dallas. They came from all over. And the majority of those who were there were there because they have heard Pathway to Victory on radio or watched it on television.

I know that because I personally stood in line and talked to over 1,100 of those conference attendees. And I wish you could have heard the stories they shared with me about what our ministry means to them. I heard stories, individuals who said, I was driving in the radio and I heard the broadcast. I pulled the car off to the side of the road and I bowed my head and prayed to receive Christ as Savior.

Other people in their homes telling that story about watching television. We heard those kind of stories from unbelievers who became Christian, but the vast majority of the stories I heard yesterday were Christians who said, thank you for giving us the spiritual food we need and the resources we need to go out and share the message of Christ with other people. One man who stopped me said he had driven to the conference from Chicago.

He was a railroad engineer. And he said because of his job, he only got to go to church two times a year. But every day, he listened to Pathway to Victory on Sirius XM radio and he got the message. He said, you have become my church.

Thank you for this broadcast. You see, that's the reason we're really involved in media. Yes, we want to win unbelievers and we hear it all the time, but the real goal of our ministry is to equip the saints for the work of service to the building up of the body of Christ. And that's what Ephesians 4-12 says. The plan is to equip the saints. That's you for the work of service to the building up of the body of Christ. Now, if we're going to be successful in doing what God has called us to do, we need two resources to effectively market the gospel.

Write them down. First of all, we need to be equipped with compelling reasoning. Compelling reasoning. 1 Peter 3-15, the apostle says, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to anyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence. We need to be ready. We need to be ready to explain the gospel to anyone who asks us.

How do we get equipped to do that? Well, certainly with the word of God. Nothing's more powerful than the word of God. Hebrews 4-12 says, for the word of God is living.

It's active. It's sharper than any two-edged sword and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit of both joints and marrow, and it's able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. But it's not enough, listen to me, it's not enough to just spout off Bible verses to people. Look again at the example of Paul. He didn't just quote Bible verses. He used the word of God, but he also explained the word of God. He was able to come up with those logical arguments that flow out of Scripture. He was able to use interesting illustrations to drive home the point about why Christ is the only way to be saved.

And that's the purpose of this series, Not All Roads Lead to Heaven. We're not gonna give you just a bunch of Bible verses. We're gonna give you some logical arguments you can use with people, some compelling illustrations to communicate that eternal message of salvation. If we're gonna be effective foot soldiers for Christ, we need compelling reasoning. Secondly, we need an unwavering resolve to share this message. If you are committed to doing that one thing God has asked you to do to share this message of Christ, don't be surprised at the pressure you're gonna feel both from those outside the church and those within the body of Christ to compromise on this issue.

The pressure to compromise is more intense today than it's ever been. I remember more than 40 years ago, I was a student at Richardson High School, and I was president of the student council. And so one of my duties was to lead the prayer at the first football game of the season. And so that particular game, we were playing a Dallas school that had a very large Jewish population. And so the school officials pulled me aside. I don't know why they would single me out, but they said, you know, Robert, we've got a lot of Jewish people who are gonna be in the stadium tonight, so in your prayer, please do not say in Jesus' name. That would be offensive to many people here tonight, so please don't say that. Well, not long before that, I had dedicated my life to being a pastor.

And so it took me about five seconds to think that through. And I said, you know what? If I'm going to begin my ministry by compromising and denying the only name under heaven by which we can be saved, I don't have any reason being in the ministry.

I might as well just give it up right now. And so you can imagine how I prayed that night. It was with Billy Graham Evangelistic fervor that night. But you know, since that time, I've seen that pressure to compromise on that issue intensify and intensify, not just on me, but on every one of you. You've felt that pressure before, haven't you? You feel it when you consider closing a public prayer in and in your name, we pray, instead of Jesus' name, not wanting to offend people of different faiths. You experience that pressure when you're reluctant to insist in the conversation with a friend, family member at school or at work that those who don't trust in Christ are destined to an eternity in hell. We're being bullied by those outside the faith.

We're being badgered by those inside the faith to be more inclusive in our belief system. You know, there's a story that is often told about a Catholic priest and a Protestant army chaplain who served together side by side in Italy during the First World War. And in the midst of the war, the Protestant chaplain was killed. His friend, the Catholic priest, was heartbroken over his death and wanted to honor him by having him buried in the cemetery behind the Catholic priest's church. Catholic protocol didn't allow for a Protestant to be buried there, so the priest interceded for his friend and said, would it be possible for us to bury this Protestant chaplain behind our church?

The official said no. And so the priest took the body of his friend and buried it just outside the fence around the cemetery. Years later, a friend of that Protestant chaplain came to Italy to visit the grave of his friend. He found the Catholic priest very old by now and asked if he could see the grave of his friend. And so the priest took him to the grave, but the friend noticed it was inside the fence. The friend was very appreciative, and he said, well, I'm so glad to see that you finally got permission to move the body. The priest said, oh, I didn't move the body. I moved the fence instead.

Don't miss the point. The fact is you and I are being told we need to move the fence of salvation. We're being told that we need to be more broad and inclusive in the people that we're going to allow into heaven. Let's just move the fence and be more inclusive.

The only problem is we don't have the authority or the ability to move that fence. God has established that fence. He has established of who can enter into heaven. And Jesus said in Matthew 7 14, the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life and few are those who find it. People sincerely struggle with the narrow path to God, but the answer doesn't come by moving the fence or twisting God's plan into something we prefer.

That's not only heretical, it's impossible. The answer lies in aligning our heart with God's and accepting his loving invitation to join his forever family. As you can likely hear in my voice, I am so excited about this series. I'm confident that listeners all across the country will have a whole new respect for God's sovereign plan to reach the lost. And remember, you're invited to request the book that bears the same title as this teaching series. It's also called Not All Roads Lead to Heaven. In my book, I bring clarity to one of the most controversial and misunderstood topics in our generation, the exclusivity of the gospel. This original book will help you understand how to engage your friends and family with compassion and grace. The world needs to know that not all roads lead to heaven.

Jesus is the only way, truth, and life. Now for those of you who already have the original book, this month we're releasing a brand new devotional based on the original book. It's called Not All Roads Lead to Heaven Daily Devotional. It includes 100 special readings about the exclusive gift of salvation Christ offers us. When you give a generous gift to Pathway to Victory today, I'll be sure you receive a copy of the original Not All Roads Lead to Heaven or the new daily devotional. In fact, when you respond today, I'll also include a convenient resource that you can tuck into the copy of my book or your Bible.

It's called Christianity Cults and Religions. This multi-folded brochure identifies the many different ways that Christianity rises above other religions as the only path to heaven. Your gift not only entitles you to request these resources, but when you give, you're fueling our mission to pierce the darkness with the light of God's Word.

Thank you so much for your support. David? Thanks, Dr. Jeffress. Today when you contact Pathway to Victory with your generous gift, be sure to request your copy of the book, The the brand-new devotional, Not All Roads Lead to Heaven, 100 daily readings about our only hope for eternal life. Plus, as an added bonus, you'll also receive the brochure called Christianity Cults and Religions. Call 866-999-2965 or visit ptv.org. Now when your gift is $100 or more, we'll also send you the CD and DVD teaching set for the series, Not All Roads Lead to Heaven, and that comes along with a 10-week Bible study guide.

Plus, you'll also receive a copy of the original best-selling book, Not All Roads Lead to Heaven. To request this complete package of resources, call 866-999-2965 or go online to ptv.org. You could also write to this address, PO Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. Again, that's PO Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas, 75222.

I'm David J. Mullins. Should people have the freedom to get into heaven whatever way they want? Dr. Jeffress explores the answer to this question in a message titled, Sharing an Exclusive Jesus in an Inclusive World. That's coming up Friday 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 podcast and click on the donate button or follow the link in our show notes. We hope you've been blessed by today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.