Not All Roads Lead to Heaven- Satan’s Deception: Part 2
I wanted to expand on my last topic a bit. I didn’t have time to dive deeper, and wanted to discuss the reasoning behind my observation.
As I discussed last time, there are 4 main ways of thinking (There are more than that, but most of them fall into one of these 4 categories).
The first ideology that our society has adopted is Universalism. This idea believes that everyone, regardless of his or her belief, will be accepted by God for eternity. This view affirms that all people will ultimately be saved whether it be Muslims, Christians, atheists, or Buddhists…
The second Ideology is Pluralism, which restricts salvation to only religious backgrounds- regardless of what this religion may be. This idea states- all religions are equally valid, unlike universalism, Pluralism believes that you actually have to pursue a religion to be saved, and all religions have saved people.
The third ideology is Inclusivism, which believes that Jesus’s death on the cross was the price paid for all the sins of the world, and you do not have to have a personal relationship with God to be saved. Inclusivism believes that many religions are calling Jesus by the wrong name, yet this does not exclude them from true salvation.
The fourth and final view point is Exclusivism, which believes salvation is limited to those who exercise personal faith in Jesus Christ as their savior. Unlike, Universalism, Pluralism, and Inclusivism- Exclusivism believes that most people will be condemned to eternity of hell. They also believe that hell will not have many people that were very devote followers of other religions. Exclusivism basically means what it suggests. To exclude, to reject all other beliefs other than Jesus’s Gospel.
Why is so important to pursue truth and only truth..? Well, imagine a boat, you are making your way towards an island (the promised island, where there will be riches and prosperity) and you change your coordinates by just one degree. The reality is, if you change the course by just one degree you will redirect your entire path. Similarly if decide that God is even slightly different than what the gospel teaches that essentially will bring you to a different conclusion.
The seriousness of Gods ultimate plan and his truth is a matter of life or death- in the afterlife.
I remember listening to Jeol Osteen on TV several years ago, and when he was approached with the question of; “Do all Beliefs have saved people…? He responded; “Yes, I do indeed think there are chosen people in all faiths and backgrounds…” I When asked his opinion on homosexuality…he responded…“It is not our place to judge the homosexuals, and we cannot say they will not inherit the kingdom of heaven…”
These statements are not only false they are heretical. They discredit the validity of Gods Word. And they dilute the true gospel that Christ came on earth to preach. To suggest that the gospel is true only for those that believe it is true, is like discrediting Gods truth.
Believing that God exists doesn’t actually change the truth…Just because the truth is affirmed doesn’t make it more true. The fact is, whether you believe in God or don’t still makes God a reality. Lets say you don’t believe in gravity. And you decide to climb a large tree and jump off…Did you not believing keep you from breaking a limb, or possibly killing yourself to prove or disprove gravity…? No, you fall into the law of gravity regardless of your disposition. Similarly, the “Law of Exclusivity” applies to everyone. It doesn’t matter how we interpret Gods truth, Gods truth is valid regardless of our perceptions.
To completely disprove all other theories we can take simple verses that I discussed in Part 1 of this topic.
Universalism- Jesus rejected the idea that everyone would be saved…“For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it…” (Matt. 7:14).
Did Jesus say that many will find the way…no, he said many will not, so this suggests that many will even look but will not find.
Pluralism- Jesus denied that all beliefs systems offer an equally valid way to God- “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through me…”(John 14:6). This statement rejects all other beliefs such as; Muhammad, Joseph Smith, Mother Mary, etc…
Inclusivism- Jesus rejected the idea that personal faith isn’t necessary to obtain eternal life- “For the is the will of my Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day…” (John 6:4).
If any of these 3 theories were right, then Jesus was wrong, and if Jesus was mistaken, then He wasn’t Omniscient (All-knowing) and he wasn’t God in the flesh and we can discredit everything he ever said.
The necessity of atonement also supports why exclusivism is the only way of thinking. When people reject the belief that faith in Christ is the exclusive way for a person to be saved, they are radically changing the meaning and necessity of Christ’s death.
Also, if you accept universalism, you imply that Christs death on the cross was useless- that he died on the cross for no reason, therefore his death was no more than a personal sacrifice. Also, you suggest that the only people in hell will be Satan and his angels- which based on the many verses from the scriptures we know that to be false.
If the pluralists are right, that all religions offer equal ways to heaven will be saturated with only hardened criminals and atheists. If Inclusivists are correct than Christ’s death automatically covered the sins of those who have never heard of Him (Jesus) and therefore never believed- this theory suggests that heaven will have only a small population. We clearly see that wasn’t the gospel of Jesus, Paul, or John.
So if we support Universalism, Pluralism, or Inclusivism- we are rejecting Christ’s sacrificial atonement on the cross, and his blood shed becomes useless. Christ died for our sins and we must remember that He did that for a purpose, not so everyone can pick and choose what they want to believe, but so everyone can be freed from the shackles of sin, and be empowered with His power of righteousness (Holy Spirit). We must accept the truth, and that truth must align 100% with the scriptures. When I say 100% I mean, literally, if you have to justify something with personal opinion, and you cannot quote it from the Bible, it is merely an opinion and has no validity.
So if you are living in sin, you must repent and rebuke that sin- otherwise you will not inherit the kingdom of heaven. Just because society accepts homosexuality, divorce, sexual immorality, acceptance of all faiths, or the justification of certain sins, does not mean that God approves. It just means that Satan has done his work in perverting the truth, therefore making Jesus’s statement more valid- “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it…” (Matt. 7:14).
AMEN
