Daily Encounter: A Week-day Devotional by a staff of ACTS International.

Monday, November 3, 2014

"Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father [God] except through me.'"¹ 

A Daily Encounter subscriber wanted to know how to respond to the person who made the following statement:

"Some people today claim that all religions get you to Heaven. They claim that God is just called by different names, but he's the same God to all religions. My daughter is going to a Christian counselor who asked her if she believed all roads lead to God. She, of course, replied no. It's only through believing in Jesus and what He did for us. Her counselor told her she was wrong. All roads DO lead to God. We will all end up on the same road to God, because everyone will stand before Him. After that, the choice will only be two—heaven or hell."

First, Christianity is the only religion in the world who believes in the God of the Bible who is a Holy Trinity: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit. One occasion where the Holy Trinity is clearly seen is at the baptism of Jesus. As God's Word, the Bible, reports: "When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: 'You are my Son, whom I love; with You I am well pleased.'"² The voice from heaven was from God, the Father.

Second, Jesus Christ is God's ONLY provision for saving mankind from the just penalty of our sins which is spiritual and eternal death. Spiritual death is not the cessation of life, but eternal separation from the God of all love and life in the place the Bible calls Hell. As the Bible says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."³ 

Third, even though Muslims believe that Allah is the God of Abraham, Allah is NOT the God of the Bible. The Bible clearly states that Jesus Christ is not only the Son of God, but also the "Second person of the Trinity. He is the Word [the expression of God] who became flesh.⁴ He is both God and man.⁵ Islam states that Jesus is "a very great prophet, second only to Muhammad. Jesus is not the son of God and certainly is not divine, and he was not crucified."⁶

Fourth, for evidence regarding the validity of the Bible, see the article, "Is the Bible God's Word" online at: http://tinyurl.com/yulazq.

Fifth, regarding the statement, "All roads DO lead to God," by the counselor in the Daily Encounter subscriber's statement above; it is true that at the end of life's journey every person will appear before God to give an account of his or her life. As the Bible says, "For we will all stand before God's judgment seat."⁷

But let me make it very clear that according to the Word of God, the Bible, ALL ROADS DO NOT lead to God for His gift of forgiveness and that of eternal life to live with HIM forever in Heaven. When Jesus was here on earth, He said to Nicodemus (a very religious Pharisee and member of the Jewish ruling council), "Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again."⁸

For emphasis Jesus repeated the same injunction saying, "Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.'"⁹ 

To put it simply, what Jesus was saying to Nicodemus—who was not only a very religious man, but also a very good man by human standards—was that: "Except a man be born again, he will not even see the Kingdom of God let alone enter it."

What, then, does Jesus mean when He says to every one of us that to enter God's Kingdom we must be born again? It simply means that when we entered this life we were born physically, but to enter God's Kingdom of Heaven we need to be born spiritually. So how are we born spiritually? Simply by confessing to God that we are a sinner, that we believe Jesus is the Son of God, and that He died in our place to pay the penalty for all our sins, and accepting Him as our personal Lord and Savior.

If you have never received Jesus as your Lord and Savior and are not sure that you have been born again, the following prayer prayed genuinely will help you: "Dear God, I confess that I am a sinner and am sorry for all the wrongs that I have done. I believe that Your Son, Jesus Christ, died on the cross to pay the just penalty for all my sins. Please forgive me. I invite You, Jesus, to come into my heart and life as Lord and Savior. I commit and trust my life to You. Please give me the desire to become what You want me to be and to do what You want me to do. Thank You for dying for my sins, for Your forgiveness of all my sins, and a free pardon, for Your gift of eternal life, and for hearing and answering my prayer. Amen."

If you prayed this prayer sincerely, be sure to let us know by clicking on: http://www.actsweb.org/decision.php and we will send you further information to help you in your newfound Christian life. For further help if needed, read the article, "How to Be Sure You're a Real Christian," at: http://www.actsweb.org/christian.

1. John 14:6 (NIV).
2. Luke 3:21-22 (NIV).
3. Romans 6:23 (NIV).
4. John 1:1, 14.
5. Colossians 2:9.
6. See the "Comparison Grid" between Christianity and Islam at: http://tinyurl.com/9khb4vd.
7. Romans 5:10 (NIV).
8. John 3:3 (NIV).
9. John 3:5-7 (NIV).

<:))))><

2. To Know God and be sure you're a real
    Christian click on:

3. Donate: To help send Daily Encounter
    without charge to people around the world
    click on:

4. To send today's Daily Encounter to a friend
    click on:

5. To share your faith in a simple, attractive
    way with a friend click on:

6. For today's featured article click on:

7. This week's chuckle as seen "On the Lighter
    Side"  on Weekend Encounter click on:

8. Change Address of your subscription to
    Daily Encounter click on: