Do All Religions Lead to God? | Hot Topics | Week Three
Do all religions lead to God?
Exclusivity
Law of Non-Contradiction
Christianity
God Himself Came to Earth (Jesus)
Salvation is Not Obtained by Works
Salvation is a Free Gift to Anyone Who Receives
Jesus Is the Only Religious Figure to Claim Divinity
“Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
John 14:6 HCSB
“This Jesus is the stone rejected by you builders, which has become the cornerstone. There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people, and we must be saved by it.””
Acts 4:11-12 HCSB
“The Father and I are one.””
John 10:30 HCSB
“But Jesus kept silent. Then the high priest said to Him, “By the living God I place You under oath: tell us if You are the Messiah, the Son of God! ” “You have said it,” Jesus told him. “But I tell you, in the future you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.””
Matthew 26:63-64 HCSB
“and told them, “Go into the village ahead of you. As soon as you enter it, you will find a young donkey tied there, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this? ’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here right away.’ ””
Mark 11:2-3 HCSB
“Seeing their faith, Jesus told the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” But so you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,” He told the paralytic, “I tell you: get up, pick up your mat, and go home.””
Mark 2:5, 10-11 HCSB
““And I say to you, anyone who acknowledges Me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God,”
Luke 12:8 HCSB
Jesus is the only way to God, Jesus was God made flesh, only He can forgive sins, and He is the eternal judge.
Islam
Founded by a man, Muhammad
No God but Allah
Quran is the Holy Scripture
Jesus was only a prophet, not God
Salvation through works, not grace
Surat 47:19 So know, [O Muhammad], that there is no deity except Allah and ask forgiveness for your sin…
Shahadah: "There is no deity but Allah, Muhammad is the messenger of Allah".
Quran states: He [Jesus] said, "Truly I am a servant of God. He has given me the Book and made me a prophet.
Surah 35:7, (As for) those who disbelieve, they shall have a severe punishment, and (as for) those who believe and do good, they shall have forgiveness and a great reward.
“But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!”
Romans 5:8 HCSB
“He saved us — not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to His mercy — through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit.”
Titus 3:5 HCSB
Hinduism
Fusion of Many Beliefs
Holy Scripture: The Vedas
Multiple paths to “God” (Brahman)
Reincarnation based on Karma
“…it is appointed for people to die once — and after this, judgment —”
Hebrews 9:27 HCSB
Buddhism
Arose from Hinduism
Gautama Buddha was a man
Buddhism is agnostic toward God
Also believes in reincarnation
Purpose is to extinguish desire
Around 2,600 years ago, Buddha (never) mentions God. Thus, both Jainism and Buddhism are non-theistic religions.
The Buddha taught that the way to extinguish desire, which causes suffering, is to liberate oneself from attachment.
“This is My command: Love one another as I have loved you.”
John 15:12 HCSB
“But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,”
Matthew 5:44 HCSB
“honor your father and your mother; and love your neighbor as yourself.”
Matthew 19:19 HCSB
How do we know which one is true?
Christianity
Salvation is a free gift
Salvation is not based on good works
Jesus gave His life, while we were yet sinners
Jesus declared to be God many times
Christianity makes claims that point to specific events in history. Events that can be studies, researched, and found to be true or false.
Christianity is a religion based firmly in reality, and confirmed by history.
“And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.”
1 Corinthians 15:17 ESV
Did Jesus Really Exist?
Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead?
“For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. Then He appeared to over 500 brothers at one time; most of them are still alive, but some have fallen asleep. Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one abnormally born, He also appeared to me.”
1 Corinthians 15:3-8 HCSB
“(For not even His brothers believed in Him.)”
John 7:5 HCSB
