It really is not too hard to understand why some non-Christians are confused about Christianity.
Apparently, many Christians are confused. And if they don’t understand what Christianity is all about, how can we expect the non-believer to understand it.
What’s more, many Christians do not distinguish their denomination from their religion.
Just to make sure we are all on the same page - I am a Christian. Christianity is my religion. Southern Baptist is my denomination. Being a Southern Baptist won’t impress God one iota when it comes time for me to enter heaven. What will matter to Him is whether I am a Christian, having professed faith in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.
I may not be a Bible scholar, but I grasp the fact that the only way to heaven is through a personal encounter and relationship with Jesus Christ.
A recently released survey shows many people simply do not comprehend what I perceive to be a simple concept.
At least that’s my interpretation of the survey conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life (click here for story).
In the latest survey “47 percent of professing evangelicals said they believe ‘many religions can lead to eternal life.’ ”
Now this is where some of those people apparently confuse the terms “religion” and “denomination.” There are multiple denominations that can lead people to a saving faith in Jesus Christ. Regardless of what some may believe, Baptists will not be the only denomination found in heaven. And I imagine there will be many a surprised Methodist and Church of Christ when they see some of their Southern Baptist neighbors in heaven. It’s not your denomination that will lead you to the Pearly Gates. It is your belief in Jesus Christ. The only question that should ever matter is, “Are you a Christian?” Then, we need to be able to lead individuals to a saving faith in Jesus.
Back to the survey. What is really disturbing is that of those evangelical Christians who said many religions can lead to eternal life, 72 percent of those cited at least one other non-Christian religion.
Uh oh.
Now, we have a major problem. We have people who profess to be Christians acknowledging that there are ways to heaven other than through Jesus Christ.
Take a minute to read John 14:6. The King James Version translates it like this: “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
That verse is hard to misinterpret. If you’re going to spend eternity with the Father who is in heaven, you have to go through Jesus Christ.
We are beginning to see the concept of universalism creeping into our churches. The 11th edition of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines universalism as: “a theological doctrine that all human beings will eventually be saved.”
Christians cannot allow this to happen. We have to sound a clear signal that the only way to have eternal life is through Jesus Christ.
All this leads to a question - why have true, professing Christians allowed this mindset to infiltrate Christianity?
Christians have no one to blame but ourselves. Are pastors not preaching the truth from our pulpits? Are Sunday School teachers and discipleship leaders not teaching what the Bible says about our faith?
If that is happening, then it is happening because Christian laypeople who know better are allowing it to happen in our churches.
In the story on page 8, Al Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., said he is “confident that much of this confusion can be traced to the superficiality that marks far too many evangelical pulpits.”
Mohler continued, “The disappearance of doctrinal understanding and evangelical demonstration can be traced directly to the decline in expository preaching and doctrinal instruction. A loss of evangelistic and missionary commitment can be fully expected as a direct result of this confusion or repudiation of the gospel.”
We need preachers who are not afraid to preach the gospel, who are not afraid to say that Jesus, and only Jesus, saves.
But we can’t blame only the ministers for this basic ignorance some people have about Christianity and their faith.
We need Christian laypeople who immerse themselves in God’s Word so they can be able to lead others to Christ and who will be able to defend their faith.
God has called all of us to be His disciples once we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Re-read the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:19-20.
Too many times we are afraid we will turn people “off” if we say that Jesus is the only way to heaven. We may also be afraid that we will offend friends of other religions. We must not be silent. It is our job to share our faith and plant seeds. We leave the harvesting to Jesus.
As we continue throughout 2009, commit yourself to tell others about Jesus. Regardless of what some may believe, He IS the ONLY way to receive eternal life - end of debate.
