Does Every Religion Lead To Heaven?

I was working out at the gym the other day when I struck up a conversation with one of the trainers who works there. He claimed he was a Christian and I thought how neat it would be to have fellowship with a fellow brother in Christ at the gym.

However, as we talked it became clear to me that he has actually bought into the prevailing lie taught in the many liberal churches in America today. He stated that he believes in Jesus but that he doesn't push his "religion" on anyone. If they are Jews, or Buddhists, or Hindu's or even Jehovah's Witnesses, everyone eventually finds their own way.

As these words were coming out of his mouth, I felt my heart begin to sink as I realized we did not worship the same Jesus. The Jesus I admire and love is the Jesus of the Bible. The Jesus he professes to love is one of his imagination. As he continued talking my mind was screaming, "Don't you know what Jesus said?? That He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and that no one comes to the Father but by Him??" "How can you call yourself a Christian and believe there are multiple ways to God?" "Don't you know that Scripture says, there is only one name under Heaven, given among men by which we must be saved?"

I know what you're thinking, didn't you say any of this to him? My answer is no; because he was talking about 100 words per second and was running to meet his next appt. So we shook hands and went our separate ways.

Then yesterday morning, I'm at the gym again and working out when one of the guys starts talking to me. I don't remember how it started but he mentioned something about God so I asked him what church he goes too. He goes to the Catholic church here in town. He then proceeded to tell me how he wished all Christians would just unite and not be so narrow minded and hung up on their doctrine.

After further dialog his main premise was that he just wanted everybody to get together, hold hands and sing kum ba ya. But at what cost? As I left the gym that day I couldn't help thinking about these two guys who think they are Christians but their faith is in the wrong place.

Satan has so effectively blinded the eyes and minds of people by counterfeiting God's truth with multiple false religions and cults that the undiscerning mind is unable to determine what is right and what is wrong.

In his book "The Kingdom of the Cults," Walter Martin states, "As the American Christian church enters the end of this century, ecumenicism has become a deadly cancer, destroying what use to be healthy Christian churches and replacing them with mutant fellowships of "new spirituality" that embrace pantheism, polytheism, goddess worship, new ageism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and agnosticism. The only "faith" not acceptable in our liberal churches today is Biblical faith that dares to make exclusive claims about Jesus Christ, the Gospel, the Bible and salvation! The 1993 Parliament of World Religions, held in Chicago, exemplified this quasi-Christianity, "Christian" spokespeople from various liberal churches embraced the faiths of the world as simply alternate ways to experience God, and both liberal Christians and non-Christians united in their condemnation of what they termed narrow-minded, fundamentalist religious bigots. When Christianity denies the biblical faith it ceases to be Christianity at all."

These are the kind of things, I fear, that my new "friends" believe. But anyone who says 'all roads lead to God' needs to be very careful because that is not what the Bible teaches. Jesus did not say, 'I am one of many equally good ways' or 'I am a better way than the others.' Instead, His claim was absolute and allegiance to Him as the Lord and Savior of the world, was to take precedence over all the claims of men and religions. Jesus says in John 8:24b, "...for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins." It just doesn't get much clearer than that.

Jesus never claimed to be a good way to Heaven. He said He is the only way. And if you think about it, it makes sense. Why would God send His only Son to this Earth to live a perfect life for us, something we can never do, and then have His Son take untold beatings and mocking at the hands of puny men and then have His Son allow Himself to be nailed to a cross while God pours out His wrath upon Him, if their are other ways to Heaven?? It just would make no sense.

I believe that is why judgement will be so severe for people who reject the Savior. God suffered on that cross mercilessly at the hands of sinners to pay our sin debt so that we might receive eternal life as a free gift. And then we're going to make up all these other religions, in essence, telling God, "I'll do it my way?"

We must remain focused on the God of the Bible and remember Jesus' words, "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few."

There aren't many ways to Heaven, only one. Man in his pride wants to make his own way so in his pride he creates his own ways and tells God, 'my road is really the same as yours.' Nothing could be further from the truth. I know the world hates Christians with a growing hatred every year, but what I've written here are not my words but what God has told us in His word.

Repent of your sins today and turn to Jesus, He is the only way.

God bless

Rob