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In our culture today, one of the most popular objections to Christianity is the fact that Jesus is an exclusive savior. You might hear someone say something along the lines of “all paths lead to heaven” or “how could you possibly believe that your religion is right and everyone else’s is wrong?” At the heart of this objection is an abandonment of belief in absolute truth. Nowadays, people would say that truth is Relative. Relative truth is the idea that “what is true for me doesn’t have to be true for you.” Everything is true, and it is up to each person to discover their own truth. Anything can be true. But absolute truth says that if one thing is true, the opposite must be false. But absolute truth, as one author defined it, is “something that is true at all times in all places and has relevance for our lives.” What do we recognize as absolute truth? The fact that there is a personal God who created the world. The fact that you and I sinned and rebelled against God, and we are inherently sinful. That God sent his son Jesus to die on the cross so that you and I can be reconciled to God and forgiven of our sin and live forever in eternity. This is truth. One author wrote it this way “The bible is true, and everything that contradicts it is false.”  

A denial of absolute truth leads to the belief that each individual person should be free to choose their own religious path, and if it works for them, then it is true. But What does Jesus have to say about this? John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus doesn’t say “I am one of many ways.” He doesn’t say “I am one of many truth’s.” He says “I am the way.” Also, many people believe that it doesn’t matter what religion you choose, they all worship the same God. It is a popular opinion that Muslims and Christians worship the same God. But Jesus says “No one comes to the Father except through me.” Muslims reject the divinity of Jesus. Buddhists do not believe in Him. Therefore, it is not the same God.

 In order to truly understand why believing that all roads lead to heaven is problematic, we need to understand some of the foundational beliefs of other religions. Buddhists believe in the idea of rebirth and that when you die you will reborn based on your good deeds or actions in your present life. The only way to escape this ongoing cycle of rebirth is to achieve nirvana, which is a state of perfect peace, happiness, and enlightenment. Hindus believe in Brahman as the one true God who is formless, limitless, all-inclusive, and eternal. This “god” is impersonal. Hindu’s believe in reincarnation, and fate and karma will decide how they appear in the next life. Hindu’s believe there are many paths to God, that God is undifferentiated and simply a force within each person. Muslims believe that Jesus was real but he was just a prophet. Mohammed is the only prophet who exists for all time, and he is the messenger for Allah. Muslims are required to pray 5 times each day. They believe that sin is weakness, and humans are inherently good, and that you can achieve salvation by having your good deeds outweigh your bad deeds. Jews believe that God exists, and the torah is true but they deny that Jesus has already come, and instead believe that the Messiah will come in the future. Judaism is works based. The law gives meaning to life, observe the Torah in order to gain right standing with God.  

Whenever someone says that all religions are the same and they lead to the same God, you can tell from the descriptions above that that is a very wrong statement. Each religion, with the exception of Hinduism, would claim that they have the truth. So how do we know that Jesus is the truth? First, we need to understand that all religions accept the fact that sin is real and there is a problem. But all other religions say that Man is the solution. You can work your way out of your own problem, whether its by meditation or just being a good person, you can earn it. But God requires perfection, and if we admit that sin is real, there is no way we can achieve perfection on this earth. We are not good people. Therefore, a sacrifice was required. Jesus died and paid the penalty for our sins. Jesus takes center stage. Second, Jesus does not tell us how we can live so we can merit salvation. Rather, he comes to forgive and save us through his death. Third, in all other religions, God is impersonal. But Jesus came down as a human and therefore he knows us, he understands us, and he can relate to us. As the write of Hebrews said, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” Last, all the founders or so called “prophets” of various non-Christian religions of the world have died and been buried, but Christ is very much alive! Christianity is the only faith to claim a risen savior. Let us rest in that and know that, as Luke said in Acts 4:12 “there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”