Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. - John 14:6
I was watching the news the other day when they reported about the Mormon church incident - which is tragic. This country was founded on the idea of freedom of religion - which in its essence is that people have the right to believe anything or in anything they want to believe or believe in. People have the right to safely assemble to worship in the context of their faith - whether you or I agree with their faith or not. It is a right as a citizen of this country.
Christians are not in the majority
77.2 percent of the world's inhabitants identify with one of five major religions: Christians - 32%, Muslims - 23%, Hindus - 15%, Buddhists - 7%, and Jews - 0.2%. The remaining 22.8% put their faith in some other belief system or in themselves. But to say that 32% of the world population is Christian and heaven bound would be inaccurate without first clarifying what being a Christian - a Christ Follower - means.
It has never been more important to know what you believe and why you believe it.
One might ask - can 68% or more of the world be wrong about God and life? The answer is, actually 100% of the world has been wrong about God and life - that is until some of them met Jesus on the road. Many people, who are part of that 32% identify with the Christian faith but, like Nicodemus, they have not been born again. John 14:6 is pretty clear about how a person gets to God - it's Jesus.
The United States Is Not A Christian Nation
Let me clarify what I believe to be a misconception in our country and around the world - the United States is not a Christian nation - a Jesus-following country. The United States is secular. It is a conglomeration of faiths. True our founding documents allude to God and there are Biblical references in some of our documents - even on our currency - but I would not be surprised if our currency doesn't lose the "In God We Trust" at some point.
But let's refocus on Nicodemus. Like Jesus told Nicodemus, to have eternal life you must be born again by the Spirit and that does not happen until you confess .... confess what?
If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. - Romans 10:9
When you make that confession, you are answering a question that Jesus posed to His disciples.
Who do they say the Son of Man is? - Matthew 16:13
The disciples said that people - believed that Jesus was someone special - but was still just a man. But Peter said ...
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. - Matthew 16:16-17
You see - believing Jesus is "the Way, Truth, and Life" is a spiritual revelation from God. Many faiths acknowledge that there was a man named Jesus - maybe even that, that He was more than a man - but they stop short of agreeing with Peter. Why? Because they have had no spiritual revelation.
You May Not Be A Christian And Still Do Good Things For Humanity
Just to make a point clear - just because people are of other faiths does not make them not evil - many do good things for humanity - but like the rich young ruler, they are lost - a people without hope - Gathering with other people who believe the same way that you do, finding consensus, does not make all of you right - the only way that you can all be right is if you are all born again by the Spirit.
Christ the Power and Wisdom of God
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. - 1 Corinthians 1:18
So for a refresher - People cannot be saved through human intellect and mental assent that something is true but only through the spiritual revelation of God. And the only way anyone can be saved is by putting their faith in Jesus.
And who is this Jesus? Take some time and read Isaiah 53
Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.
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