Is God Narrow Minded?

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Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” – John 14:6

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other Name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” – Acts 4:12

One of the main objections people have to the Christian Gospel is this issue of exclusivity: that the Christian proclaims that only in Jesus Christ is salvation to be found. Certainly it would be less objectionable if Jesus was merely presented as simply one of the many ways to God. Yet it needs to be pointed out that it is not the Christian who came up with this idea, but the claim comes directly from Jesus Himself. Because of this, either Jesus is the Way to God as He said, or else He is a liar and a deceiver, and not even one way to God… or perhaps even worse, just a stumbling, bumbling itinerant preacher of the first century who just had no idea what he was talking about.

Lets think about this idea of there only being one way to God by looking at it from a hypothetical perspective. Follow the logic of Dr. R.C. Sproul as he writes the following in his book “Reason to Believe”:

Let’s suppose that there is a God who is absolute in His holiness and righteousness. Suppose He freely creates mankind and gives each human being the gift of life. Suppose He sets His creatures in an ideal environment with the freedom to enjoy the wonders of the entire creation. Then let’s suppose that God imposes one small restriction upon them, and warns them that if they violate that restriction, they will die. Would such a God have the right to impose such a restriction with the penalty of forfeiture of the gift of life if His authority was violated? Continue reading →

The Wind Blows Where It Wishes

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In the early verses of John chapter 3, the absolute necessity of being born again (or born from above). Unless a man is first born again (regenerated) he can never enter or even see the kingdom of God. Jesus stresses the fact that this new birth is not merely an optional extra. It is imperative. Jesus said, “You must be born again” (3:7).

Jesus didn’t tell Nicodemus what he must do to be born again. Why? Because it was not within Nicodemus’ power to perform this miracle. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (John 3:6) Flesh can only reproduce flesh. It takes the Spirit to regenerate the human spirit. This miracle of regeneration cannot be achieved by human effort, or by self performed surgery.

The new birth is not the improvement of the old nature, but the creation of an entirely new one. It is a birth, a new birth, and like the first one we experienced, it did not occur because of our decision to be born. Our will was not a factor in any way. We were born as a result of the will of others – that of our parents, and of course, God’s will to create us using the means of human, physical intimacy. Continue reading →

Arm Yourselves

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Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. – 1 Peter 4: 1, 2

Peter has mentioned suffering numerous times already in this letter but here he takes the concept even further by stating that a right attitude towards suffering literally arms ourselves in the battle with the world, the flesh and the devil. Peter is talking here about the spiritual warfare that each Christian is engaged in. Christians are in a war, whether they realize it or not – not with people – we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against what is motivating people, spiritual hosts of wickedness in high places (Eph 6:12). The warfare is spiritual and not physical, though it is definitely as real and intense as any war fought on a battlefield.

Think about the words Peter uses here, especially the phrase “arm yourselves.” Its as if he is saying to God’s people, “get your swords ready in hand,” or “make sure all the members of your family has access to a gun.”

Again, he is talking in spiritual and not physical terms but lets not miss the point here. He is telling us to arm ourselves. People do not need to do that if they are meant to simply relax and spend their lives in some sort of spiritual recliner. Its as if he is saying, “Dad’s make sure you have a loaded gun handy… while you are at it, get one for your wife so she can defend herself.. and don’t forget the kids, they need weapons too. Oh and don’t forget single people, or the elderly.. or the young people.. no one can be left out… the battle is on… everyone needs to have access to weaponry.”

Can we get a mental picture of this? I hope so, because without exaggeration, this is the kind of intense imagery that Peter is employing here in the use of these words. Continue reading →