Greetings.
In John 10 Jesus speaks to his disciples and those in the crowds about the only way to God and Salvation. For different reasons, many people hearing Jesus say this in the first century--in person--had just as much trouble hearing it and accepting it then as people hearing his voice today through the written Word have hearing and accepting it now. Many church leaders are not preaching or teaching this message. They are offering a softer approach - that it is ok to believe that there are other paths to salvation, of which Christianity is one and that you can determine how to be a Christian - as long as you believe in something and call it God. Do you know how appealing that statement is to any human in bondage to original sin??
It is very appealing – it is like saying that anything our ‘conscience’ says is ok is ok. Or that as long as I do not hurt anyone it is ok. It also is appealing because quite frankly we don’t want anyone dictating to us that we are wrong to choose to live our lives the way we do – we’ll work it out and it will be all right in the end. It’s un-American. Didn’t the Bible say that there is freedom because of Christ?
Hitler had a conscience. Qaddafi has a conscience. Until a short while ago, Bin Laden had a conscience. They all considered or consider their way to salvation correct!
Well, maybe these examples are too extreme. Let’s go to the other side and consider these:
- Mr. and Mrs. Beentrue have been attending church for years, contribute regularly, and have been involved in many church activities. They believe Jesus died on the cross, that he was born on earth, and he rose on Easter. They consult their horoscopes and toy with mysticism and are liberal minded when it comes to personal morality.
- Mr. Neighbor. He will not darken a church door, he says – too many hypocrites. He’s a good neighbor, though, watches out for his neighbors, does good deeds for other people, and volunteers as a tutor.
- Ms. YoungAdult was a regular churchgoer, involved with youth group. After college, she has been involved in other pursuits – getting a life as she calls it - e.g., getting a good job, buying a condo, social life with her friends – and attends church when she can. She believes that women should have the right to choose abortion if they think it is right for them, and that there is nothing wrong with being gay – it doesn’t hurt anybody. She gives to charity and to 'street' people.
- Miss Teen spends her time studying, is determined to remain an A student. She’s involved with a couple of clubs at school, and plays soccer with the community team, where she mentors young girls. She acolytes at church and sometimes sings with the choir. Her friends are into wicca.
- Mr. Athlete is a young man in high school who has made both basketball and track teams during his time at school. He’s a B student, outgoing, volunteers with his church in outreach projects, and is part of the landscape and garden guild at church. He has been accepted into a Christian college, where he plans to study to become a minister.
- Miss What was an A student, attended church regularly, served in the Altar Guild and choir, and was active in outreach activities. She led junior Bible study. Her first year in college was a whirlwind; by the second term she found herself pregnant. Despite her friends’ advice, she did not have an abortion, but instead had the baby.
- Mr. Ohmy fell into bad company when he was a young teen. His parents used to take him to church, but he was bored he said. He was hanging with a group of boys when they encountered some folks that were the ‘enemy’, a fight ensued, and he was shot – not fatally. A couple of years later, he retaliated and killed one of the people who was with the other gang. He was sent to jail for life. After being there several years, he ventured in one day to a room where a Bible study was taking place, and questioned everything. But he kept going back because he liked to question the teacher.
These stories are composites of true stories. One wonders, which of these people are sheep who hear the voice of Jesus?
I don’t ask the question to be judgmental – and I want to make that very clear - but rather, I ask for the purpose of being thought-provoking. For example, have you ever seen someone who is very hungry eat? They don’t question the food if it looks familiar - they just eat it and then maybe question it later if it doesn’t set well. So, at some point, we really may need to think about the big question: what does it really mean to be one of Jesus’ sheep? How well do you have to know the Shepherd? How well does the Shepherd have to know you? What does it really mean to enter into the gate or door? Did Jesus really mean that there was only one way to God and salvation—isn’t that a narrow-minded view? What about those good friends who are Buddhist, or who follow Islam – they are good people – are you trying to say that God condemns them? What about my family members – they’re pretty good, but just don’t want to belong to any religion. Are you saying that they are not saved?
Matthew’s Gospel puts it this way:
“When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”
May God open our eyes and hearts so that we will make wise choices.
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