"Young Born-Again Evangelicals" Listen Up

I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  John 10:27

The other day I heard a statement that disturbed me. The statement was that 2 of 3 “young born-again evangelicals” do not believe that Jesus is the only way to heaven. This isn’t the first time I’ve heard this. The statement disturbs me on multiple levels.

First, I’m making the assumption that if you identify yourself as a “born-again evangelical” not only do you believe in Jesus, but you believe Jesus.  In John 14:6 Jesus clearly and unambiguously stated that He was the only way to heaven.

Second, if you are claiming to be “born-again” you must believe what Jesus taught about being “born-again”. In John 3:5-7, Jesus said for someone to go to heaven they must be “born-again.”  He did not mean this as a figure of speech.  When you are “born-again” it means you have placed your trust in Christ. Upon trusting Christ the Holy Spirit enters your heart and you become a new creation in Christ (Ezek. 36:24–27). There’s no other way to be “born-again” except through Christ. Other religions do not claim this process of regeneration; they just offer a way to try to work off your sins.

Finally, if there were other ways why did God subject His one and only Son to the brutality of the cross? Why did Jesus subject Himself to the agony of the cross if there was another way? It was on the cross that the blood of Jesus paid for your sins.

Jesus said that His sheep will listen to His voice. I would encourage you to listen to your Shepherd.  “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:18) These are Jesus’s words and He did not call people to believe in “a name” or “a way,” but to believe in “His name” as” the way”.

In our culture today with our modern way of thinking, it feels intolerant and unloving to say that Jesus is the only way to heaven. However, Jesus clearly stated that He was the only way to heaven.  Although Jesus’ claims are exclusive to Himself, His call is not. He calls out to come and believe in Him and whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).  If you believe what your Master says, the most loving thing you can do is point people to Him and Him alone!   

You Can’t Out Give God

²⁰ Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife [Hannah], and say, “May the Lord give you children by this woman for the petition she asked of the Lord.” So then they would return to their home.

²¹ Indeed the Lord visited Hannah, and she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew in the presence of the Lord. 

1 Samuel 2:20, 21 (ESV)

Hannah was childless. Not only did Hannah know the anguish of wanting a child and not having one,  she was also belittled because of it by her rival Peninnah. Hannah cried out to the Lord and asked Him to grant her a son. If the Lord would give her a son, Hannah promised that she would give him to full-time service of the Lord. The Lord heard Hannah’s plea, and He gave her a son whose name would be Samuel.  The name Samuel means “heard by God”.  Hannah kept her promise to God and as soon as Samuel was weaned she took him to the House of the Lord. 

Imagine praying for and waiting to be able to have a child, having that child, and then sending them off to grow up somewhere outside your home.  I wonder if Hannah was tempted to hold back her promise and keep Samuel at home with her.  So many people hold back what they should rightly give to God. Whether it is our time, money, lives, etc., we think we just can’t afford to give what God is asking us to give.  Sometimes we feel that it is just unfair that God would even ask us to give. The truth of it is that everything we have is the Lord’s to begin with (Psalm 24:1).

The good news is that you can’t out give God! Hannah was faithful and gave her son to the service of the Lord, and God blessed her abundantly. Hannah, the woman who at first could not conceive at all, after her faithfulness with her only child, was blessed by the Lord with five additional children. 

No matter how much we think we have sacrificed to give to God, the reality is that our sacrifice is miniscule compared to the abundance that God gives us. The Bible tells us that “he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. “ (2 Corinthians 9:6) No matter how faithful we are God is always more faithful.

We hold back our time, service, and money because we reason that we just cannot afford it. Hannah, who once was childless, ultimately had six children. Imagine if she had never promised Samuel to the Lord. Imagine if she was not faithful in following through on her promise. The lesson here is not to try to cut a deal with the Lord, but to be faithful in giving to God that which He has already asked:  our time, talent and treasure. When we give, it often seems like a sacrifice at first; however, God is always faithful and gives back in abundance.  

How to Have a Prosperous 2014

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners,  nor sits in the seat of the scornful; ² but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. ³ He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper. Psalm 1

At the start of a new year we often look back and look forward.  What was the previous year like? Are we glad it’s over? Or do we know that we’ll look back at the year as one of the best of our life? At the same time we look forward to the next year.  We look with anticipation at the hope of a new year.  

People make many resolutions at the beginning of a year.  However, most resolutions are not lived out but forgotten within a couple of weeks.  This happens for various reasons: Sometimes we don’t have the willpower to hold to our resolutions or we may have never really been committed to them in the first place. Other times we don’t see the merit in our resolution; “Why did I want to do this in the first place?”  

There is a resolution we can make that is guaranteed to be worth our time and dedication -- an endeavor that is certain to bless our lives. What is it?  The resolution is to live out the precepts found in Psalm 1.  If we do this, God’s Word promises that whatever we do will prosper.

How do you live out the precepts in this Psalm?   First, Psalm 1 tells us what we should not be doing. The person living out these precepts “walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful.” To simplify this let’s just  say that we are not to follow the wisdom of the world. The world is full of godless wisdom and counsel.  The Bible tells us to stay away from it.

At this point you might be asking “How do I know what is worldly wisdom?”  The answer is to do what Psalm 1 tells us to do -- be in God’s Word night and day. We are told to be in God’s Word night and day and to meditate on it. To meditate on it simply means to ponder its meaning, asking “What does it mean and how do I live it out?”  When we do this not only do we begin to acquaint ourselves with the counsel of God, but we are also able to discern the truth of God from the lies of the world.

When we abide in God’s Word night and day, follow His counsel, and avoid walking in the counsel of the ungodly, we will prosper in all we do. This is not the Prosperity Gospel and this does not mean that if we just read the Bible twice a day all our selfish wishes will come true. The person who abides in God’s Word follows His Word and thus is directed by the Lord’s agenda. When our mind is renewed by His Word and we follow His counsel, we walk in a manner that the Lord can and will bless.