# Is Jesus the Only Way to God?



## Hamalas (Aug 20, 2014)

Okay, so the answer is obviously yes, but I'm looking for a good sermon that would help to flesh this out to someone who is steeped in the typical pluralism of our day. Here' a little more background to help narrow things down: I've been in dialog via Facebook with a friend of mine back home who is a Muslim college student from Bangladesh. I posted something a while back about the genocide in Iraq and he sent me a private message expressing his regret to hear about that and communicating his feelings that not all Muslims thought that way. That opened up a good discussion about Islam and Christianity. Long story short he's making the usual argument that we all believe in the same God and that while I call Him Jesus he calls him Allah. This friend of mine believes (as so many do) that the content of our religious beliefs don't really matter and that the only thing that is important is that we follow God and love people and that each of our religions is simply a cultural thing (i.e. if you were born in my family you would be Muslim and if I were born in yours I would be a Christian). I'm thinking it would be helpful to have a video or sermon that I could send him and then we could discuss it. Also English is not his first language so if there is something or someone who might be easier to understand that would be great. Thanks all!


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## whirlingmerc (Aug 20, 2014)

Not a video or sermon, but An illustration might be from Matthew
Matthew 15:13 He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up.
and use it as a question... what did he mean... what plant or plants were planted by the Father


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## hammondjones (Aug 20, 2014)

Depending on how the conversation was going, I might use John 17. 

If you and I agree that the United States has a president, but we disagree on who that president is, then we're not really agreeing on all that much except that the office exists. 

If you don't know God is trinitarian then you don't really know God. You can't possibly acknowledge the Father if you don't acknowledge Jesus as Son. 


Let me quote one of my seminary professors, Dr Fairbairn:


Christ refuses to stand in a line up of interchangeable religious options. What he claims to give people - a share in the fellowship He and the Spirit have enjoyed with the Father from all eternity - is not even on offer in other religions. To say this another way, the kind of salvation Christ gives us is not offered - or even conceivable - in other religions, and if the Bible is true, this kind of salvation is the only kind there really is. Salvation or heaven apart from Christ is inconceivable, precisely because salvation is Christ; salvation is our sharing on Christ's relationship with his eternal Father.


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## kodos (Aug 20, 2014)

Much can be said of this so I'll rattle off a few things off the top of my head - When Jesus said He was the only way to the Father, he was dealing with people who were all of the same culture. Jesus' claims of exclusivity were even within those who would claim Yahweh as their God, much less the Mohammedan Allah. This point must not be overlooked.

Second, the Word of God has a very different conception of Salvation from all other religions. The Word of God knows nothing of a religion in which one is saved by "following God and loving people". Also, the very conception of what it means to follow God and love people looks very different as revealed through the Word of God vs. what Mohammedanism teaches. They are utterly incompatible, and thus are not merely cultural differences like choosing to wear a kilt vs. wearing pants.


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## Hamalas (Aug 20, 2014)

Thanks guys, I appreciate your thoughts. Honestly though, I feel equipped to walk him through this, the challenge (which I should have explained more clearly in the OP) is that he's sort of leaving the conversation as it stands and has talked as much as he wants to. I'm looking for something I can send him that will raise some of these points and then offer to continue discussing them if he has more questions. I'm not sure the conversation (or relationship) is at a point where I can engage him in the kind of sustained back and forth dialogue that I would love to have with him but if I sent him a link then the ball is in his court and we can go from there. That's my thought anyway.


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## rbcbob (Aug 20, 2014)

Ben you might try a search for a small book or sermon which points out how Islam has hijacked the Biblical narrative, as revealed by God through His prophets. In this hijack they have insinuated themselves into the narrative of God's Covenant people in manifestly incongruous and irreconcilable with that narrative from Genesis forward.


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## JSauer (Aug 20, 2014)

I ran into a similar situation with one of the ISI students from an Islamic background. If you want a good understandable youtube video or two to fit the context--Ravi Zacharias had a book called Jesus Among other Gods and I remember thinking it was good (it's all on youtube now) His message called "Why Jesus" might be good way to go, but their are shorter videos if that's too long. God bless your efforts--


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