Do all religions lead to God?

Have you ever heard someone say, "All religions lead to God!" and then go on to explain how religions are like the "spokes of a wheel" all leading to God at the center?

Yeah, I've heard that too. The idea looks something like this:

When I hear that statement I know that they and I are a long way from any point of common understanding. While that statement sounds very enlightened, it is, in my opinion, rooted in deep theological error.

For one thing, I the image/idea of "God" varies greatly from one religion to another. It is true that there may be overlapping teachings or practices between any two religions, but there isn't a universal teaching about the nature (or even number) of God/gods. That is a very big problem. If God is there, and all revelations of him (religion) are equal in relevance, God is a very confusing character indeed.

Second, there is no universal direction on how humanity is supposed to get to God. For instance, some religions teach charity in the name of God. Others teach that the murder of "infidels" is the means to his approval. 

There is only one common denominator in all of the world's religions, and that common denominator isn't God. That common denominator is a human race that has both a consciousness of sin and the notion that there is a higher power to whom they must someday answer for that sin. So, if we are going to use a "wagon wheel" diagram to explain the existence of the world's religions, we cannot put God in the center with men trying to get to him. Instead, we must put the common denominator in the center. Fallen, sinful, guilty humanity is in the center working desperately, searching in all directions, to find relief from the guilt of their sinful condition. Even the religion of atheism (though they usually won't admit it) can be drawn as a spoke on this wheel.  

Now admittedly I am biased about the right "religion", but my bias is based on years of study, observation and experience. My observation is this: The Gospel of Jesus Christ differs from the religions of the world in one very big way. Religion requires us to reach for God, working our way to him. Jesus, on the other hand, was God reaching for us. Let's add that detail to our sketch.

Here are some pertinent truths I find in the Bible:

1. God is holy and he has high expectations of his creation (you and me) which he spelled out in great detail. He even gave us a "top ten" list, so to speak, in Exodus 20. 

2. We have all fallen short of those expectations and are guilty of sin.

3. Sin is punishable by death. (Not just the "assume room temperature" kind of death, but also eternal conscious separation from God in eternal punishment.) 

4. While God is just in his judgment against sin, he also loves you and me very much and has, at great personal expense, made a way for us to escape both our sin and eternal damnation through Jesus Christ. 

5. This escape is given freely to anyone who will believes on Jesus as Savior and Lord. Not only does Jesus free us from our sin, he also restores us to a relationship with God. This relationship is so close that we are told to address God as "Our Father" (how cool is that).

The simple truth is this: there is nothing you or I can do to absolve ourselves of our sin. Struggle all you want. Try any religion(s) you want. You will not be able to separate yourself from your sins.  There is only one way out, and that way is straight up. Jesus is God reaching down for you.  If you haven't already, why not take his hand and let him free you from your sin?

So, you may ask, is that it? Is this all there is to Christianity? Well, no, but this is the main part. Without this, nothing else matters. "Christianity" is built on this one central truth. Once you believe on Jesus Christ as your Savior, the rest is about growing in your new relationship with God.

If you don't know Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, but you want to, please, follow the link below. Jesus loves you very much and he wants to save you from your sins. May you find the peace you seek.

HERE is a link for more information about following Jesus.

Jesus strikes back.

I have simplified this as best I can. It may still be a bit tedious, but I think it will be worth it.

    The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke all record the baptism and temptation of Jesus. The gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke tell us that he immediately left the Jordan River after his baptism to spend forty days fasting in the Judean Wilderness. At the end of those forty days Satan came to him to  tempt him.

    The first temptation overcome by Jesus was a challenge by Satan for Jesus to use his divine power to satisfy the desires of his own flesh; that is, to transform stones into bread to satisfy his hunger. In the second, Satan took him to the pinnacle of the temple and (using a misquotation of scripture) challenged Jesus to throw himself from the top of the Temple and land safely at the base. In the third temptation, Satan shows Jesus all of the Kingdoms of the World and offers to surrender them all to him in exchange for one thing that Satan wants above all else; that is, worship.

    The Gospel of John is the most unique of the four gospel accounts. We sometimes use chapter one as an account of Jesus baptism and anointing by the Holy Spirit. Technically it is not. It is a record of John the Baptist's dialogue with priests and Levites about his role in the kingdom of God. In this dialogue John the Baptist is recounting  the baptism of Jesus which had occurred a few weeks prior. The next day, after this dialogue, Jesus returns and John the Baptist makes a public proclamation that Jesus is the Messiah.

Here is what I find so interesting.

    In the wilderness Jesus repelled the temptations Satan brought to him, and upon his return Jesus begins a counter attack against Satan in the very same venues in which Satan had declared war.

 Counter attack #1: Transformation

   Three days after Jesus has returned from his wilderness experience he is at a marriage in Cana of Galilee. It is here that he performs his first miracle: he transforms water into wine...not privately for himself but publicly for the benefit of others. This act manifests his glory and causes his growing band of disciples to believe on him. There is no mention that he prayed over the water. There is no mention of the Father or the Spirit in this passage. This was an autonomous divine action by the Son of God.

Counter attack #2: The Temple

    A few days later he attends the Passover in Jerusalem. He enters the Temple and promptly throws the merchants and their livestock out. This marked his entrance into Jerusalem (and particularly the Temple).   His zeal for holiness is unmistakeable. His entrance is not self aggrandizing, rather, he openly chastises the merchants for polluting the house of the Father.

Counter attack #3: Nature of the Kingdom

    The third item of interest come from the next chapter, John chapter 3. While Jesus is in Jerusalem, a young ruler named Nicodemus comes to him by night to consult with him. Jesus immediately reads his heart and begins to discuss with him the nature of the Kingdom of God, and emphasizes the work of the Holy Spirit in salvation.

1. Bread and wine are both symbols/types of the suffering of Christ. Satan tried to corrupt these symbols, Jesus reinforced them.

2. Satan tried to turn the Temple into a circus and Christ into a clown. Jesus cleansed the temple, and left the resurrection as his calling card.

3. Satan bargained with the kingdoms of the earth in an attempt to elevate himself. Jesus reveals the depth of the sacrifice of the Godhead so that he might give men the key to the Kingdom of God.

The wilderness temptations were not solely and attack on the Son of God, they were an attack by Satan on the Godhead as a whole. Notice the emphasis on each person of the Godhead in the progression of events. The Son, the Father and the Spirit are all emphasized in turn.

Additional thoughts...

...on throw yourself from the pinnacle

The challenge here was to make a spectacle of himself in the temple by doing something supernatural, and in essence trade his mission of salvation for a carnival act.

...on worship me and I'll give you the kingdoms.

Essentially Satan was offering Jesus a way around the cross. In exchange however Satan would be allowed to exalt his throne to the level of Godhood. by the very act of worship, Jesus would have been acknowledging Satan as a superior . [cf. Isaiah 14:12-14].

...on John 3.

 It is in this dialogue that the much quoted John 3:16 occurs (for God so loved the world...etc.), but we also see that in this passage the wilderness experience is still very fresh on his mind, for he says,

"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." [John 3:14-16]

I, for one, have enjoyed this study. Hopefully it will inspire you as well. Blessings.