Sermon from February 28, 2010
"Is Christianity the Only True Religion?"
John 14:6

"Do we believe that Christianity is the one true religion?" Let’s begin with two statements that express that question.

First: “How could there be just one true faith? It’s arrogant to say that your religion is superior and try to convert everyone else to it. Surely all the religions are equally good and valid for meeting the needs of their particular followers.” (Tim Keller, The Reason for God, 3)

Here’s another sample: “Religious exclusivity is not just narrow – it’s dangerous. Religion has led to untold strife, division, and conflict. It may be the great enemy of peace in the world. If Christians continue to insist that they have ‘the truth’ – and if other religions do this as well – the world will never know peace.” (ibid)

Those are not statements by seasoned atheists. 20-year-olds living in NYC made them. Their statements may make you angry, or you may find them reasonable or at least understandable.

Feelings aside, how would you respond to them? You might first ask, “Why do you feel so strongly about that?” And then just listen and ask more questions. Asking good questions is going to be more important than ever in the next ten years. Why do I say that?

For one thing, in the soul of our nation Christianity still shapes the way we look at the world. That’s why people ask these tough questions. No one is asking, “Do Buddhists believe that Buddhism is the one true religion?" But in the public square Christianity is treated as just another set of beliefs for people to choose from. We have to earn the right to be heard.

Second, Evangelicals (like us) have a bad reputation in some quarters. Some people think we are nothing more than the right wing of the Republican Party. Others still associate us with a narrow personal morality. Again, we have to earn the right to be heard.

Our faith is one voice out of many in public life, and some people may have a low opinion of us. If we want to talk about God, if we want to have a hearing with those two 20-year-olds, what makes us worth listening to? We need to be good listeners who ask good questions out of great respect for people we disagree with. That should be our strategy for the new decade that is taking shape.

What We Believe
Back to the original question: Do we believe that Christianity is the one true religion? The answer is, Yes, but! The answer is yes. But why do we believe that? Because that is how Christianity understands itself. We don’t make up Christianity as we go along. We believe in something we didn’t invent, and it shapes the way we think about other religions. So, how does Christianity understand itself? Let’s look at four statements from the New Testament.

First is John 14:6. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” The definite article, repeated three times, carries enormous weight: the way . . . the truth . . . the life. The exclusive status that Jesus claims for Himself continues in the next two words: No one. Do you really believe that Jesus is a great moral teacher? If so, you can’t ignore the exclusive claim He made about Himself, no matter how awkward His words are to skeptical people.

Here is a second statement in Acts 4:12. The Apostle Peter said: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” The name he referred to was Jesus Christ. The phrases no one else and no other name restrict salvation to the actions of Jesus Christ. Pretty exclusive!

Peter was speaking to an unfriendly, skeptical, Jewish audience when he said that. The Apostle Paul was speaking to an unfriendly, skeptical, Gentile audience, when he said what Acts 17:31 reports. God “has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.” The man he has appointed is Jesus Christ. Christ will judge the world with justice. That separates Jesus from Mohammed, Buddha, Moses, and the great religions of India.

Let’s look at one more remarkable statement. Ephesians 1:9-10 says that God made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, and His will is to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment – to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. God’s purpose is to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. That, says the Christian faith, is where history is headed, and when it gets there, we will find Christ, and He will be supreme.

That’s why we believe that Christianity has the last word on what God is like and what He is doing in the world. We believe that, because Jesus has overcome death and evil and will someday restore the human family to happiness. Jesus is Lord! That is how Christianity understands itself. We inherited that when we became Christians, and it shapes the way we think about other religions.

Being Good Listeners
Back to the original question: Do we believe that Christianity is the one true religion? The answer is, Yes, but! The answer is yes. But what do we not mean, when we say that? First, we do not mean that other religions are completely false. You can find common ground with people of different religions, and the conversation will be smoother, if you gladly acknowledge what you have in common.

For example, three years ago, I had the honor of being asked to do a funeral service for Mrs. Amy Khine’s mother, Mrs. Cho. Mrs. Cho’s life, growing up in Burma, revealed a courageous and resourceful woman. She immigrated to the United States in her sixties and lived with Dr. and Mrs. Khine.

Mrs. Cho was a devout Buddhist. Two Buddhist monks from Baltimore performed a Buddhist funeral for her. But Mrs. Khine, who is a Christian and part of BVBC, asked me also to perform a funeral for her. I joined the Khines and several dozen of their family and friends in Fraser, PA, for the service. Many were Christians, more were Buddhists. I was one of less than a half dozen Caucasians there.

I began by telling them how I had never met anyone from Asia until I went to college, where I got to know Chinese students from Hong Kong. I told them how they taught me a few Chinese phrases and to write a few Chinese characters. I reminisced about eating my first Chinese food with chopsticks in their rooms.

I acknowledged the presence at the funeral service of both Buddhists and Christians; and I said that I wanted to honor Mrs. Cho by reflecting on Buddhism and Christianity. I said that we should consider what those two religions have in common and how they differ.

We have in common the commandment to honor father and mother. I talked about how I admired the Khines for adding rooms onto their house to accommodate Mrs. Cho. I told them how my parents had made room in our home for my mother’s mother to live with us. Buddhist and Christian may be amazed to discover how much moral ground we have in common.

Finally, I acknowledged that Christianity differs from Buddhism most significantly, when it says that Jesus Christ rose from the dead with a new body that can never again die. We Christians believe He will judge the world with the justice our world longs for. I hoped we could keep that possibility in our future conversations.

Acknowledging our common moral ground sincerely honored Mrs. Cho, the Khines, and the ancient family pieties of Asia. In that atmosphere it did not feel forced to talk about the resurrection of Christ and to invite further conversation about it. We don’t have to say that other religions are all wrong.

Second, when we say that Christianity is the one true religion, we do not mean that Christians should coerce anyone to believe in Christ. 1700 years ago, an unknown Christian said that “the God of Christians ‘saves by persuasion, not compulsion.” (The Letter to Diognetus, quoted in George Weigel, Against the Grain 81) Coerced faith is no faith at all.

Many years ago, I was invited to part of a panel on the campus of Syracuse University. We were to talk about religious topics. I was the only evangelical on the panel. We tried to address a sticky moral question, which I no longer remember. But I remember how I answered.

I told a story I had heard from Paul Harvey, a radio personality from the 1950s and 1960s. He said, “There are some jokes I will tell among men and women. There are some I will tell only among men. If that seems like a double standard, I can only say there are some jokes I won’t tell at all.” The point I made that day was that the answers we give to sticky moral questions will not be equal in value, and we need to take the time to sort through the merits of each before we could reach a conclusion.

A member of the panel said to me afterwards with kindness in his voice, “I didn’t expect you to say that. I thought you’d just tell us the right answer and pay no attention to what other people were saying.”

I am talking about respect. It goes a long way to tempering the emotions that accompany important questions, because it takes the person raising the questions seriously. Once a person really believes that you take him seriously, you can have a good conversation about Jesus Christ.

Conversation Seasoned with Salt
I don’t mean we should compromise our faith or keep silent about our faith. I do mean that we have a better chance of being heard, if the other person knows we are listening. There is a wonderful text of scripture in Colossians 4:6: Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. We are to be good listeners and salty conversationalists. Here are some suggestions about how to do that, when people ask you if you believe Christianity is the one true faith.

First, know what you believe. When someone asks, “Do you think Christianity is the one true religion?” it is good to say, “Yes, I do believe that. I’d like to know why you disagree.” But sooner or latter someone is going to ask you, “How can you believe that?”

That’s when you say, “I believe Jesus Christ has defeated death and will some day judge the world with justice. There’s just no one else out there like Him.” That’s all you have to say. You don’t have to argue. You don’t have to persuade. You just need to be gentle and kind and firm. You are an immovable rock in that person’s path. He may admire you or despise you, but he cannot ignore you. And who knows? Your witness may be decisive in that person’s coming to faith in Jesus Christ.

Second, there is a salty question we should ask more than we do. You hear people say, “The different religions are just different ways to God.” I wonder how many Christians secretly believe that is true. If you do, here is my salty question: “How do you know that? Have you studied the great religions of the world and compared them with Christianity; or do you just have a childlike faith in something you know nothing about?” People, especially we men, often talk as if they know more than they really do. It’s okay to challenge them with this salty question: “How do you know that?”

You who like to push the envelope might – ever so gently! – ask a second question that goes something like this. “You say that all religions are equal and valid. Do you really believe that those religious cults that allow a man to have multiple wives and to marry off girls at age 14 are as good as Christianity? Do you really believe that the religion of the Taliban that destroys schools for girls who want to learn is as good as a faith like Christianity that promotes learning among boys and girls equally?”

There is something else you need to be aware of. Your friend says that all religions are just different ways to God. Isn’t your friend trying to persuade you to change your mind? What if you said: “You really believe your way of thinking about religion is better than mine, don’t you? Why do you think that? I can tell you reasons for my faith. I’d like to hear the reasons for what you believe.”

If that seems too contentious, you might just say, “You say that all religions are just different ways to God. Do you have a personal faith that matters to you? Would you tell me about it?” When you do that, you are about to hear a part of that person’s life story. If you ever listen well, listen well then. It also opens the way for you to tell your faith story of how Christ has changed your life. Has Christ changed your life? Could you put it in a hundred words or less?

If Christ hasn’t changed your life, why don’t you ask Him to do that? Getting started is as easy as saying to Jesus, “My Lord and my God.” Then, start reading the Gospels. Get involved with this church. If you’d like to talk about this, please take one of these cards from the book rack in front of you, check the line that says, “I want to talk to a pastor,” and put down your name and a way we can talk to you. We’ll get to you this week. You can put it in the box at the Welcome Center marked “Cards.”

The Pastoral Center of Gravity
We hear a lot about pluralism, including the silly idea that you can’t talk about religion for fear of offending someone. Maybe that’s okay for the political correctness of corporate America. It is not okay for free men and women. Let the Church champion that freedom. Here is one of the best statements I have ever heard about pluralism. “True pluralism is an exercise in tolerance; and true tolerance . . . is not the avoidance of differences, or an indifference to differences, but the thoughtful engagement of differences within the bonds of civility.” (Weigel, 100)

People have questions about our faith. Our answers and their answers to those questions can be very different. In this sermon I am encouraging “the thoughtful engagement of differences within the bonds of civility.” That will hold a place at the table for us to have conversations about Christ in our secular culture.

Now, before I pray, I’d like you to respond to what you’ve heard today. What stands out? What can you take away from this sermon that could help you this week? Identify it and then speak to God about it. After a minute or so, I’ll conclude in prayer.