WEBVTT 00:00:06.060 --> 00:00:06.621 Good morning. 00:00:06.621 --> 00:00:09.606 Good morning, that is our question of the day. 00:00:09.606 --> 00:00:13.614 Do all religions lead to the same place? 00:00:13.614 --> 00:00:15.923 Do all places? 00:00:15.923 --> 00:00:19.551 Do we all end up in the same spot at the end of it all? 00:00:19.551 --> 00:00:22.228 This is one of those massive conversations right? 00:00:22.228 --> 00:00:34.868 We don't have time this morning to cover every nook and cranny, every nuance of this conversation, and it's also, as it would have it, one of the most controversial things to discuss in our day and time. 00:00:34.868 --> 00:00:40.245 If you walk out and you say, hey, I'm right and everybody else is wrong, guess what? 00:00:40.245 --> 00:00:42.731 You're going to get some reaction there. 00:00:42.731 --> 00:00:48.732 If you claim to have exclusive truth, you're going to get some reaction there. 00:00:48.853 --> 00:00:56.740 I've learned a lot in this subject, particularly from John Tyson, from Tim Keller, from one of my professors in seminary whose name was Glenn Kreider. 00:00:56.740 --> 00:01:10.811 The goal today in answering our question is to take a lot of content and hopefully synthesize it in a way that is digestible and helpful and applicable for us in our day and time. 00:01:10.811 --> 00:01:18.014 I am making one big assumption I think it's true, and we'll talk about that actually in a few weeks. 00:01:18.014 --> 00:01:31.162 I am making the assumption that the New Testament in particular the whole scripture, but New Testament in particular is a reliable historical document, in other words, what we have from Jesus are actually the words of Christ. 00:01:31.162 --> 00:01:34.350 The events in Acts are actual historical events. 00:01:34.350 --> 00:01:36.763 I think there is valid, compelling evidence for that. 00:01:36.763 --> 00:01:43.166 Like I said, we'll talk about that in a few weeks, but today, jesus and other religions. 00:01:43.166 --> 00:01:45.793 Jesus and other religions Did you have your coffee this morning? 00:01:46.641 --> 00:01:48.565 I know it's raining outside. 00:01:48.565 --> 00:01:52.821 When it's rainy outside, sundays just make for a great nap day. 00:01:52.821 --> 00:01:58.053 But we'll postpone the nap for like 45 minutes and we'll dig in together this morning. 00:01:58.053 --> 00:02:02.588 That sound good, you with me, wide awake, ready to rock and roll. 00:02:02.588 --> 00:02:03.791 Let's do it. 00:02:03.791 --> 00:02:04.312 Let's do it. 00:02:04.312 --> 00:02:06.402 John 14, verses one through seven. 00:02:06.442 --> 00:02:09.647 This is Jesus the night before his crucifixion. 00:02:09.647 --> 00:02:13.155 He's gathered in the upper room with his disciples. 00:02:13.155 --> 00:02:17.111 You can imagine the stress level in the room is high. 00:02:17.111 --> 00:02:21.140 Everybody knows we are on the brink of something unprecedented. 00:02:21.140 --> 00:02:33.462 We're entering uncharted waters and at the same time, we know there's a lot of confusion about what is coming next, even though Jesus has clearly said I'm going to die, I'm going to be buried. 00:02:33.462 --> 00:02:36.831 Three days later I'm going to resurrect, I'm going to rise again. 00:02:36.872 --> 00:02:38.664 We know the disciples didn't get it. 00:02:38.664 --> 00:02:40.709 They didn't connect all the dots. 00:02:40.709 --> 00:02:42.801 In this moment there's a lot of confusion. 00:02:42.801 --> 00:02:45.223 Jesus knows that and he speaks to it. 00:02:45.223 --> 00:02:50.387 And this is what he says Let not, or don't let your hearts be troubled. 00:02:50.387 --> 00:02:53.289 Believe in God, believe also in me. 00:02:53.289 --> 00:02:56.012 In my father's house are many rooms. 00:02:56.012 --> 00:03:00.515 If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you. 00:03:00.515 --> 00:03:12.322 In other words, jesus is saying you can trust me, I only tell you the truth, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself that where I am, you may be also. 00:03:12.322 --> 00:03:15.106 And then Jesus makes this claim. 00:03:15.106 --> 00:03:19.814 He says and you know the way to where I am going. 00:03:20.661 --> 00:03:24.212 And that is where the rumblings in the room begin. 00:03:24.212 --> 00:03:25.919 I just imagine being in that room. 00:03:25.919 --> 00:03:31.962 This is where the disciples start looking at each other and they're like Peter, do you know the way? 00:03:31.962 --> 00:03:34.290 Peter's like no, I don't know what he's talking about. 00:03:34.290 --> 00:03:37.242 John, you're leaning on Jesus. 00:03:37.242 --> 00:03:38.344 Ask him what he means. 00:03:38.344 --> 00:03:40.871 John's like I'm not asking anything, you know. 00:03:40.871 --> 00:03:42.002 And like the rumblings are going. 00:03:42.022 --> 00:03:47.253 Everybody's like have you ever been in a room when somebody's like and you know the story of it, and everybody's like no, we don't know the story at all. 00:03:47.253 --> 00:03:48.575 We've never heard that story. 00:03:48.575 --> 00:03:51.846 Maybe it's like maybe you've been in church and I've said something about Star Wars. 00:03:51.846 --> 00:03:53.367 You're like bro, nobody watches that. 00:03:53.367 --> 00:03:55.007 Nobody knows what that means. 00:03:55.007 --> 00:03:56.424 Give us something helpful. 00:03:56.424 --> 00:03:57.569 This is that moment. 00:03:58.120 --> 00:04:02.209 The disciples are like we don't know, we don't know where you're going. 00:04:02.209 --> 00:04:03.967 And finally Thomas speaks up. 00:04:03.967 --> 00:04:14.405 Thomas said to him Lord, not only do we not know the way to where you're going, lord, we don't know where you're going, we don't know the destination. 00:04:14.405 --> 00:04:16.668 Therefore, we can't know the path. 00:04:16.668 --> 00:04:19.254 How can we know the way? 00:04:19.254 --> 00:04:26.149 And Jesus said to him I am the way and the truth and the life. 00:04:26.149 --> 00:04:31.156 No one comes to the Father except through me. 00:04:31.156 --> 00:04:34.822 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. 00:04:34.822 --> 00:04:40.349 From now on, you do know him and have seen him. 00:04:40.349 --> 00:04:44.300 So here Jesus' claim this morning. 00:04:44.300 --> 00:04:48.045 Jesus says I am the way, the truth and the life. 00:04:48.045 --> 00:04:55.375 I am the only way for you people, broken, sinful humanity, to get to almighty God. 00:04:55.375 --> 00:05:06.608 And then Jesus takes it a step further and says if you know me, if you know Jesus, not only do you know God, but you've seen God so literally, for the disciples gathered in the room that evening. 00:05:06.608 --> 00:05:10.288 He looks at them and he says you've laid your eyes on me. 00:05:10.288 --> 00:05:14.464 You've literally, tangibly seen, literal, physical Jesus. 00:05:14.464 --> 00:05:16.928 You've seen almighty God. 00:05:16.928 --> 00:05:30.822 And Jesus says because you know me, because you know the way, the truth, the life, you now have the opportunity to be connected to God, the opportunity to be connected to God. 00:05:30.842 --> 00:05:33.950 And then we'll fast forward a little bit to Acts, chapter four. 00:05:33.950 --> 00:05:39.968 This is after the crucifixion and burial and resurrection of Jesus. 00:05:39.968 --> 00:05:41.919 40 days has passed. 00:05:41.919 --> 00:05:46.751 Jesus has appeared in person to over 500 people. 00:05:46.751 --> 00:05:55.245 The church has grown from 500 to 3,000, plus on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit comes in Acts chapter 2. 00:05:55.245 --> 00:06:03.766 Signs and wonders are being done through the apostles and the people in Jerusalem are getting stirred up. 00:06:04.207 --> 00:06:10.528 Because there was a day where Peter and James and John were walking by what's called the Beautiful Gate. 00:06:10.528 --> 00:06:21.630 The gate called Beautiful, and there was a guy laying there on the ground who scripture says had been lame from birth, so in other words, from the time he was born he had never been able to walk. 00:06:21.630 --> 00:06:24.685 And he's laying there begging for alms. 00:06:24.685 --> 00:06:30.805 He's looking for a handout, he's looking for somebody to give him money so he can eat for the day and he's to do the same thing tomorrow. 00:06:30.805 --> 00:06:37.362 He's been doing the same thing for years and he looks at Peter and James and John. 00:06:37.362 --> 00:06:40.531 He says, hey, do you have something for me, do you have some money for me? 00:06:40.531 --> 00:06:42.682 And what's the response of Peter, james and John? 00:06:42.902 --> 00:06:44.745 If you know the song, they say silver and gold. 00:06:44.745 --> 00:06:47.588 Have I none, but what I have, give I thee. 00:06:47.588 --> 00:06:51.774 In other words, I got something I'm going to give to you In the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 00:06:51.774 --> 00:06:52.335 What do they say? 00:06:52.335 --> 00:06:53.504 Rise and walk. 00:06:53.504 --> 00:06:58.110 And, as the song says, the man went walking and leaping and praising God. 00:06:58.110 --> 00:07:04.819 So there's a healing, there's a miracle that takes place in the name of Jesus. 00:07:04.979 --> 00:07:06.824 And, as you can imagine, the religious leaders. 00:07:06.824 --> 00:07:10.092 They are stirred up by this because they don't like the name of Jesus. 00:07:10.092 --> 00:07:11.382 They crucified Jesus. 00:07:11.382 --> 00:07:14.750 They don't like anybody doing anything in the name of Jesus. 00:07:14.750 --> 00:07:21.291 And so they gather some of the disciples together and put them in the middle of a trial. 00:07:21.291 --> 00:07:23.505 And that's where we pick up in Acts, chapter four, verse five. 00:07:23.887 --> 00:07:30.971 On the next day, their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem with Annas, the high priest, and Caiaphas. 00:07:30.971 --> 00:07:31.961 Now think back. 00:07:31.961 --> 00:07:33.364 Where have you heard those names before? 00:07:33.364 --> 00:07:37.840 These were leaders who were in on the crucifixion. 00:07:37.840 --> 00:07:43.332 They were part of the group that led the trial that ultimately led Jesus to the cross. 00:07:43.332 --> 00:08:04.070 They're here again overseeing what is the trial of Peter and some of the other followers of Jesus Annas and Caiaphas, and John and Alexander and all who were of the high priestly family and when they'd set them in the midst, they inquired by what power or by what name did you do this? 00:08:04.070 --> 00:08:09.859 Why is this guy who was lame, now standing and walking and talking about Jesus? 00:08:10.060 --> 00:08:20.929 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed? 00:08:20.929 --> 00:08:33.584 Let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that, by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified and whom God raised from the dead by him, this man is standing before you. 00:08:33.584 --> 00:08:40.744 Well, this Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, but he's become the cornerstone. 00:08:40.744 --> 00:08:45.352 And then Peter says this there is salvation in no one else. 00:08:45.352 --> 00:08:52.935 There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. 00:08:52.935 --> 00:09:01.490 Is Jesus the only way to eternal life or are all religions ultimately the same? 00:09:01.490 --> 00:09:07.308 One way to approach this topic is to answer the question is Jesus the only way to eternal life? 00:09:07.308 --> 00:09:08.411 Simply by saying yes. 00:09:09.621 --> 00:09:11.822 I asked that question to our group this morning at 6.30. 00:09:11.822 --> 00:09:13.066 That was Brian Burton's response. 00:09:13.066 --> 00:09:15.471 Yes, period, now let's go eat brunch. 00:09:15.471 --> 00:09:18.668 You know like let's just get out of church a little bit early today. 00:09:18.668 --> 00:09:19.110 I love that. 00:09:19.110 --> 00:09:20.846 That's an option, that's a possibility. 00:09:20.846 --> 00:09:27.346 The other option, and the one we're going to engage with this morning for a little while, is to go on a little bit of a quest for truth. 00:09:28.246 --> 00:09:33.100 As Jesus followers, we do not have to be afraid of the truth. 00:09:33.100 --> 00:09:49.365 Here's a big claim there will never be any truth, any scientific discovery or archaeological find or any cultural, narrative or philosophical idea that invalidates the resurrection and the kingship of Jesus Christ. 00:09:49.365 --> 00:09:58.451 As followers of Jesus, we do not have to be afraid of asking the big questions and then honestly seeking for answers. 00:09:58.451 --> 00:10:14.346 Jesus has declared he's the way, the truth and the life, and if we believe that, if we believe that he resurrected from the dead, if we believe that that actually happened, then there is nothing in this world or in the future that will invalidate the resurrection of Jesus. 00:10:14.346 --> 00:10:15.650 That's 1 Corinthians 15. 00:10:15.650 --> 00:10:19.182 Paul said hey, if you can prove that Jesus didn't rise, we can go home. 00:10:19.182 --> 00:10:20.165 We're wasting our time. 00:10:20.165 --> 00:10:28.226 But then Paul says if Jesus did rise, everything changes Culturally. 00:10:28.507 --> 00:10:41.759 In this age of post-truth, of tolerance and coexistence, to claim exclusive truth, to say that there is one way you need to know, it's going to get you labeled. 00:10:41.759 --> 00:10:44.725 People are going to say well, you're just being divisive. 00:10:44.725 --> 00:10:51.890 Why don't you hold your truth and I'll hold my truth and we can just live our lives according to our own truth. 00:10:51.890 --> 00:10:56.587 My beliefs aren't hurting anybody, so don't let your beliefs infringe on my beliefs. 00:10:56.587 --> 00:10:57.390 Don't be divisive. 00:10:58.539 --> 00:10:59.927 You might be called ignorant. 00:10:59.927 --> 00:11:04.331 People might say well, you just don't know enough about what other people believe. 00:11:04.331 --> 00:11:08.432 If you really understood, you would come to see that all religions are basically the same. 00:11:08.432 --> 00:11:13.456 We're all teaching the same things and aiming at the same goal, and even beyond that. 00:11:13.456 --> 00:11:20.872 If you'd been born in India, you'd probably be Hindu, or if you'd been born in Iran, you'd probably be Muslim. 00:11:20.872 --> 00:11:26.990 If you'd been born in China, you might be an atheist or a Buddhist. 00:11:26.990 --> 00:11:31.466 Depending on where you have been born determines what you believe. 00:11:31.466 --> 00:11:33.292 You're just ignorant. 00:11:33.360 --> 00:11:45.279 If you really believe that there's only one way to God, maybe you're not ignorant, maybe you're arrogant, maybe you just think you're better than everybody else, and that's the narrative that we hear so often in our culture today. 00:11:45.279 --> 00:11:48.110 Well, you Christians, you just think you're better than everybody else. 00:11:48.110 --> 00:11:52.692 You look down on everybody else and you claim to know the only way to God. 00:11:52.692 --> 00:11:57.891 Or, at the worst, you're intolerant and dangerous. 00:11:57.891 --> 00:12:09.646 How could you ever believe that someone who believes differently than you is condemned to an eternal hell, even though they were sincere in their belief, they were good and kind, a devout person? 00:12:09.646 --> 00:12:21.172 That's dangerous to believe that a God would condemn someone who was sincere and devoted to their faith to hell, even if it was a different system of faith. 00:12:21.740 --> 00:12:22.644 What do we do with this? 00:12:22.644 --> 00:12:27.230 Have you heard people say things like have you heard those narratives in our culture? 00:12:27.230 --> 00:12:34.427 I talk to our younger people all the time and they hear that over and over and over on social media, in the schools. 00:12:34.427 --> 00:12:39.625 And it's wild, the narratives that come when we stand up and we say there's one way to God. 00:12:39.625 --> 00:12:46.543 But here's the thing we go back to John 14 in Acts, chapter 4. 00:12:46.543 --> 00:12:53.341 If we read these words and we take them at their face value, we read them for what they are. 00:12:53.341 --> 00:13:02.240 It is impossible to read the words of Jesus in John 14 and the words of Peter in Acts, chapter 4. 00:13:02.240 --> 00:13:08.014 It's impossible to see them as anything other than a claim of exclusive truth. 00:13:08.014 --> 00:13:13.081 And that puts us in an interesting position today, does it not? 00:13:13.081 --> 00:13:14.745 What do we do with this? 00:13:14.745 --> 00:13:16.490 How do we sort through this? 00:13:16.509 --> 00:13:18.382 We're going to ask three questions today. 00:13:18.382 --> 00:13:21.110 Number one why does religion exist? 00:13:21.110 --> 00:13:25.382 The second question aren't all religions basically the same? 00:13:25.382 --> 00:13:30.793 And then the final question for the day are Jesus and Peter right? 00:13:30.793 --> 00:13:41.592 And our goal is to sort through this topic and hopefully, if you're a follower of Jesus, land in a place that inspires confidence in what you believe. 00:13:41.592 --> 00:13:52.860 And if you're here and you're not a follower of Christ, the goal is to maybe spark some thought, to ask some questions of you and say, hey, how's your worldview working out? 00:13:52.860 --> 00:14:01.865 Or is it possible that the exclusivity of Christ is actually a good thing in a world that says all roads lead to the same place? 00:14:01.865 --> 00:14:05.812 So, question number one Y'all good Still with me? 00:14:05.812 --> 00:14:07.961 Okay, everybody's like? 00:14:07.961 --> 00:14:09.904 Can we pause and get some more coffee for a moment? 00:14:09.904 --> 00:14:11.207 It's a little bit rainy outside. 00:14:12.090 --> 00:14:13.413 Why does religion exist? 00:14:13.413 --> 00:14:25.673 Why, when we look back through the annals of history, why is it that every society in human history has had some version of God? 00:14:25.673 --> 00:14:29.305 Why is it that we, as people are drawn to worship. 00:14:29.305 --> 00:14:33.833 Well, I think it's because we've always asked big existential questions. 00:14:33.833 --> 00:14:37.370 We've always looked at the world and wondered why are we here? 00:14:37.370 --> 00:14:40.808 Why is there something instead of nothing? 00:14:40.808 --> 00:14:43.669 What is our purpose for existing? 00:14:43.669 --> 00:14:45.989 Why are we on the planet? 00:14:45.989 --> 00:14:48.980 Ants just do their thing, y'all. 00:14:48.980 --> 00:14:55.725 They build their ant hills and then my four-year-old kicks them and they rebuild their ant hill. 00:14:55.725 --> 00:15:01.314 There's not that existential question of like, why am I rebuilding this thing for another toddler to walk by and wipe it out? 00:15:01.314 --> 00:15:02.639 They just do what they do. 00:15:02.639 --> 00:15:05.745 Birds build their nest, fish swim in the sea. 00:15:05.745 --> 00:15:08.949 Humans ask big questions of purpose. 00:15:08.949 --> 00:15:10.232 Why are we here? 00:15:10.252 --> 00:15:14.386 The second thing that we ask we want to know why the world's broken like. 00:15:14.386 --> 00:15:17.115 Why are we the way that we are? 00:15:17.115 --> 00:15:18.337 Why is there violence? 00:15:18.337 --> 00:15:19.442 Why is there anger? 00:15:19.442 --> 00:15:20.746 Why is there hatred? 00:15:20.746 --> 00:15:22.514 Why is there animosity between people? 00:15:22.514 --> 00:15:24.039 Why are there natural disasters? 00:15:24.039 --> 00:15:27.986 Why is there pain in my life and in the earth? 00:15:27.986 --> 00:15:28.927 What? 00:15:28.927 --> 00:15:29.970 What's the problem? 00:15:30.711 --> 00:15:33.221 The third question we ask is well, is there any hope? 00:15:33.221 --> 00:15:40.314 Is there any shot at me leaving my pain behind? 00:15:40.314 --> 00:15:44.624 Is there any solution to the problems that we see all around us? 00:15:44.624 --> 00:15:48.312 And the fourth question is what does the future hold Like? 00:15:48.312 --> 00:15:49.547 What's the goal of all this? 00:15:49.547 --> 00:15:50.975 So like, if we sort all of this out, then what does the future hold? 00:15:50.975 --> 00:15:51.557 What's the goal of all this? 00:15:51.557 --> 00:15:55.010 So, if we sort all of this out, then what does the future look like? 00:15:55.010 --> 00:16:00.606 What does it look like when the problems get fixed and the solution is implemented? 00:16:03.013 --> 00:16:06.760 It's an interesting thing to consider, especially in our Western world. 00:16:06.760 --> 00:16:23.559 When you look back at the last couple of hundred years, you had the age of enlightenment that placed this high value on human intellect and human reason, the ability for us as people to think and logic our way into a better world. 00:16:23.559 --> 00:16:33.225 And then, on the back end of the enlightenment, came the Industrial Revolution, where we applied our logic and our reason to the scientific world and we begin to invent and create. 00:16:33.225 --> 00:16:53.866 And the thought for a lot of people in those days and times was that we could eventually evolve beyond our need for God, that through science and intellect and reason and through better technology, better systems, better human creations, that in our world we would eventually move beyond our need for faith. 00:16:53.866 --> 00:17:15.096 We could essentially build a society that was good and functional and full of hope, that answered the problems the world faces with human-created solutions and built a better future, but in reality what has happened has been the opposite our future, but in reality what has happened has been the opposite. 00:17:15.137 --> 00:17:19.463 As science has progressed, we haven't gotten better at solving the problem of violence. 00:17:19.463 --> 00:17:20.685 We've gotten better at killing other people. 00:17:20.685 --> 00:17:26.543 As we've advanced in our intellect about what we know about the universe, it hasn't led to more peace on the inside. 00:17:26.543 --> 00:17:28.648 If anything, we have more questions than ever before. 00:17:28.648 --> 00:17:34.989 The more we know and the more capacity we have, it seems like we don't answer questions. 00:17:34.989 --> 00:17:39.465 We just open the door to so much more that we do not understand. 00:17:39.465 --> 00:17:43.801 We're not solving the problem of anxiety with human intellect and reason. 00:17:43.801 --> 00:17:48.569 We're not bringing peace through technology and invention. 00:17:48.569 --> 00:17:55.490 The solution to the problem has to be bigger than us, if the last 200 years have proven anything. 00:17:55.490 --> 00:17:58.622 So what do we do? 00:17:59.855 --> 00:18:08.907 It's actually another interesting thing to note that it was late in the Enlightenment that atheism actually came to be seen as a valid belief system. 00:18:08.907 --> 00:18:15.521 Now we have writings of people who didn't believe in God as far back as ancient Greece, people who claimed there was no God. 00:18:15.521 --> 00:18:23.879 But in terms of an actual belief system that you could build your life upon, it didn't really emerge until the end of the Enlightenment time. 00:18:23.879 --> 00:18:34.064 But the whole secular progressive ideology is built on this theory that the more we progress, the less we need to rely on our faith. 00:18:34.064 --> 00:18:43.757 According to Pew Research, interestingly enough, as a whole, the world today is actually growing more religious and not less. 00:18:43.757 --> 00:18:59.551 It's fascinating, now, not true in the Western world, not true in the United States of America, not true in much of Western Europe, but as a whole, in terms of total population on the planet, the world today is actually growing more religious and not less. 00:18:59.872 --> 00:19:05.719 I believe in large part because we have not yet found great answers to these four questions. 00:19:05.719 --> 00:19:09.288 In most cases, people don't have purpose. 00:19:09.288 --> 00:19:14.582 People don't understand how to address the problem of the brokenness in the world. 00:19:14.582 --> 00:19:23.832 Many people are living without hope, and people are afraid of what the future holds, and so they turn to faith. 00:19:23.832 --> 00:19:30.235 If religion is ultimately about making sense of life, then that leads us to question number two Aren't all religions the same? 00:19:30.235 --> 00:19:34.446 We're all just trying to become better people. 00:19:34.446 --> 00:19:50.006 Whether you're a Buddhist or a Hindu, or you're a reformed Jew or you're a Christian, we're all just trying to reach our version of God and to do good in the earth while we are here. 00:19:50.006 --> 00:19:55.526 Ultimately, like rivers, we are all flowing eventually into the same ocean. 00:19:56.328 --> 00:19:56.910 It was Oprah. 00:19:56.910 --> 00:20:07.226 A few years ago, in a conversation with someone who was at the taping of her show, she said this there are millions of ways to be humans and many ways to the one you call God. 00:20:07.226 --> 00:20:11.524 And at this point in time, someone stood up and tried to counter what she was saying. 00:20:11.524 --> 00:20:26.538 And her response to the person who stood up and spoke to her was there couldn't possibly be just one way and, statistically speaking, over 50% of people who call themselves Christians actually agree with Oprah. 00:20:26.538 --> 00:20:33.658 They say I believe in Jesus, I believe he's the way, but there are other valid ways as well. 00:20:33.658 --> 00:20:36.547 We're all heading to the same place in the end. 00:20:36.547 --> 00:20:39.596 Aren't all religions the same? 00:20:40.499 --> 00:20:45.719 Here's an interesting graphic that may be helpful to us as we think through this topic today. 00:20:45.719 --> 00:20:57.861 This is the religious landscape of our world today, and I know you probably can't see the words from where you are, because I can't see the words from where I am, but I just want you to see how the globe shakes out. 00:20:57.861 --> 00:20:59.464 So the dark pink on North America shakes out. 00:20:59.464 --> 00:21:14.665 So the dark pink on North America, south America and other parts of the world, that's primarily Christian regions 31% of the population on the planet today identifies as Christian 31%. 00:21:14.665 --> 00:21:21.545 Now, what's interesting is, the epicenter of Christianity actually is not the Western world, it's not Australia, it's not Northern Europe. 00:21:21.565 --> 00:21:26.324 The epicenter of Christianity in the world is actually sub-Saharan Africa as a whole. 00:21:26.324 --> 00:21:31.483 The fastest growing segment of Christianity in the world is sub-Saharan Africa. 00:21:31.483 --> 00:21:37.660 By 2050, four out of 10 Christians in the world will live in sub-Saharan Africa. 00:21:37.660 --> 00:21:42.530 The second largest religion in the world today is Islam. 00:21:42.530 --> 00:21:50.769 Nearly 24% of the world today is Muslim, primarily in Northern Africa, sinai Peninsula, the Middle East. 00:21:50.769 --> 00:21:55.121 Islam is actually the fastest growing religion in the world. 00:21:55.121 --> 00:22:07.330 Most religious scholars, people that study this stuff, say that by 2050 to 2060, islam will actually overtake Christianity as the largest system of faith in the world. 00:22:08.576 --> 00:22:16.195 The third largest group on the chart is the yellow over there on the far east the unaffiliated group. 00:22:16.195 --> 00:22:19.405 Sixteen percent of the world today claims no religion. 00:22:19.405 --> 00:22:23.977 Percent of the world today claims no religion. 00:22:23.977 --> 00:22:30.498 Now you notice this is mostly primarily in China and some of those surrounding nations where it's actually illegal to profess a faith People in that area. 00:22:30.498 --> 00:22:40.290 They might follow the teachings of Confucius or some other traditional Chinese religious teachers, but by and large they have no religious affiliation. 00:22:40.290 --> 00:22:46.288 That's 16% of the world by 2050, they expect that number to decrease to 13%. 00:22:46.288 --> 00:22:51.107 So the unaffiliated group in the world is decreasing. 00:22:51.107 --> 00:22:54.886 Christianity is exploding in sub-Saharan Africa. 00:22:54.886 --> 00:22:57.324 Islam is rapidly expanding. 00:22:57.955 --> 00:23:03.550 Then you have Buddhism above China, there, and then below as well. 00:23:03.550 --> 00:23:06.817 Buddhism is 7% of the world's population. 00:23:06.817 --> 00:23:08.321 It's declining rapidly. 00:23:08.321 --> 00:23:10.125 Sorry, I missed Hinduism. 00:23:10.125 --> 00:23:12.069 Hinduism is entirely. 00:23:12.069 --> 00:23:16.740 97% of the world's Hindus are in India, Maritas and Nepal. 00:23:16.740 --> 00:23:20.647 That's 15% of the world's population. 00:23:20.647 --> 00:23:26.595 6% of the world's population are some version of folk religions or tribal religions. 00:23:26.595 --> 00:23:38.948 That makes up the majority of the 4,000 religions mentioned in the video at the beginning, and then 0.8% of the people in the world are other. 00:23:38.948 --> 00:23:41.261 There's not really a clear classification. 00:23:41.261 --> 00:23:45.806 Maybe it's a smorgasbord, if you will, of religious belief. 00:23:45.806 --> 00:24:01.625 And then, last but certainly not least, 0.2% of the world's population is Jewish, primarily in Israel, and so we look at this and it's just interesting to me one to see it laid out across the globe. 00:24:02.246 --> 00:24:12.740 But it would seem to give credence to the thought that where you were born is maybe the primary determining factor in the religious belief that you adopt as your own. 00:24:12.740 --> 00:24:15.126 So what do we do with that? 00:24:15.126 --> 00:24:21.526 If where you're born plays such a big role in what you believe, what do we do with that? 00:24:21.526 --> 00:24:29.849 Well, for many people, they look at something like this and the easy solution is to say well, all religions must be the same. 00:24:29.849 --> 00:24:31.998 That's the easiest. 00:24:31.998 --> 00:24:37.297 Simplest answer is just to say hey, it really doesn't matter where you're born or what you believe. 00:24:37.297 --> 00:24:39.923 We all go to the same place eventually. 00:24:40.344 --> 00:24:42.388 Anyway, John Tyson is a pastor in New York. 00:24:42.388 --> 00:24:47.892 He was teaching about the exclusivity of Christ recently and he made an incredible point. 00:24:47.892 --> 00:24:51.761 He was talking about why it's easier to believe this. 00:24:51.761 --> 00:25:01.500 He said because once you admit that all religions are not the same, it destabilizes the simple cultural narrative about who's right and who's wrong, the simple cultural narrative about who's right and who's wrong. 00:25:01.500 --> 00:25:09.046 If all religions are not the same, then what that means is that somebody is right and that somebody is wrong. 00:25:09.046 --> 00:25:16.971 Or, to say it differently, it means that one way is right and all the other ways are wrong. 00:25:16.971 --> 00:25:24.024 And in a world where the cultural narrative is well, you can believe whatever you choose. 00:25:24.024 --> 00:25:26.275 As long as it works for you and it helps you become a better person, then we're all good. 00:25:26.815 --> 00:25:36.225 Basically, the Hakuna Matata philosophy applied to our religion is like hey, no worries man, you just do you and live your best life and don't worry about it. 00:25:36.225 --> 00:25:44.115 And we'll all be good to say that someone is right and that someone being right means that everybody else is wrong. 00:25:44.115 --> 00:25:46.381 That destabilizes the whole thing. 00:25:46.381 --> 00:25:49.147 So what do we do with that? 00:25:49.147 --> 00:25:53.976 Well, let me show you another graphic and this is another one where it's like you're not able to see all the things on the screen. 00:25:53.976 --> 00:25:55.059 Take a picture of it. 00:25:55.059 --> 00:25:58.688 You can blow it up later We'll put it on line for you as well. 00:25:59.555 --> 00:26:05.048 This is a chart comparing Islam, buddhism, hinduism, judaism and Christianity. 00:26:05.048 --> 00:26:11.916 We'll talk about the founding, the deity, worship, the purpose, the problem, the solution and the goal. 00:26:11.916 --> 00:26:22.583 My goal in putting this chart together was to accurately describe Islam and Buddhism, or Hinduism and Judaism, so that somebody who believes this would look at this and say, yeah, that's a pretty. 00:26:22.583 --> 00:26:26.570 It's not everything, but it's a pretty good illustration of what we believe. 00:26:26.570 --> 00:26:28.721 And we're not going to go over all of this, don't worry. 00:26:28.721 --> 00:26:30.246 Some of y'all look very nervous right now. 00:26:30.246 --> 00:26:31.997 You're like are we about to like break this? 00:26:31.997 --> 00:26:34.461 It's already James 11, 22. 00:26:34.461 --> 00:26:35.703 I don't think we have time to go through all that. 00:26:35.703 --> 00:26:37.185 We don't have time to go through all this, don't worry. 00:26:37.185 --> 00:26:43.313 I just want to show you a couple of things Founding different times founded. 00:26:43.313 --> 00:26:46.022 I just realized I have the same thing on Buddhism and Hinduism. 00:26:46.022 --> 00:26:46.825 That's not accurate. 00:26:46.825 --> 00:26:50.898 My bad, founded at different times. 00:26:50.918 --> 00:26:52.100 But look at the deity line. 00:26:52.100 --> 00:26:54.805 Islam says there is no God but Allah. 00:26:54.805 --> 00:26:58.076 Islam is unitarian, monotheistic. 00:26:58.076 --> 00:26:59.119 There's one God. 00:26:59.119 --> 00:27:05.273 Buddhism says there is no specific god or deity to worship. 00:27:05.273 --> 00:27:08.600 It's almost an atheistic system of belief. 00:27:08.600 --> 00:27:11.605 The hindus, they're polytheistic. 00:27:11.605 --> 00:27:15.761 They have a whole pantheon, if you will, of gods that they worship. 00:27:16.765 --> 00:27:20.336 The jewish people believe in one god, yahweh, the god of abraham, isaac and jacob. 00:27:20.336 --> 00:27:25.775 For us, as christians, we believe in one God, the God of Abraham, isaac and Jacob, revealed in Christ, testified by the Spirit. 00:27:25.775 --> 00:27:30.306 We say there's one God, but he's not Unitarian like the Muslims say. 00:27:30.306 --> 00:27:31.128 He's Trinitarian. 00:27:31.128 --> 00:27:32.701 He's Father, son and Spirit. 00:27:32.701 --> 00:27:39.947 Some of you, the dots are connecting and you're like well, all of these groups can't be right. 00:27:39.947 --> 00:27:44.598 Then you fast forward and you're like, well, all of these groups can't be right. 00:27:44.598 --> 00:27:46.221 Then you fast forward and you look at the purpose and the statement of purpose. 00:27:46.221 --> 00:27:52.281 It generally revolves around reaching oneness with the God of your choice. 00:27:52.361 --> 00:27:58.359 The problem we've done things that are not good and the world's broken because of what we've done. 00:27:58.359 --> 00:28:06.524 The Hindus would say there's this cumulative total of our past, karma that keeps our soul tethered to the natural, and we've got to escape that. 00:28:06.524 --> 00:28:12.406 A Christian would say we've sinned against God and a Muslim would say we've failed to follow the will of Allah. 00:28:12.406 --> 00:28:13.456 That's the problem. 00:28:13.456 --> 00:28:15.079 But then you get to the solution. 00:28:15.079 --> 00:28:23.526 How do we solve the problem that is created and how do we live up to the purpose for which we were created? 00:28:23.526 --> 00:28:34.605 The Buddhists would say you got to follow the eightfold path and you have to eliminate internal desire and be delivered to achieve this state of moksha. 00:28:34.605 --> 00:28:36.355 The Hindus would say something similar. 00:28:36.355 --> 00:28:43.528 You achieve moksha, this release from the cycle of birth and death and rebirth, by having good karma. 00:28:43.528 --> 00:28:53.126 In other words, the good has to outweigh the bad at the end of your life, and if the good doesn't outweigh the bad, then you're reincarnated and you get a chance to try again. 00:28:55.155 --> 00:29:10.778 The Jewish people would say the solution to the problem we've sinned against God is you've got to follow the teachings of the Torah and we're waiting on the Messiah to come. 00:29:10.778 --> 00:29:18.639 The Muslims would say that to solve the problem of the world we embrace the five pillars, we say the creed daily, we pray, we give alms, we make a pilgrimage to Mecca, we fast during Ramadan. 00:29:18.639 --> 00:29:21.422 We are completely devoted to Allah. 00:29:21.422 --> 00:29:23.745 And then the Christian. 00:29:23.745 --> 00:29:27.149 How do we solve the problem facing the world? 00:29:27.149 --> 00:29:28.831 Be reconciled to God. 00:29:28.831 --> 00:29:32.386 It's salvation by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone. 00:29:32.386 --> 00:29:34.863 There's nothing that you can do to earn it. 00:29:34.863 --> 00:29:37.504 It's a gift of Almighty God, it's a gift of his grace. 00:29:39.296 --> 00:29:40.463 Then you talk about the goal. 00:29:40.463 --> 00:29:44.217 What does it look like when all of the world is put right? 00:29:44.217 --> 00:29:47.890 Well, for the Muslim, it's a global caliphate of Islam. 00:29:47.890 --> 00:29:56.783 It's Islam that stretches from the east to the west and ultimately leads to the resurrection of the righteous and the paradise, and the infidels, those that don't believe in Allah, and to hell. 00:29:56.783 --> 00:30:03.062 For the Buddhist, the goal is actually the release from suffering. 00:30:03.062 --> 00:30:10.785 By entering a state of non-existence called nirvana, you go from existing to not existing. 00:30:10.785 --> 00:30:14.463 Hindus would say something very similar. 00:30:14.463 --> 00:30:18.985 You're released from existence, you enter oneness with the Brahman, into enlightenment. 00:30:18.985 --> 00:30:23.961 The hope of Judaism is a Messiah who will redeem the people from their sin and reconcile them to Yahweh. 00:30:23.961 --> 00:30:36.742 The hope of the Christian is a new heaven, a new earth, an embodied eternal existence where we dwell with God and the tears are wiped away and the pain is no more because the world is put right. 00:30:39.175 --> 00:30:42.162 Y'all, we've got some contradiction here, do we not? 00:30:42.162 --> 00:30:47.584 I think it was hulk hogan who said the one thing that all religions have in common is that they're all different. 00:30:47.584 --> 00:30:51.822 Like do we just quote hulk hogan that the internet said? 00:30:51.822 --> 00:30:52.865 Hulk hogan said that. 00:30:52.865 --> 00:30:55.335 I don't know where he said that or why they attribute it to him. 00:30:55.335 --> 00:30:56.437 I just thought it was interesting. 00:30:56.437 --> 00:31:30.038 And even if hulk hogan didn't say that, that statement is true, when you look at the worldview laid out by the different systems of belief, the one thing that they all have in common is that they're all making vastly different claims about who God is, about why that we're here, about what the problem is and about how the problem gets solved, how is salvation achieved, and then we have vastly different claims about what it looks like when everything is put right. 00:31:30.038 --> 00:31:34.586 We can't both exist and not exist at the same time. 00:31:34.647 --> 00:31:38.860 If the Buddhists are right, then the Jewish people are wrong, and vice versa. 00:31:38.860 --> 00:31:41.244 Here's the point. 00:31:41.244 --> 00:31:52.357 Everyone is making a claim to exclusive truth, even the people who would articulate some version of pluralism that says every road leads to the same place. 00:31:52.357 --> 00:32:02.467 If the pluralists are right, then everybody on the chart is wrong, because everybody on the chart is saying that all roads don't lead to the same place. 00:32:02.467 --> 00:32:08.940 You got to take our road to get to the ultimate goal, and here's what else we know. 00:32:08.940 --> 00:32:15.548 There are people who are sincere in their devotion to Allah. 00:32:15.548 --> 00:32:19.285 They're devout, they're committed. 00:32:19.285 --> 00:32:28.661 Devout, they're committed and, by the world's definition, they are nice and they're kind and they're compassionate. 00:32:28.661 --> 00:32:34.580 They genuinely believe what they say they believe and they hold their beliefs with kindness and compassion for others. 00:32:34.580 --> 00:32:44.427 There are people of Buddhist belief who are the same way, and people of Hindu faith are the same way, and people of Jewish faith are the same way, and people of Hindu faith were the same way and people of Jewish faith were the same way. 00:32:44.447 --> 00:32:49.718 I remember being in Israel a few years ago and we had lunch at a place outside Jericho. 00:32:49.718 --> 00:32:56.278 It was a restaurant owned by a Muslim man and I ended up riding this Muslim man's camel. 00:32:56.278 --> 00:33:04.946 The camel's name was Sammy and I rode Sammy around the parking lot and as we were getting ready to leave the restaurant that day, you're like what does Sammy have to do with it? 00:33:04.946 --> 00:33:05.916 Sammy has nothing to do with it. 00:33:05.916 --> 00:33:08.509 I just can't tell the story without bringing Sammy into the story. 00:33:08.570 --> 00:33:19.262 And as we're leaving the restaurant that day, this Muslim man looks at me, he knows I'm a follower of Jesus and he says you pray to your God for me and I'll pray to my God for you. 00:33:19.262 --> 00:33:29.267 And it was a phenomenal moment because this man, he'd been so kind and so hospitable to our group and so compassionate, so gracious. 00:33:29.267 --> 00:33:32.642 But in that moment what I knew and what he knew were the same thing. 00:33:32.642 --> 00:33:36.177 I thought he was wrong and he thought that I was wrong. 00:33:36.177 --> 00:33:46.861 And while we enjoyed our time together, we both knew we could not both be right, and I would love to see him become a Christian and he would love to see me become a Muslim. 00:33:48.084 --> 00:34:01.922 Our tour guide that trip was a Jewish man that I grew to really like and have a friendship with, and he could quote more of the New Testament than I've probably even ever read, but yet he didn't believe in Jesus. 00:34:01.922 --> 00:34:07.550 He thought that we were wrong and he knew that we thought he was wrong and we were friends. 00:34:07.550 --> 00:34:20.340 But at the end of the day, we walked away knowing that I wanted nothing more than for him to become a Christian and he wanted nothing more than for me to become Jewish, because we both believe that our way leads to God. 00:34:20.340 --> 00:34:31.541 And so to say that all roads lead to the same place is to simply say we don't believe any of this and we've got to do something with that. 00:34:31.541 --> 00:34:37.483 If the pluralists are right, that all roads lead to the same place and all these individual religions are wrong. 00:34:37.483 --> 00:34:40.742 And so now we're back to our original question who's telling the truth? 00:34:40.742 --> 00:34:45.280 Who actually knows what is right and real? 00:34:45.280 --> 00:34:51.758 In other words, are Jesus and Peter telling the truth in John 14 and in Acts, chapter 4? 00:34:51.758 --> 00:34:56.871 Well, let's ask this question what makes Jesus different? 00:34:56.871 --> 00:34:59.256 We talked about Jesus for a few minutes. 00:34:59.256 --> 00:34:59.978 Is that good with you guys? 00:34:59.978 --> 00:35:07.545 Well, one thing that makes Jesus different he wasn't actually the only apocalyptic preacher from Israel. 00:35:07.545 --> 00:35:16.505 He wasn't the only one who claimed to be the Messiah who would deliver the people of God, but he is the only one we're still debating today. 00:35:18.035 --> 00:35:19.842 Gamaliel in Acts, chapter five. 00:35:19.842 --> 00:35:21.443 I'm gonna go to the scriptures, acts five, verse 35. 00:35:21.443 --> 00:35:22.086 Gamaliel gathers chapter 5. 00:35:22.086 --> 00:35:23.474