Jesus Is The Only Way

 For no one can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:11 (NASB)

Over the years on TV shows, talk shows, and in various places, there has been the suggestion, if not the outright statement, that there are many roads and many ways to heaven.

Yet there is only one road and only one way to heaven. Through and by the Person Jesus Christ.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6 (NASB)

You could be the best man or woman on earth. Your days and nights could be spent doing wonderful charity work, even risking your own life to accomplish that work, but in the end, without Jesus–all your efforts are meaningless.

All of us have become like one who is unclean,

    and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;

we all shrivel up like a leaf,

    and like the wind our sins sweep us away. Isaiah 64:6 (NIV)

Without a proper understanding of who Jesus is and how important, even pivotal, He is to making us right with God and clearing the path to heaven for us, we can make no progress toward heaven. Our feeble efforts and attempts at goodness leave us spiritually bankrupt when our time on earth is through. No leader, not even the best preacher in the world, can save us. And there are many “false saviors” promising heaven on earth if we just follow them, give them our money, and serve at their altar. We live in a foolish world where many claim to be the path to God either through gimmicks, false religion, cults, or atheism which itself leads to an empty life of serving the god of Self.

Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. John 10:7-9

So how do we enter this gate, follow this one true path? It is so ridiculously simple that the very idea is scoffed at, even by some religious people. Here is a truth you should hold onto forever: Jesus Plus anything else is not Christianity. Any time someone tells you that Jesus is not enough, you are in false religion territory. Every Christian cult on this planet will present you with a Jesus+ formula to get to heaven, as if Jesus is not enough to save you.

“The Sinner's Prayer” is presented with variations in Christian churches. But it is essentially this: Jesus, I confess I am a sinner in need of Salvation. Please forgive my sins and come into my heart so I can be Yours forever. Amen.

The Bible puts it this way:

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Romans 3:23 (NASB)

For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 (NASB)

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:28 (NASB)

that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. Romans 10:9-10 (NASB)

Once you have prayed the Sinner's Prayer and become Born Again, then what?

Ideally you find a church, start reading your Bible, begin praying (talking) to God. You grow as a Christian and your life will bear fruit, will show the changes within you by the actions on the outside. But you must keep in mind it is not right actions, or as the Bible says it “good works” that either save you or keep you saved, that was already accomplished by the finished works of Jesus on the Cross when He died for your and my sins. What right actions do is please God and can show to others that you are now different, your life has changed for the better. Good actions can be a witness to others about how God changed you.

Nevertheless, sin can still be a problem, though hopefully less so for you. Any Christian who says they have never sinned after being saved is a liar. We still live in a world of sin, and in a body prone to the effects of sin. We don’t need to continue to be saved over and over again, but we do need to confess our sins to God when they happen. And with the help of the Holy Spirit who entered us when we became born again we can change our bad behavior with God’s help. Thankfully we have a God who is merciful and patient with us.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 (NASB)

When you are saved, born again, your position in heaven has been secured by Jesus. Sin will be a problem until we get to heaven, but by placing your faith, trust, in Jesus you have been giving a new life and a way to find forgiveness and help on the path Jesus paved for us as we walk toward heaven, to our eternal home.

So don’t be misled by fine sounding religious platitudes. Never accept the lie that there are lots of ways to heaven. While it is true that we each find Jesus in different ways, some at church, some at revivals or other religious meetings, and some even in bars or within prison walls, Jesus is still and will always be the only way anyone enters heaven’s gates.

Which Bible To Use?

For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe. 1 Thessalonians 2:13

    I have been reading the Bible for fifty years. I used the King James Version for many of those years. Indeed, I didn’t even know there were any other English Bibles until much later when I came across the New King James and New International Version Bibles.

    Since my discovery long ago of the various Bible versions I have wrestled with which Bible version should be my primary Bible. Which one for my “go to” Bible that could fully replace the beloved King James Version Bible, which is now quite dated, but its advantage is that it’s a very literal English version translation.

    In what follows I am primarily focused upon the New Testament Scripture because that is where we draw our doctrines and teachings for the Christian Church today. This in no way means the Old Testament is unimportant, because it is, yet we live under the New Covenant (New Testament). And if your New Testament Bible is both clear and accurate you can be confident the translators did a good job on the Old Testament as well.

    One of the issues I came across in Bible translation was the underlying text, particularly the New Testament Greek text. For years I was a Greek Received Text guy. That is the text used by the King James and New King James Version Bibles. But after years of consideration and study, I now believe the Greek Critical Text is generally the better New Testament Greek text, and it is used in nearly every modern Bible version for the New Testament. 

    There is about 85% agreement between the two main Greek texts used for all New Testament Bibles, and there is No Major Doctrinal Difference between the Greek texts used. So why is this an issue? Because if you haven’t already, eventually you are going to run into “King James Only Churches” and “King James Only People”.

    Those churches who have made the Bible version choice into a “test of fellowship” are making a mistake in my opinion. The church needs no added divisions. There are many worthy Bible versions, and it may be that different versions resonate with different people. Sadly, the Baptist Church I grew up in, was Saved in, and that I dearly loved, is now a King James Only Church. These are not bad people. And there is nothing wrong with choosing the venerable King James Bible as a favorite, even for a church. But it usually doesn’t stop there. On my old church's website I was disappointed to see numerous sermons devoted to why the King James Version is the best and it was clear from the posted messages you had better leave your NIV and other Bible versions at home. Such division based upon a choice of English Bible translation is unhealthy.

   The church I attend today primarily uses the New International Version (NIV) and I agree with the choice. Yet a speaker one Sunday used a New King James Version (NKJV) and no one thought twice about it. I have carried my English Standard Version Bible to church and got no sideways looks. The point is not to make a point of which Bible a Christian or Church uses in order to be accepted.

    Are any Bible translations perfect? No, because humans had a hand in translating them, and humans aren’t perfect. Is God’s Word perfect? Absolutely Yes, in the original autographs the Word of God is perfect and without error. But unless you are fluent in Biblical Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic, you are going to need a translation. Which brings us to choosing a reliable Bible, the best Bible translation we can find.

   The largest factor in Bible translation depends not upon the differences between the Greek Received and Greek Critical text of the New Testament, but rather in the translation philosophy, which is either a Literal, or Thought-For-Thought translation philosophy. You will come across names like Formal Equivalent and Functional Equivalent, also Dynamic Equivalence and Essential Equivalence. Those are all just fancy names for either a Literal or Thought-For-Thought translation philosophy.

    To shorten this up a bit I will get right to the point. I believe the Literal Bible translations are the best. Historically all Bible translators used a Literal Translation approach to the Bible. I want my Bible to be as close to the original Scripture language's words as possible while still being clear and understandable. That brought me to the New American Standard Bible (NASB), with the  English Standard Version (ESV) being a close second. 

   What is the advantage of a Non-Literal Thought-For Thought Bible translation? To be fair they are usually much easier to read and understand. And for a large number of Christians and for preaching and teaching Bibles like the New International Version and Christian Standard Bible are a good choice. Pastors and teachers want very easy to understand Bibles to reach everyone in their churches. And the New International Version (NIV) and Christian Standard Bible (CSB) are not paraphrase Bibles, but tend to be more literal than many of their counterparts. Nevertheless, if you grew up reading the King James Version Bible like me, you may find these less literal Bible versions wanting as I have. 

      We all have favorite Bible versions, and this article is about Bibles in general and I point to my own choice and reason for it in this article. The purpose is to inform. But you need to find a Bible version that speaks most clearly to you and then Read It! For what good is a Bible sitting in a gilded trophy case or elevated to the rafters do if no one reads it?

   My personal choice after fifty years is that I want a strong version that is as close as possible to the original autographs, and that is why my primary Bible is the New American Standard Bible (NASB), with the English Standard Version (ESV) a close second choice. Both are literal Bible translations that speak to me. As mentioned, I grew up with the King James Version (KJV) Bible. It is a literal translation Bible, but my own humble opinion is that the King James Bible’s time has come and gone for many regarding general church use for a majority of Christians in general. The dated language and sentence structure is out of sync with today’s English language and grammar. I still refer to it from time to time and will read from it on occasion. I even prefer it for a specific verse or two. I would fault no one for still using it as their primary Bible. And that is the real point here, get the best information you can, read from several English Bible versions, pray about it, and then make your own choice. You need not even limit yourself to a single choice. I mostly use the NASB and ESV Bibles, but I compare them with other versions as well. Yet the advantage of having one primary Bible choice is to become familiar with it, along with scripture memorization from that one Bible.

    I end with this: No Bible will do you any good if you don’t read it. That is the most important choice of all–to read God's Word!

The Danger Of Ignoring The Word Of God

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the actual words of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unacquainted with the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to distinguish between good and evil. Hebrew 5:12-14

Revivals, Great Awakenings, souls saved and churches that grow all begin with the Word of God. If the church is not preaching from the Bible it is not growing. Of course gimmicks can bring about temporary excitement and growth, but in the long run gimmicks will not keep people in church. Teaching a false gospel that is sensually pleasing or that appeals to pride and human arrogance can have some success, but the foundation is rotten and no real fruit can ever come from it.

The Word of God found in the Holy Bible begins and ends with Jesus. He is the foundation that a church and Christian life can be built upon. Our Lord and Savior makes very clear that He is the only foundation, and that foundation is revealed and built and taught throughout the Bible.

And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. Matthew 7:26

For no one can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:11

Christians who neglect reading the Bible leave themselves spiritually weak and malnourished. I am not judging anyone, but I am speaking from experience. The times I have neglected reading God’s word have left me weak. Yet when I have been faithful in reading the Bible I have been at my strongest spiritually. If you can’t read the Bible for some reason, then listen to it through audio Bibles. Find some way to get the Word of God into your heart and mind.

One important overlooked aspect of reading God’s Word is that it keeps us from sinning.

I have treasured Your word in my heart,

So that I may not sin against You. Psalm 119:11

Ignorance of God’s Word can lead us into sin. On the Reddit Bible web site I constantly see foolish questions asked about sin that are answered in the Bible. Instead of asking these basic questions about Christian behavior on a social media site they should be opening their Bibles and increasing their understanding of God’s Word and His will for us.

Regarding sin, we too often think of sin as something done against us or against others. Yet all sin is ultimately committed against God. If we truly considered that every sin we commit from the smallest to largest sinful act is not against others but directly against God, it would completely change our casual attitude toward sin. Knowledge of God’s Word can protect us when we put away our ignorance and walk in the wisdom and power of God.

Too many people think that they just don’t have the time to read the Bible. Yet we make time for everything else. From our favorite TV shows and movies, to reading other books. Activities of all sorts fill our lives yet we cannot seem to carve out a half hour or even fifteen minutes to read God’s Word in a twenty-four hour day.

Then there is another set of reasons for the neglect of Scripture, in the multiplication of other forms of literature. People have so many other books to read now, that they have not much time for reading their Bibles, or if they have, they think they have not. No literature will ever take the place of the old Book. Why, even looked at as a mere literary product there is nothing in the world like it! And no religious literature, sermons, treatises, still less magazines and periodicals, will do for Christian men what the Bible will do for them. You make a tremendous mistake, for your own souls' sake, if your religious reading consists in what people have said and thought about Scripture, more than in the Scripture itself.  —Alexander MacLaren

Christians too often are willing to read other books, even books about the Bible, while neglecting the ‘old Book’ itself as Mr. MacLaren states. Or the Christian believes it is enough for the pastor or Bible teacher to do their Bible reading for them. They think the Sunday sermon is enough. But how do you know whether the pastor’s sermon or that book about the Bible is accurate?

On occasion I have found that even my favorite Bible teachers and preachers are in error in some point of Scripture or doctrine. How did I know? Because I have read and studied Scripture for myself and have been doing so for about fifty years now.

I remember one Sunday School class that our preacher was teaching many years ago. The pastor was promoting some teaching material from our denomination and it was not only utter nonsense, it was completely unscriptural. What did I do? I opened the Bible and gave him not my opinion, or something I had heard, but the Word itself. He could only try to refute me from our church’s stance using the material, but not from the Bible. I remember another time when I was a young salesman and one of my managers who was a teacher in a cult was trying to tell me that Jesus was not God but just a man. I pointed out scriptural support for the fact Jesus was not just a man but also God. He was taken aback by the Scripture but returned the next day with the ridiculous reply that the scripture I pointed out about Christ’s godhood was not in the “original Bible” saying that an entire chapter of the book of Matthew was not supposed to be in the Bible. 

How can we refute false teaching, cultist ideas, and deceptive doctrines if we do not know the Scriptures for ourselves? How can we avoid being taken in by cults if we never read and understand the Bible?

It is an important and serious matter to read and understand God’s Word. And it is a dangerous practice to let others tell us what they think scripture says without holding up their ideas to the revealing light of God’s Word.

Please set aside time to read the Bible. And ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand God’s Word. One of the best things you will ever do for yourself and others is to become fluent and grow in the knowledge and wisdom of God found in the Holy Bible.

All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man or woman of God may be fully capable, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17