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“But God isn’t jealous,” my friend huffed with obvious frustration. We were discussing the way to God and eternal bliss. He believed there were many ways to God. As a Christian, I told him that was impossible. The only way to God is through Jesus, I’d said.
One Way or Many Ways?
But who was right? Was my friend right when he said there are many ways to come into the presence of God? Or are Christians right when they quote Jesus who said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me,” as recorded in John 14:6?
If what Christianity teaches is true, then:
1. God created us and He has certain rights due to His position as Creator;
2. God created a good, sinless world;
3. Sin originated with the devil and evil came from him;
4. God came as a human in the person of Jesus, lived a perfect life, then died in our place to restore us to His original purpose for humanity—fellowship with Him.
That’s basically what Christianity teaches. But how can we know if these things are true or not? We can know whether what Christianity teaches is true or not by the same process by which we verify anything in life.
Go to the Source
If you listen to the news and hear that a war is going on in a faraway place, you can determine whether or not to believe the report by considering the source. Is the news agency that reported the war trustworthy? You might decide to go to people who were in that place and question eye witnesses. You could even travel there and find out for yourself through personal experience.
Just as you would check out the truthfulness of a news report, you can also check out the truthfulness of Christianity. You can check Christianity by going to sources:
Eye Witnesses
What have you learned about the truthfulness of Christ’s teachings from other Christians? Too often, people have been disappointed or even misled by others who claim to be Christians but do not live up to Christ’s teachings. On the other hand, many have come to know the love of God through the love of His faithful representatives.
The Bible
The Bible is said to contain God’s Word, but there are many “holy” books in the world. Can you trust the Bible? The Bible was written by eye-witnesses. The New Testament was written largely by those who walked and talked with Jesus. Much of the Old Testament was written by people who knew God personally and wrote what He said to them. You must learn more about the Bible and study it yourself.
Personal Experience
But what if you’ve checked out the sources and still have questions? Maybe you’ve talked with Christian friends or attended church in your effort to learn the truth about God. Maybe you’ve even read the Bible. But you’re still not sure. What can you do to know for sure whether what Christianity teaches is true or not?
You could do an experiment. Begin by asking God to reveal Himself to you. Ask Him to help you know the truth. Through His prophet, Jeremiah, God advised His people, “You will seek me and find Me when you search for me with all your heart” Jeremiah 29:13. God knows your heart. If you sincerely seek Him, you will find your way to Him.
Live Up to the Light That You Have
If you have a little truth and want more truth, you must also live up to the truth that you already have. Jesus said, “For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him” (Luke 19:26 NKJV).
Jesus also said that those who practice what He preached are wise: “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man” (Matthew 7:24).
As Blaise Pascal reasoned in the seventeenth century, if what Jesus taught is true, then you must become a Christian because if you don’t, you stand to lose everything. If what Jesus taught is true and you decide to follow Him, then you gain everything.
One thing is certain, choosing nothing is still choosing, for Jesus said, “He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad” (Matthew 12:30).
Read several authors' thoughts on papal Rome's history.
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Inspiration for these articles comes from Gideon and Hilda Hagstoz' Heroes of the Reformation
