GOD’S WORD FOR  NOVEMBER 20

Our  book excerpt today, and ongoing,  is from “Chiseled by the Master’s Hand”  Lessons from the Life of Peter, by Erwin  Lutzer.  Dr. Lutzer is  Canadian-born and served as Senior Pastor of the Moody Church in Chicago for 36 years, until his retirement in 2016.   He now serves as Pastor Emeritus of Moody Church.  He’s written many books and has radio and internet teaching programs.

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(John 6:60-71)

(Speaking of Peter’s proclamation that Jesus is the only way).

Peter may not have been conscious of the implications of his remarks, but from him we can deduce that truth has these three characteristics:

Peter knew that if the crowds following Jesus were truly His disciples, they would be rejecting other religions and other authorities.  To say yes to Christ was to say no to the Pharisees;  to say yes to Christ was to say no to the esoteric religions that permeated the Middle East.

CHRIST’S TEACHING WAS SO UNIQUE, SO DIFFERENT, THAT IT COULD NOT BE COMBINED WITH THE TEACHING OF OTHERS.

The different religions of the world cannot all be equally right.  For example, Hindus believe that salvation means losing your personal identity, as a drop of water is lost in the ocean. 

Buddha began a new religion because he was dissatisfied with Hinduism and taught that salvation was a tortuous journey, dependent solely on human merit and suffering. 

Technically, Buddhists do not even believe in the existence of God, whereas Hindus have 330 million different gods!!

 Muhammad taught that salvation came by obeying his teachings.  His followers were to do what he said, not what he himself did, for his behavior contradicted his own teachings.  Islam involves a complicated system of works that is quite different from the other religions mentioned.

There is a widespread assumption in America today that the religions of the world are essentially the same and only superficially different.  However, the reverse is actually true:

THE RELIGIONS OF THE WORLD ARE SUPERFICIALLY THE SAME BUT FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT.

We shall see that Christianity is in a class by itself, with no real common ground with other teachings.  The differences are radical, complete, and insurmountable.

Truth is always consistent with itself.  If something is true, its opposite cannot also be true.  It is not possible to combine the basic teachings of the world’s religions without accepting mindless contradictions.  Nor is there a basic core of so-called truth that unites the religions of the world.

When the disciples chose to follow Jesus, they turned their backs on all rivals.  If Christ was partly right and partly wrong, He was unworthy of their allegiance.  Or if they were committed to Him and also to another prophet, they would be reducing Christ to the level of a fallible man.  Either they had to accept ALL that Christ was and claimed to be, or else they had to reject Him.  Unlike fallible men, Christ could not afford to be wrong, …even once.

If Christ was the Son of the living God as Peter affirmed, He was in a class by Himself – -perfect, holy, and totally reliable.

There is nowhere else to go.

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John 14:6 ~ ~ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

John 4:26 ~ ~ Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He. (Messiah)

John 6:35 ~ ~ And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.”

John 6:51 ~ ~ I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.

John 8:12 ~ ~  Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

1 John 5:7 ~ ~ For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

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