One Road to Heaven, Two Roads to Hell
Mar 31, 2020 8:54:02 GMT -6
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Post by Gary on Mar 31, 2020 8:54:02 GMT -6
Cross-posted from this article I published.
What is the faith we proclaim?
Christ died for our sins and rose again.
Who is Christ?
He is God's only begotten Son, the Chosen One, the Anointed.
What is the one road to Heaven?
Christ alone through faith alone.
The road to Heaven is Christ Himself (Jn. 14:6). There is no other way (Jn. 3:18, 3:36; 8:24; 10:9; Acts 4:12; 16:30–31; Rm. 6:23; 1 Tim. 2:5–6; 1 Jn. 5:11–12; cf. Mt. 7:13–14; 11:27). The only reason you can have eternal life is because Christ died for your sins and rose again. And that atonement is applied to your account through faith.
I've written a number of articles demonstrating that many people are deceived on both ends of the religious and political spectrum. They are so busy attacking one another they've missed the forest for the trees. Rather than go into detail here, I thought I would just show you a perfectly timed example of what I mean from an article published today entitled Pope Benedict ‘plotting downfall of Pope Francis’ in bombshell Vatican coup. Two popes are duking it out in the shadows and each one perfectly typifies one of the roads that will definitely not lead you to Heaven. To be clear, I am not making a judgment about the personal salvation of either one (Rm. 10:1–9), but am stating that the message of salvation each one proclaims is not the message from God's holy word.
There is one road to Heaven, which is Christ Himself, but there are two roads to hell:
The first road to hell is walked by those who say Christ isn't enough. These are the legalists within Christianity who preach a message counter to sola fide (“faith alone”), sola gratia (“grace alone”), and solus Christus (“Christ alone”). They may give outward homage to Christ, but inwardly they're trying to usurp His glory (so they also oppose soli Deo gloria for that matter). Salvation belongs entirely to the LORD (Ps. 37:39; 62:7; Isa. 43:11; 45:21; Hos. 13:4; Rev. 7:10; 19:1), yet they think their filthy rags play a part. They may agree that Jesus died for their sins in some sense, but their real faith is in themselves—in their works, behavior, zeal, asceticism, or adherence to some standard other than God's standard of absolute perfection. They establish moral standards that make them feel confident and secure, while using the same standards to condemn others. Their confidence is not in Christ—He's just a sidenote.
This road is also walked by the legalists in other religions who try to earn the Divine's favor, ultimately placing their fate in their own hands by creating a ladder to Heaven of their own design.
These legalists, both within and outside of Christianity, are trying to work their way to eternal life. Their self-derived labor is as effective at winning God's favor as a child's eager attempts to jump will get him to the moon. Pope Emeritus Benedict, in his staunch defense of the twisted-gospel message of traditional, post-Trent Roman Catholic works-righteousness, is a poster boy for man's efforts to reach God.
These are the modern Pharisees. They believe in the necessity of faith, but don't understand what that faith should be placed in. They adhere to faith without grace.
The second road to hell is traveled on by all of those who believe that Christ isn't needed. Consider for a moment how many disparate groups could fall into this category: universalists, atheists, deists, various factions within Progressive Christianity, and so forth. Pope Francis seems to be right there among them with his suggestions that those who willfully reject Christ can still be saved, and his promotion of the idea that everyone is a child of God (cf. Jn. 1:12; Gal. 3:26; Rm. 8:14; 1 Jn. 3:10).
These are the modern Sadducees. They believe in tolerance and kindness, but reject the necessity of faith. Like the Pharisees, they don't understand that Christ is the only way. The Pharisees say “Christ plus something else.” The Sadducees say “Christ and everything else.” The Sadducees proclaim grace without faith.
To be clear, there are many Christians who have genuinely placed their faith in Christ, but have become so twisted up in their theology—gravitating toward the temptations of either of these hell-bound roads—that they are effectively useless. Their faith is “dead” so to speak. They are saved and sealed by Him who will lose not one (Jn. 5:24; 6:37–39; 10:28–29; 17:9–12; Rm. 4:5; 6:23; 8:38–39; Eph. 1:13; 4:30; Phil. 1:6; Heb. 7:25; 10:14; 1 Pt. 1:4–5), but are leading others away from Heaven. For this reason, as I alluded to earlier, I won't judge the salvation of anyone, but I will call them out when they are leading others to Gehenna.
This concept—that there is a lie that will have you reject the gospel on both ends of the spectrum—isn't novel and it isn't rocket science. Yet few pastors explain this well, being so focused on only one extreme or the other. As a discerning body of believers, we need to be able to clearly explain this, so that we can deliver the good news without confusion.
Christ is the only way through which a person can travel to be reconciled to God (Jn. 14:1–6). He is the door to Heaven (Jn. 10:9). Trying to get in any other way simply doesn't work (Jn. 10:1–3). Consider for a moment those shape-sorting toys where the child tries to fit the shape into the corresponding hole. There is only one “hole” into Heaven and it's a cross-shaped hole formed by the Son of Man. Legalists within Christianity are aiming for that hole, but trying to shove through a shape that's far too big. Their counterparts outside of Christianity have one shape in mind, but don't even know where the cross-shaped hole is. And the lawless both within Christianity and outside of it are throwing every shape at the hole, except the Cross.
Every person on earth can be found on one of these three roads, so which road are you on?
- - -
Further reading on this topic:
The Whore and the Beast
The Law
The Lawless Law-Keepers
Stay on the Narrow Way
Which Jesus Do You Follow?
The Called Out Ones
What is the faith we proclaim?
Christ died for our sins and rose again.
Who is Christ?
He is God's only begotten Son, the Chosen One, the Anointed.
What is the one road to Heaven?
Christ alone through faith alone.
The road to Heaven is Christ Himself (Jn. 14:6). There is no other way (Jn. 3:18, 3:36; 8:24; 10:9; Acts 4:12; 16:30–31; Rm. 6:23; 1 Tim. 2:5–6; 1 Jn. 5:11–12; cf. Mt. 7:13–14; 11:27). The only reason you can have eternal life is because Christ died for your sins and rose again. And that atonement is applied to your account through faith.
I've written a number of articles demonstrating that many people are deceived on both ends of the religious and political spectrum. They are so busy attacking one another they've missed the forest for the trees. Rather than go into detail here, I thought I would just show you a perfectly timed example of what I mean from an article published today entitled Pope Benedict ‘plotting downfall of Pope Francis’ in bombshell Vatican coup. Two popes are duking it out in the shadows and each one perfectly typifies one of the roads that will definitely not lead you to Heaven. To be clear, I am not making a judgment about the personal salvation of either one (Rm. 10:1–9), but am stating that the message of salvation each one proclaims is not the message from God's holy word.
There is one road to Heaven, which is Christ Himself, but there are two roads to hell:
The first road to hell is walked by those who say Christ isn't enough. These are the legalists within Christianity who preach a message counter to sola fide (“faith alone”), sola gratia (“grace alone”), and solus Christus (“Christ alone”). They may give outward homage to Christ, but inwardly they're trying to usurp His glory (so they also oppose soli Deo gloria for that matter). Salvation belongs entirely to the LORD (Ps. 37:39; 62:7; Isa. 43:11; 45:21; Hos. 13:4; Rev. 7:10; 19:1), yet they think their filthy rags play a part. They may agree that Jesus died for their sins in some sense, but their real faith is in themselves—in their works, behavior, zeal, asceticism, or adherence to some standard other than God's standard of absolute perfection. They establish moral standards that make them feel confident and secure, while using the same standards to condemn others. Their confidence is not in Christ—He's just a sidenote.
This road is also walked by the legalists in other religions who try to earn the Divine's favor, ultimately placing their fate in their own hands by creating a ladder to Heaven of their own design.
These legalists, both within and outside of Christianity, are trying to work their way to eternal life. Their self-derived labor is as effective at winning God's favor as a child's eager attempts to jump will get him to the moon. Pope Emeritus Benedict, in his staunch defense of the twisted-gospel message of traditional, post-Trent Roman Catholic works-righteousness, is a poster boy for man's efforts to reach God.
These are the modern Pharisees. They believe in the necessity of faith, but don't understand what that faith should be placed in. They adhere to faith without grace.
The second road to hell is traveled on by all of those who believe that Christ isn't needed. Consider for a moment how many disparate groups could fall into this category: universalists, atheists, deists, various factions within Progressive Christianity, and so forth. Pope Francis seems to be right there among them with his suggestions that those who willfully reject Christ can still be saved, and his promotion of the idea that everyone is a child of God (cf. Jn. 1:12; Gal. 3:26; Rm. 8:14; 1 Jn. 3:10).
These are the modern Sadducees. They believe in tolerance and kindness, but reject the necessity of faith. Like the Pharisees, they don't understand that Christ is the only way. The Pharisees say “Christ plus something else.” The Sadducees say “Christ and everything else.” The Sadducees proclaim grace without faith.
To be clear, there are many Christians who have genuinely placed their faith in Christ, but have become so twisted up in their theology—gravitating toward the temptations of either of these hell-bound roads—that they are effectively useless. Their faith is “dead” so to speak. They are saved and sealed by Him who will lose not one (Jn. 5:24; 6:37–39; 10:28–29; 17:9–12; Rm. 4:5; 6:23; 8:38–39; Eph. 1:13; 4:30; Phil. 1:6; Heb. 7:25; 10:14; 1 Pt. 1:4–5), but are leading others away from Heaven. For this reason, as I alluded to earlier, I won't judge the salvation of anyone, but I will call them out when they are leading others to Gehenna.
This concept—that there is a lie that will have you reject the gospel on both ends of the spectrum—isn't novel and it isn't rocket science. Yet few pastors explain this well, being so focused on only one extreme or the other. As a discerning body of believers, we need to be able to clearly explain this, so that we can deliver the good news without confusion.
Christ is the only way through which a person can travel to be reconciled to God (Jn. 14:1–6). He is the door to Heaven (Jn. 10:9). Trying to get in any other way simply doesn't work (Jn. 10:1–3). Consider for a moment those shape-sorting toys where the child tries to fit the shape into the corresponding hole. There is only one “hole” into Heaven and it's a cross-shaped hole formed by the Son of Man. Legalists within Christianity are aiming for that hole, but trying to shove through a shape that's far too big. Their counterparts outside of Christianity have one shape in mind, but don't even know where the cross-shaped hole is. And the lawless both within Christianity and outside of it are throwing every shape at the hole, except the Cross.
Every person on earth can be found on one of these three roads, so which road are you on?
- - -
Further reading on this topic:
The Whore and the Beast
The Law
The Lawless Law-Keepers
Stay on the Narrow Way
Which Jesus Do You Follow?
The Called Out Ones