First, the study:
According to a new survey from Probe Ministries, almost 70 percent of born-again Christians believe one can get to Heaven through Jesus Christ or another religion.
...
Regarding born-again Christians, nearly two-thirds (63 percent) said they share their faith at least once a year.
When asked what prevents them from communicating their faith to unbelievers, close to 70 percent of born-again Christians say there are other ways to Heaven aside from turning to Christ for salvation. According to the survey, this response is known as pluralism, which states that "There are other ways besides my way, and I don't need to impose my way on others."
How are so many people self-identifying as "born-again Christians" and simultaneously not believing one of the most essential truths of the faith?
Born-again Christians believe that the Bible is the word of God, right?
So if you are one of these "born-again Christians" who does not believe in the exclusivity of Christ, here are a few plain pieces of Scripture for you to ponder:
- 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
- "And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." — Acts 4:12
- "For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." —1 Tim 2:5
- "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God." —John 3:16-18
I mean, pretty straightforward.
How about a bit from the Westminster Confession of Faith:
The Son of God, the second person in the Trinity, being very and eternal God, of one substance, and equal with the Father, did, when the fullness of time was come, take upon Him man's nature, with all the essential properties and common infirmities thereof; yet without sin: being conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost, in the womb of the Virgin Mary, of her substance. So that two whole, perfect, and distinct natures, the Godhead and the manhood, were inseparably joined together in one person, without conversion, composition, or confusion. Which person is very God and very man, yet one Christ, the only mediator between God and man.
How can anyone have knowledge of Christ's eternal place in the Trinity, and why he came to live as a man, and what he accomplished on the cross, and still think there are or even can be other paths to Heaven and eternity with him?
Think about it!
Also now bless yourself with this vintage clip of the late, great R.C. Sproul (and please take a moment to appreciate how fire his suit is):
This is Christianity 101. It's not a small deal what you believe here. It's a big deal.
