Worship

Pastor Jon Enter                 SalemLutheran.org

Theme: All Roads Don’t Lead to Heaven

Text: Romans 4:1-5, 13-17

Our nation is living a lie. We call ourselves a Christian nation but, more and more, we are becoming anything but Christian. Our money declares “In God We Trust” but images on the news and social media do not echo the same sentiment. Our Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag states we are a nation “under God” be we don’t live like we are under God’s rule. Instead, we make up our own rules and ignore the clear and concise Word of God. Actions and lifestyles clearly contrary to God’s Word is celebrated.

There was a Barna Poll conducted a number of years ago and it revealed that 88% of Americans stated they believe Jesus was a real person. That sounds like we’re still a Christian nation. It sounds good. But when you look at the poll results learning what Americans believe about Christ, you’ll see the connection to Christ stops there for most Americans. 60% of Americans believe Jesus sinned just like other people living on earth. 73% believe the devil is just a symbol of evil, not an actual fallen angel with sadistic power of temptation. 59% of the American population feels the Bible contains errors and cannot be trusted. And here is the most revolting result of the survey. A staggering 80% of Protestant Christians stated all good people will go to heaven, whether they believe in Jesus or not. (A protestant Christian is a Christian who protests against—doesn’t follow—Catholic teachings of the Bible.)

Again, that last poll was specifically taken of just Christians! What Bible are they reading? Since 59% of Americans feel the Bible contains errors, it doesn’t matter to them what the Bible says. To them, it’s a book of fun stories and moral tales. To them, a person should be able to live life however he or she wants and still be able to go to the glory of perfection.

These people are throwing out God’s law and making up their own rules. This is called RELATIVISM. Relativism is the false notion that whatever is relative to the individual is the truth. Whatever the individual believes to be true is true and whatever that person believes to be false is false. Relativism is rampant in the U.S. This is obviously seen in the fact that 73% of Americans don’t think the devil is real. Since the devil isn’t relative or important to them, they are convinced he can’t be real. How dangerous is that!

What if I said, “There isn’t a pulpit in this church.” Why are you looking over there? [at the pulpit] There is no pulpit in this church! Does that make the pulpit go away? No! When 73% of American say the devil isn’t real, does that make the devil go away? No! The devil loves it when people don’t think he’s real. It makes his job of evil easier. It makes it easier to destroy their souls.

If relativism wasn’t bad enough, it leads to UNIVERSALISM. When people falsely think they can make up their own rules on how to gain glory, they think heaven is open then to anyone of any faith. Universalists will say that they are all worshipping the same God but just call that God different names. Universalists basically believe heaven is a hub and there are numerous roads that lead into heaven. They will attest that the Bible and its Christ is only one of the many ways to paradise. Another is Hinduism with its infinity number of countless gods. Another is Buddhism which basically doesn’t have a god but more a power force over life. Another is Taoism or Mormonism or Confucianism or even The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Yup, it’s a thing. It started as satire, a fake religion, but some follow it in place of God. And they wear colanders on their heads as religious headgear. Universalists even give a road to heaven to people who don’t follow any religion as long as they are good people. How warped!

Universalism is a foul stench that is clinging to our nation. And it’s nothing new. The putrid odor of universalism has been polluting the world for many millennia. If a Barna poll could’ve been conducted in A.D. 57 (around the time our text was written to the Romans), the results would have been very similar to today’s wretched results. But Paul didn’t need a Barna poll. He just listened to what these Christians were saying. And what he heard wasn’t very Christian.

These Roman Christians thought and taught there were other ways to heaven besides faith in Christ. (Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?) They foolishly thought their heritage as a Jew would save them. Because many Jewish Christians could draw their lineage back to Abraham, the great patriarch of the faith, they believed their heritage gave them an automatic pass into glory. Heaven isn’t given through a blood line. Heaven is given by Christ’s blood lining the ground around the cross.

For the Romans who couldn’t trace their lineage back to Abraham, they invented another way to make it to heaven. They thought, “Abraham because righteous and was loved by God because of his devotion.” I might not have the right heritage, but I can at least earn my way into God’s favor.

The Apostle Paul heard these so called Christian explanations on how they’d make it to glory and he knew their universalism ideas were heading them towards hell instead. So, Paul set out to explain to them the biblical truth that only one road leads to glory and it’s paved by Christ’s perfection.

Paul shattered their basis for glory by explaining to them why Abraham was so loved by God. “If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. What does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.’” (Romans 4:2-3)

Paul quoted the Old Testament at the end of his explanation (Romans 4:7-8) showing Abraham was justified by faith in the promised Messiah. This clearly reveals that Abraham was not forgiven because he a swell guy or even that he was an A+ level believer. He was justified by faith.

Faith in Jesus is the only way to heaven. Unfortunately, that was not the mindset of the people in Rome and that’s not the mindset of the people of Minnesota (or Wisconsin or the US). People will expose their relativism and universalism beliefs when they say, “Well, I think God won’t send anyone to hell who is a good person.” Or “I think that God won’t send someone to hell who is passionate about their dedication to their religion. Look at Buddhists. They’re so dedicated and peaceful. Look at Mormons. They’re always knocking on doors. That has to count for something.”

When someone utters these words of non-biblical reasoning, this is what you can ask, “What was that? Can you repeat that?” “I think that…” Then, as respectfully as possible, cut them off and reveal the problem. Who gets into heaven is not reliant, it’s not contingent, it’s not based on what a person thinks. It’s based on the commands of the God of heaven. It’s based on what the LORD proclaims. It’s God’s heaven; He alone makes the rules on how we make it to glory. God tells us with absolute clarity that all roads do not lead to heaven. There is only one pathway to glory and it’s through faith in Jesus Christ and in Him alone. Jesus declared, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6) Whenever I’ve talked with someone who holds to universalism, they haven’t been able to refute this truth that it’s God’s heaven and His rules.

Was that an explanation you needed to hear? If 80% of Protestant Christians think that people can get to heaven apart from Christ, then there are people in this church that may hold to the same faltering thought. Do you think that people of other false religions will be ushered into glory because they were dedicated followers of their false religion? Do you think some will gain glory because they’re good people. If you do, they you are calling the Lord a liar. He declares we receive grace and heaven by having faith in Jesus. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

When Christians are closet universalists and hold to that damaging belief, it often reveals they are secretly scared that Christianity might be wrong. They try to comfort themselves by thinking, “If I don’t exclude other beliefs from getting into heaven, maybe I won’t be excluded if Christianity is wrong.

What truly matters is what God commands. If anyone can get to heaven apart from Christ, then what was the point and purpose of sending Jesus? If anyone can gain glory by being a good person or by following whatever god fits their latest wants, then Christ didn’t have to come. God the Father never would’ve sent His Son to die such a horrible death if there were many other perfectly good ways to get to heaven. God the Father would have never sent Jesus to have His flesh torn off His body piece by piece, to have His very life sucked from His body upon the cross if someone just had to be 51% good to get to heaven. God the Father never would’ve sent Jesus unless it was absolutely necessary. And it was. Jesus’ death on the cross was the only way for sinners to be saved. The wages of our sins had to be atoned for. Sin cannot go unpunished before a righteous and just God.

This is so important. This is so crucial. One day, you will basically be quizzed about the exact content of today’s sermon. Imagine you died and are standing before God’s perfect judgment throne in glory and He asks you, “Why should I let you into My heaven?” Will you say, “I picked up trash in the parking lot after I cussed in anger. That should balance out, right?” Will you say, “I was baptized as a baby but then never followed your Bible in faith after that.” Will you say, “I was a morally good person.” Relativism and Universalism won’t save you.

It’s Jesus. Jesus. Only Jesus. You are saved and forgiven and loved by the One who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. It’s always, only, ever through Jesus that you are saved.

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That is why it’s called grace. You and I could never do enough to earn heaven or God’s favor. So, Jesus did it all for you. That’s comfort! That’s peace! That’s truth that leads to heaven! Amen.