No Other Religion
In the midst of the turmoil in the world we have the answer to the world’s problems. It is simple. We are to follow one person, Jesus Christ, and not turn aside and follow anyone else. There are many other voices in the world besides His, but His words are life to us. Any words that do not agree with His words will bring death.
There was one Remembrance Day service I remember very well. There were members of the Canadian military there, veterans, cadets, members of the scouting movement, police officers, political leaders and the general public. A Protestant minister spoke at the assembly. Most of his sermon I agreed with. He spoke about the history of the Canadian military in various wars of the past and the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan. He stressed the need for peace as much as possible between us and the Muslims, with which I would agree. However, he said something I could not agree with. He called Islam “our sister religion”. I believe that statement goes against what the Bible says.
If the Apostle Paul had been afraid to speak out, where would Christianity be?
We must not water down our faith by accepting humanistic teaching. We are not all the same. There is a sharp division between Christians and the rest of the world. Christianity has no sister religions. Islam, Judaism, and the other non-Christian religions do not have the keys to eternal life. Only Jesus Christ has those keys. Non-Christian religions, and some religions that call themselves Christian, believe in the same thing: working your way into God’s favour by religious practices and charitable works. They hope to have eternal life because of their service to God and man. The Bible, however, says eternal life cannot be earned. It is a free gift given by God (Romans 6:23). We only have to reach out and accept it by faith. Martin Luther preached this message centuries ago. It is not by religious practices, but by faith in the Son of God that we receive eternal life. Jesus said “He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” John 6:47. This is such a simple concept that even a child can understand it, and yet most of the people in the world fail to grasp it. Christians do good works and serve God because God is their Father, not because they are trying to earn eternal life.
Our world is filled with wars. There are wars between nations, between ethnic groups, between people at work, between neighbours, between husband and wife, between father and son, between mother and daughter. The list goes on to permeate our world. This is the result of Satan’s rule of the planet. In the midst of this, Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” Matthew 5:9. There is a misconception that if we accept all religions we will have peace. This is a great lie. There can be no lasting peace in the world until the entire world worships Jesus Christ. This will happen when Jesus Christ returns.
Accepting all religions is a great error, but there is another error that is even worse. It is the belief that all religions are wrong, that there is no God, and that the way to peace is by getting rid of all religions. Russia and China fell into that error when the communists took over, and the bloodshed that resulted was abominable. The histories of Russia and China are a double witness against atheism. Atheism does not work. It does not bring about peace, only oppression and cruelty. Russia and China have never paid for their sins, but the day of reckoning is coming. They are both building their strength at this time, Russia by its oil wealth, and China by its economic dominance in the world. However, I believe they will end up fighting against each other in the next World War. That is often what happens to the enemies of Israel.
As for the Israel nations, we are in over our heads and we will be involved in the next World War centered in the Middle East. We may be less than twenty years away from it with the unrest in that part of the world and Iran’s nuclear aspirations. Nevertheless, we know that peace will come to this earth in a way that the world does not expect. The divine invasion of the planet is approaching by Jesus Christ and the angels, and his power is beyond comprehension.