Acts 28:28, “Therefore, let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles and they will hear it.” Under Moses, all those who believed and followed the instructions putting the sacrificial blood on their doors, were saved from death. This means that all those who left Egypt had taken a step of faith and been saved. They were no longer just Hebrews ethnically. They had become a faith community. Similarly, under Yeshua, all who appropriate His sacrificial blood, shed for us to save us from the power of death, have entered into the faith community of those who follow Him. There’s no difference of color, of skin, of age, and certainly not of ethnic background. If you apply the blood, and if you believe in Him, then you shall be saved.
It has become increasingly popular (though grossly inaccurate) among many who claim they are Christians to say there are different paths to God. The claim is clearly anti-Christ and completely contradictory to Scripture. Aside from the obvious objections we would have on hearing such a proposition, let’s consider this claim from the perspective of necessity.
1 John 2:1-2 KJV – “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”
While the word “propitiation” may not be part of our everyday speech, it is an important word for us to know. The word means “atonement”. Atonement is the reparation for wrongs committed. The scope of this atonement for sins is sufficient for that of the whole world. If the blood of Jesus made reparation for the sins of the whole world, where is the necessity for other paths to heaven?
John 1:12 KJV – “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:”
Again, where is the need for other paths when the one path is available for all? It doesn’t make sense. Whoever receives Him (Jesus Christ), to them He gave the right to become children of God. This also dispels the popular saying that we are all God’s children, which is not true. After all you don’t need to “become” a child of God if you already are one. The only way to become God’s child is to believe in the only name that saves, the name of Jesus!
The beauty of this verse is contained in the two words, “as many”. There are no ethnic, cultural, physiological, or national requirements to be among the “as many”. If you’re tall or small, rich or poor, grumpy or jovial, if your skin tone is light or dark or somewhere in between, no matter what you have done in the past, no matter how many or how big your sins, you can become part of this community of believers who are children of God.
So why the need for there to be other paths?
Galatians 2:20 KJV – “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
Paul, a former persecutor of the church, personalized the work that Christ did on the cross in a way we would all do well to emulate. He saw himself as one of the “as many as received Him.” He considered Himself to be a part of the “whole world” that Christ died for. His past didn’t disqualify him nor did his ethnicity qualify him. He realized that, like all of us, he was a garden-variety sinner for whom Christ paid, with His own blood, the penalty for his sin.
Romans 5:8 KJV – “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
John 14:6 KJV – “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
There are not “many paths to God” for the simple reason there is no need for them. The one true and living God has sent His Son into the world to do for the world what only He could do, save us from our sins. His blood applied to our lives allows the second death to pass over us. No matter what we have done, no matter where we are from, no matter the depth of our sins, the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all unrighteousness and belief in Him gives us the right to be called God’s children.
Psalms 103:12 KJV – “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.”
The great Apostle Paul wished his past was different than it was, but he didn’t let that stop him from seeking and serving the Lord. The same is true for us as well. No matter who or what we used to be, through Jesus we are part of the family of God!
Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus,
