Stumbling Blocks to Belief (Part 3): All Roads Do NOT Lead to Rome

This is a short series on a few of the stumbling blocks that keep many from meeting God and entering His kingdom!

Recently, my friend and Walking With The Lion board member, Jose, climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. What an amazing experience that must’ve been! I could only imagine the emotions and exhilaration of standing atop the highest free standing mountain in the world! If you just stop and said “wait, isn’t that Everest?!” Note, I said free standing. I’m no expert but apparently Everest didn’t meet the “free standing” criteria. But I digress. When Jose planned his ascent, he would have been faced with a number of potential paths up to the summit. Google tells me there are 7 main routes up. And like many things in life there are many ways to sk_(Oooops…in fairness to my beloved Wildcats!) Uhh… There’s more than one way to bake a cake 😉

The question is: Is there more than one way to God/enter heaven/be saved/etc.?

Part 1 of this series explored the stumbling blocks of pride and intellect.

In Part 2 of this series, I noted the following notion that I often encounter that I believe hinders true saving faith or belief:

In response, let’s take a look at some scriptures and then I’ll explain why the aforementioned argument becomes a stumbling block.

According to the Bible There is only ONE God

Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:

“I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.

Isaiah 44:6

Okay so let’s discuss what we just established in scripture: The King of Israel and His Redeemer, the Lord of hosts are the only God there ever was or ever will be (first and last). There is no other god, period!

Note that I said they are “the only God” and not Gods. The reason is because although the passage references two Lords, “the King of Israel” and “the Lord of hosts,” they speak in a singular voice and also refer to themselves as the singular “I am” and “me”. Seemingly indicating they are one. Indeed there are many scriptures that affirm this enigma often referred to as the trinity. But, here we are seeing at least two persons referring to themselves as one.

Also note that by stating “besides me there is no god,” they are inherently acknowledging that they are God.

Who is the God of the Bible?

Jews would have recognized “I am” as the name of their God…

Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” 15God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.

Exodus 3:13-15

So we see God in the burning bush refer to Himself as ‘I AM WHO I AM’; ‘I AM’; ‘The LORD’; ‘the God of your (Israel’s) fathers’; and ‘the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.’ So the same name’s for God are referenced in both passages as “I am”, “The Lord” and “the King of Israel” aka “the God of your fathers: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”. (Note that Jacob and his descendants were given the name Israel by God.)

But who is His Redeemer, aka Lord of hosts?

He(Jesus) entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.

Hebrews 9:12

Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?

Matthew 26:53

Jesus is his Redeemer. Jesus is the Lord of hosts.

To be sure, the Hebrew word translated “hosts” in Isaiah 44:6 is tsaba; which is a military term defined by Strong’s as “army, war, warfare.” Thus, ‘Lord of hosts’ refers to the ‘Lord of armies’, more specifically heaven’s army of angels.

Jesus can also be seen as the Commander of heaven’s armies in the powerful imagery of Revelation 19:11-14 and parallel prophecy in Psalm 110; especially verse 3.

The Complete Trinity as the ONE and ONLY God

We see the Father and the Son in Isaiah 44:6 and we see them in Matthew 26:53; and a host of other scriptures OT and New. The Holy Spirit is also part of this ‘one God’ and there are also a gamut of scriptures that refer to the three distinct Persons of God; who make up the ‘one God’ of the bible.

1 John 5:7 NKJV

For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.

35 While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, “Why do the teachers of the law say that the Messiah is the son of David? 36 David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared:

“‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies
under your feet.”’

37 David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?”

Mark 12:35-37

In Mark, Jesus quotes Psalm 110:1 explaining that David spoke by the Holy Spirit the revelation/prophecy that “The Lord” (God the Father) said to “my Lord” (the Messiah; per verse 35)…

So here there is reference to the Holy Spirit, The Lord (Father) and the Messiah (who is also Lord).

Is the Bible and thus Christianity merely man made?

The bible teaches that “all scripture is God breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16) and “prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21).

For the sake of wrapping this thing up, the short answer is NO, the bible is not an invention of man, but the work of God as explained in that passage. For a deeper look at this, here’s an article by John Piper.

Based on the premise that God spoke the word and inspired it verbatim through the Holy Spirit, we can thus also conclude that the Holy Spirit was also fully present in our aforementioned passages with the Father and the Son such as Isaiah 44:6 and Matthew 26:53.

Did Jesus claim He is God the Messiah?

Mt 16:13-17 establishes that Jesus Himself claimed He wasn’t just a prophet, but that He was the Messiah.

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.

Matthew 16:13-17

The challenge Jesus fought to prove: He is the Messiah

Returning to Psalm 110:1, David referred to the Messiah as his Lord, rather than just naming The Father. I believe God had given him a glimpse into the new and better covenant that was to come. The one by which men would truly be saved; through the Messiah; his Lord!

That same prophecy of the Messiah in Psalm 110:1 was fulfilled in Jesus; as explained in Acts 2:34-36 and numerous other places in the New Testament. In fact Psalm 110:1 is the most quoted verse from the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) in the New Testament, according to this article by The Gospel Coalition, because it’s fulfillment made clear to “all the house of Israel” that “God has made Jesus both Lord and Messiah” (Acts 2:36).

The Power of the Resurrection

One big reason for the frequent mention of Psalm 110:1 by Jesus and other New Testament writers is because it would ultimately become one of the greatest evidences for His Messiahship. Peter emphasizes its fulfillment in Jesus through the witness of the resurrection and ascension in Acts 2:31-33. Proving Jesus was the promised savior or Messiah as prophesied about by the Jewish prophets and spoken about by God the Father (Yahweh).

Are there many roads/ways to God?

Again, I defer to the bible:

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 this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.  He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

1 John 5:11-12

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. 18Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

John 3:16-18

Jesus said Himself that He is the only way to the Father/eternal life.

So now we’ve established that there is only one God, which includes Father, Son & Spirit, and that Jesus is not just a prophet, but God. And Jesus is also the only way to God/kingdom/heaven/life/salvation/redemption. Indeed, there is only One “road to Rome” according to the bible.

…Now Back to Those Arguments

Is it the same God across all religions? No. Islam says Jesus was just a prophet and instead worships Allah. Not through Jesus = not same God. What about Judaism? Thats more complicated because some Jews acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah, while others do not. For those who do, it would be the same God as Christianity. For those who reject Jesus as the Messiah, it would be different (in a way). What about Hinduism? They teach Jesus is God among many gods. Again, this is not the same. The bible makes clear that God is Father, Son, Spirit. There is NO other God. So not the same. I could go into more but this should suffice. So all religions are not the same and do not all worship the same God. That is a fact.

Recently I was discussing God with a Jewish woman (although secular in her thinking), and she used this notion with me that all religions are the same god. I explained that it’s not possible that Islam says Jesus was just a prophet, yet He Himself said He is not just a prophet but Messiah, so they are clearly not in agreement with each other. I then explained that her belief that all religions are the same God and there’s multiple ways to God is actually a religion all of it’s own called Bahaism (although you could also argue Omnism or Pantheism could apply).

You might be asking yourself why such thinking would obstruct true belief and the answer is quite simple. The core teaching of the bible, the gospel, directly contradicts and is mutually exclusive to these other religions, excepting Judaism. Therefore, as long as one holds these notions, they inherently reject the biblical gospel that Jesus is “the only way” to the Father. Unfortunately, a different Jesus or a different gospel than the one Paul preached is no gospel at all and lacks the power to save (see Gal. 1:6-9 & 2 Cor. 11:3-4).

Whether one believes “all roads lead to Rome” or it’s simply an excuse, either way I hope we can now draw one step closer to His kingdom, putting that notion to rest once and for all, and with that it’s nearly 3am and I need to put myself to rest before this blog becomes an entire book. Cheers.

“Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”

Mark 12:32-34a