Do all religions lead to God?

Today’s Question: If someone came to you and said that there are many ways to God: the Muslims believe in God, the Hindus believe in God, Jehovah Witnesses believe in God, the Mormons believe in God, and most all religions believe in God. They say as long as you are good you will all arrive in heaven some day. They claim God is merciful and He will not let those that are good go to hell, even if they do not accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, what would your answer be, since they also say we are not to judge?

Tony

Bible Answer: One day I was using a map, attempting to find our hotel. I knew it was on a certain street, so I finally found the street on the map. Thinking I knew where it was, I proceeded to head to it, when I quickly realized I was lost. None of the streets seemed familiar with my map. I pulled out my map again and found the street, but the streets and landmarks on the map were so different than what was actually all around me. I was deeply puzzled. As I looked carefully at the map again, I realized I was looking at the wrong city. I was way off from my target.

You know the same has happened with religion. People think they know where they are going, when in reality they have a wrong map. A map is the way people view life. If the map is wrong, then the direction of their lives will be wrong. I’m sure, as sincere as people are, they are often sincerely wrong.

Many people claim that all roads lead to God. That is as foolish as saying that all roads lead to Dallas, Texas. Jesus taught just the opposite of the concept of all roads leading to God. Jesus made His comment about the road that leads to God:

Instead of many roads leading to eternal life, Jesus said there is only one road to God and even that road is narrow. People have an erroneous understand of God, much less, an understanding of the road to get to God. Sure, nearly every religion claims to believe in some sort of being called God. But do they have the right God? If they are headed to a wrong concept of God, then how will they ever arrive at finding Him?

If you had never seen me before and I told you to meet me at a certain location, you would want to know where I am and what I look like. The same is true for finding God. You need to know the road He set for us to find Him and what He is like. Jesus said, "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father." (John 14:9) Jesus claims to look like God. Not only does Jesus tell us what God is like, but He claims to be the road to reach God.

This is a bold statement. You must understand what Jesus meant by this. He did not mean that His teaching would lead you to God. You see Mohammed claimed to be the greatest and last prophet, but he did not claim to be the person that you must go through to be saved. He claimed that his teaching, if you obeyed it, might save you. Jesus was not referring to his teaching but His person. Jesus as a person is the way, the truth and the life. There is something totally unique about Jesus, compared to prophets or philosophers like Buddha. Prophets and philosophers believe in their teaching. Yet Jesus believed in who He was! So who is Jesus?

Jesus is God’s only begotten Son. Which means, that just as a son inherits the nature of the Father, so Jesus has the full nature of God, which would make him equal to God. In other words, Jesus is part of the Godhead. In theological terms, He is the second person of the Trinity. When Adam and Eve sinned, all of their offspring inherited the sin nature. That would include every human being. Since Jesus is not part of the offspring of the human race, Jesus did not inherit the sin nature. Instead, he came to suffer and take the sin nature on Himself so we could inherit His nature.

This is what the previous verses are saying. God wanted to save the world, because He loved it. To save the world God would have to provide a sacrifice for sins. This is what God was talking to Moses about when He commanded him to make sacrifices for the sins of the people. The entire book of Leviticus, written by Moses, is devoted to the sacrificial system. Through the blood of animals people’s sins would be covered. This system was a shadow of the reality of Christ’ sacrifice at the cross. It was the road map God had given us to find Him. Through His sacrifice and shedding of His blood, Jesus was able to pay for our sins, so that God could legally forgive us.

So when people say that all roads lead to God, they usually discount the need for Christ to pay for their sins. They think their deep repentance or sorrow for sins is enough for God to forgive them. They think they can become good people. Yet the Bible says, "There is no one righteous, not even one…There is no one who does good, not even one" (Rom 3: 10, 12).

For example, a Muslim tries to live devoted to God, but he does not accept the sacrifice of Christ. If he does not accept the payment for his sins, then no amount of personal sacrifice will be enough to atone for his sins. He cannot be consider righteous in God’s sight by his devoted life. This is also true for a Jew or Hindu. For anyone to reject the sacrifice for their sins is for them to reject God’s offer for forgiveness. And as the previous verse says, "Whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son."

Concerning Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses, they claim to represent the Christian religion, but they reject Jesus as the second person of the Godhead. They do not believe He is God in the flesh. Paul said concerning pseudo-Christian sects like this: "So also these men oppose the truth—men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected" (2 Tim 3:8).

At this point, some people will say that I am judging. The truth is, I am simply pointing out what the true Judge has said: "Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son" (John 5:22). Jesus is the judge that God has appointed who will judge the whole world. Everyone will stand for judgment in the end, and guess Who will be judging you? "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ"(2 Cor 5:10). The One who will be seated on the bench with the gavel is Christ. He will judge you regarding how you responded to Him. If you accept His payment for your sins and make Jesus your Lord, then you will have the Judge on your side.

As you can tell, Tony, I do not believe all roads lead to God!

If you have been convinced of your need to accept Christ then I want you to pray this prayer out loud:

This prayer is only the beginning. You need to attend a good Spirit-filled, Bible-believing Church. Get baptized as soon as possible, and get filled with the Holy Spirit. I wish you the best in your walk with God.

Send your comments

Read more Bible Answers to Today's Questions

Click here if you're interested in having Tom Brown come to your area

Back to the Main Page

Tom Brown Ministries
P.O. Box 27275
El Paso, Texas 79926
USA
Send your comments
(915) 855-9673
Call only during regular office hours (MST)