One and Only One

TITLE: One and Only One
DATE:  September 7, 2019
TEXT: 1 Timothy 2:5-6 – ESV - 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man[a] Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.
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Recently, a prominent young Christian pastor came out of the spiritual closet and admitted he was losing his faith. When he did so he also  listed some of the causes... the problems he says the church avoids addressing. Rather than condemning him,  this week the Daily Devotions have accepted his thoughts as a call to action. Which is why, today ,we  are considering...

• All I know is what’s true to me right now, and Christianity just seems to me like another religion at this point,”

The truth is: we believe most truths shouldn’t change. They shouldn’t, but they often do. For example:

• It used to be true no man had ever walked on the moon...now he has and that’s a new truth.
• It used to be true that running a 4-minute mile was impossible....now hundreds have done just that and we have a new truth.

But our young pastor, like Pontius Pilate, is looking for a truth which doesn’t change; which can be trusted, completely, absolutely, eternally. Sadly he implies, Christianity appears to be just another religion. And, of course, in some areas, he is absolutely right. Like other religions, we have buildings, and a priesthood. Like other religions, we have hymns and a sacred Scripture.

To the casual observer, it would appear that Christianity is just one of many religions which purport to have the truth.  But... let’s check.....
There are three global religions in the world. Roughly 600 BC, Siddhartha Gautama lived and established his religion and roughly 600 AD the prophet Mohammad did the same. Sandwiched in between those two was the Christ Whose disciples pointed to the Savor Who was crucified to atone for our transgressions and to open the gates of heaven.

Three men, three religions. Are they the same? They are not....

1. In the thousands of years before Jesus was born, a great many prophecies were made about Him. We knew how and where He would be born... and the way in which He would die. We knew about His ministry and that He would carry our sins. All this was done so we could be sure Jesus was God’s Representative and not a charlatan or fake.

Can the same be said about the other two? No, it can’t. Nobody knew they were coming; nobody had predicted their teachings; Only Christianity has these internal checks

1. But there’s more. Those who follow the Christ believe He died to free them from sin, and conquered death to show us heaven was open, can be absolutely sure they are forgiven and saved.

Is that true of  the other religions? It is not. Every serious scholar of Islam believes, in the ultimate analysis, Allah will do what He wishes. In Buddhism, finding and walking the path to Nirvana is always unsure.

So, is Christianity just one religion of many? I don’t think so, and nor should he.

 THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, grant me a spirit of discernment so I may readily see and believe in Your truth rather than falling victim to the world’s lies. This I ask in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

The devotion for today was inspired by various recent news articles. For further reading you may wish to go to this address: https://www.christianheadlines.com/contributors/michael-foust/hillsong-s-marty-sampson-i-m-genuinely-losing-my-faith.html and the article written by Michael Foust .
The music which introduces and concludes our devotions was written by Guy Baumann. He along with three of his brothers perform on the album: The Baumann Brothers which may be ordered here: http://thebaumannbrothers.com/index.html