Following a Narrow-minded Messiah

Have you, as a believer, ever been accused of being "narrow-minded" about the Bible or your faith? Where does that come from?

• Luke 5:10-11

  • and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men." 11When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.

• John 1:35-37

  • Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!" The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.

• A national pole stated that 57% of evangelical Christians believe there are multiple ways to get to heaven and that they don’t believe that Jesus is the only way.

• Oprah Winfrey announced, on her talk show, https://youtu.be/bESXATmQy5s that “Jesus can’t be the only way.”

• Joel Olsteen stated that Jesus is the way to God, but there are many paths to Jesus https://youtu.be/weEWl52wevI

• Legacy Ministries stands on the firm foundational belief that the Bible is true, from cover to cover.

• We believe in the inerrant, inspired word of God.

• We believe that if you claim that any part of the word of God is false then you negate it in its entirety.

• We believe that faith in Jesus Christ, and him alone, is the only way to God the father.

• Acts 4:12

  • There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.

• John 14:6

  • Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

• If there is another way to reach heaven, other than through Jesus Christ, then why did God offer his son?

• Wouldn’t the death of Jesus Christ become the biggest waste of time ever.

• If you don’t need the death and resurrection of Christ for salvation, then why did it even need to happen?

• The reason God did so was because there was no other way for God to reconcile himself and mankind.

• Because of God’s great love and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, I and this church will not back down from proclaiming that Jesus Christ is the answer to the question “What must I do to be saved?”

• Romans 1:16

  • For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.

• So…does this mean that I am being narrow-minded, when I say that there is only one way to be saved? YES! JUST LIKE JESUS!

• I have learned that narrow-mindedness leads to truth.

• Truth is not inclusive.

• Is is, by its very nature, exclusive.

• Truth in Science is narrow-minded

  • Who argues with Newton’s 3 laws of motion?

    • 1) The first law says that an object at rest tends to stay at rest, and an object in motion tends to stay in motion, with the same direction and speed, unless acted upon by another force.

    • 2) The second law states The greater the mass of an object, the greater the force need to move that object.

    • 3) The third law says that for every action (force) there is an equal and opposite reaction (force)

• Truth in Math is most certainly narrow-minded

  • 10 X 5 = 50. It always does

  • When you say that you now want 10 X 5 to equal 51, you have upset the apple cart and the whole system of math falls apart. Apart from absolute truth, math fails.

• Historical truth is narrow-minded

  • The Japanese did not attack Pearl Harbor on December 10, 1941, but on December 7th.

  • The Declaration of Independence was to signed on January 4th, 1776

• Truth in Geography is narrow minded.

  • What if I were to say to you “I am not a geographical bigot. I am open-minded, when it comes to geography and I believe that the location of the grand canyon is irrelevant and that I believe it is located in Alaska”?

  • “What if I said that I believe the equator is located at the north pole?

  • Would you remark that I seem educated and open-minded? No! You would say that I was foolish and uneducated.

• If we accept that all of these truths are narrow, then why is it so hard to accept that spiritual truth is also narrow?

• Matthew 7:13-14

  • “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. 14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.

• If you, as a non-believer, realize that Jesus Christ is the only path to God, then you have to make a choice. We all make choices, even if we don’t want to make a choice, we choose.

• If you, as a believer and Christ-follower, understand that Jesus is the only way to salvation, then you have a critical mission to share that good news with as many as possible.

  • Who, knowing that the bridge is out, will not warn people?

• If we really believe this, then we will devote ourselves to sharing this message with others.

• How is it, then, that so many claim to believe, but never seem to find the time to share the gospel with others?