Are All Religions Right?

Summary

Red Rocks Church Weekend Messages

Episode Title: The Only Way to Heaven
Date: March 14, 2026
Theme: Is Jesus really the one and only way to God and heaven?

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Episode Overview

This episode, part of the “TikTok Theology” series, examines the exclusive claim of Jesus in John 14:6—"I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." The message goes beyond theological debate to address the deeply personal and emotional stakes of this claim, arguing that clarity—and stating that Jesus is the only way—is an act of love rather than exclusion. The speaker uses personal stories, analogies, and respectful exploration of other religions to underline why Red Rocks Church teaches that faith in Jesus is the unique path to heaven.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Stage: Why This Question Matters

• Tension: The question of whether Jesus is the only way is both theological and deeply personal.
• Context: Many American Christians now believe other religions can lead to heaven, reflecting a culture shaped by inclusivity and relative truth. (06:20)
• Main Question: “Is Jesus really the one and only way to the one and only God?” (01:21)

2. “Airport Analogy” – The Problem of 'All Planes Lead Home'

• Illustration: The speaker likens spiritual journeys to different planes at an airport, lampooning the idea that “all flights go to the same place” as comforting but ultimately impossible and illogical.
• Point: “It sounds loving…but the real question isn’t, does it sound loving? The real question is, is it true?” (07:02)
• Quote: “Comforting lies aren’t love. Truth is love. Because, to quote Jesus, the truth will set you free.” (07:11)
• Result: Just as not all planes go to Austin, not all spiritual paths lead to heaven.

3. Biblical Clarity: Jesus’s Unique Claim

• Text: John 14:6 – Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” (01:05, 15:23)
• Context: Jesus utters this at the end of the Last Supper, aiming to comfort and clarify for his confused disciples (09:53–10:21).
• Relevance: “You guys don’t need a map, because you know me.” (15:23)
• Confidence Check: The speaker invites listeners to gauge their confidence in going to heaven—rating themselves 0–5 (16:23–17:17).
• Goal: Full assurance for every believer: “My hope and prayer … is by the end, every single person…would know it is possible…to be a 5.” (17:17)

4. Are All Religions Equally Right? Contradiction and Clarity

• Statistics: “70% of all major Christian and non-Christian religious groups say that many religions can lead to eternal life.” (19:50)
• Math Analogy: Contradictory answers (like different solutions to the same equation) cannot all be correct (20:13–21:46).
• Core Argument: Major religions fundamentally contradict each other:
  • Christianity: Jesus is God, salvation by faith and grace
  • Islam: Jesus is not God, salvation by works and submission
  • Hinduism: 330 million gods
  • Buddhism: No creator God, salvation/enlightenment by one’s own efforts
• Quote: “They can’t both be right because they contradict each other.” (23:14)

5. Respectful Contrast, Not Disrespectful Conflation

• Clarity is Respect: “It’s not disrespectful to recognize the difference between major world religions…It’s actually disrespectful to call all of them the same when they’re not.” (23:28)
• Examples:
  • Quranic verses cited to show Islam directly contradicts core Christian claims about Jesus (23:49–24:20).
  • “All religions cannot be equally right, as loving as that sounds to say.” (24:55)
• Personal Reflection: Stories from global missions—respecting people of other faiths, but not equating faith systems (27:31–28:52).

6. Why “All Roads” & “Blind Men and Elephant” Fall Short

• Blind Men and Elephant Parable: The popular analogy that every faith “feels part” of the truth but misses the whole (34:03).
• Critical Point: The narrator presumes superior knowledge; “the most humble, inclusive position is actually the most arrogant of all.” (34:50)
• Quote (Tim Keller): “How could you possibly know that no religion can see the whole truth unless you yourself have the superior comprehensive knowledge that you just claimed none of the religions have.” (35:15)

7. Jesus Isn’t ‘A Way’—He Is ‘The Way’

• Language Emphasis: “He does not say, ‘I am a way.’ He says, ‘I am the way…’” (26:40)
• Truth-Claims in a Relativistic Age: “By saying all religions are equally true, you sound inclusive. But you’re saying the one thing that is not possible, and you’re not really listening.” (31:37)

8. The Consequence of Denying Jesus’s Uniqueness

• Gospel Significance: To say Jesus isn't the only way is to render the cross unnecessary: “If I sacrificed [my son] to save you and then later found out I didn’t have to… I can think of no greater way to belittle the gospel than to say God’s son did not have to die.” (32:14)

9. Jesus is Either Lord, Liar, or Lunatic—No Middle Ground

• Every Faith Must Reckon with Jesus: “Every religion has to do something with Jesus… But none of those take into consideration what Jesus Christ said about himself.” (36:40)
• Quote: “He cannot be a good teacher… He’s either a liar… he was absolutely insane… or he is who he says he is, in which case your entire world must revolve around him.” (39:16)
• Quote (N.T. Wright): “Christianity is either the most devastating disclosure of the deepest reality of the world or it is a sham, a nonsense. Most of us…live in the shallow world in between.” (39:32)
• Major Distinction: “Other religions began by prophets claiming to help us find God. Christianity is Jesus claiming to be God here to find us.” (39:58)

10. Gospel Invitation: The Free Ticket Home

• Salvation Analogy: Sin is a chasm (the Pacific Ocean between sinful humanity and holy God). We can’t swim it, but Jesus provides the “jet”—a costly, pre-paid way home (40:51–42:31).
• Quote: “Jesus is the one and only way to the one and only God. But it’s not like he showed up and there were ten other planes, but he shut those down… There were no other ways…and now there is.” (42:55)
• Invitation: Respond to Jesus—not as an exclusive club, but as an open invitation (“everyone is on the list and God wants every single one of his kids in that jet coming home. That’s not exclusive. That’s specific.”) (43:18)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Love and Truth:

  “Comforting lies aren’t love. Truth is love. Because, to quote Jesus, the truth will set you free.” — Speaker, (07:11)

• On Jesus’s Unique Claim:

  “He does not say, ‘I am a way and a truth and a life.’ He says, ‘I am the way, I am the truth and I am the life.’” — Speaker, (26:40)

• On the Blind Men and Elephant (Religious Perspective):

  “The only way the parable works is if the narrator…is the only person who isn’t blind… It sounds like the most humble, inclusive position is actually the most arrogant of all…” — Speaker, (34:50)

• On Clarity:

  “Clarity is loving, regardless of what the truth happens to be.” — Speaker, (07:17)

• On Jesus’s Identity:

  “He cannot be a good teacher… He’s either a liar and not just a casual liar…or he was absolutely insane, or he is who he says he is.” — Speaker (39:16)

• On the Gospel’s Cost:

  “I can think of no greater way to belittle the gospel than to say God’s son did not have to die.” — Speaker, (32:16)

• On the Invitation’s Scope:

  “It’s not exclusive, because everybody is on the list. And God wants every single one of his kids in that jet coming home.” — Speaker, (43:18)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Opening & Statement of Purpose — 00:01–02:29
• Airport Analogy — 02:35–06:11
• Survey: Do All Religions Lead to Heaven? — 06:20–07:59
• Jesus’s “I Am” Claim Context — 08:34–10:55
• Confidence in Salvation Exercise — 16:23–17:17
• Logic and Contradictions of Religion — 19:36–24:55
• Respect and Differences Among Religions — 24:55–28:52
• Stories from Global Missions — 28:52–30:41
• Blind Men and Elephant Parable Debunked — 32:42–35:15
• Jesus is the Only Way—Language and Claims — 26:40–31:41, 36:05–39:16
• Liar/Lunatic/Lord Trilemma — 39:16–39:58
• Gospel Invitation—The Jet Home — 40:51–43:18
• Invitation and Prayer — 43:18–end

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Conclusion and Call to Action

• Clarity and Confidence: The episode invites both non-believers and believers to respond to the unique claim of Jesus and to move toward assurance in their faith.
• Final Encouragement:

  “You are the one and only way to heaven. You are the truth, like a north star leading us home. And you are the life that we’re looking for. Thank you for being so good. We love you. We worship you in Jesus' name. Amen.” (47:50)

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If you want the heart of the message:

• Jesus’s claim to be the only way is not arrogant or exclusive, but a specific and open invitation for all. Clarity—grounded in love and truth—matters when the stakes are nothing less than eternity.

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This summary captures the full depth, tone, and teaching of the episode, with notable moments for those seeking clarity on this essential Christian doctrine.

Transcript

[A]

Come on, Red Rocks. Hey, From Austin to Denver to Brussels and beyond, wherever you are, all over the world, can we give some praise to our God right here and right now? Come on, you got more than that. Let Jesus be the name that gets all the glory. Austin. We are broadcasting live from this service to our Red Rocks family all over the world. So let's show them some love right now. Red Rocks, we love you. And of course, the VIPs of our church, the men and women of our correctional facility campuses in Colorado and in Texas, we love you. Welcome home and help me out. We exist to make heaven more crowded by helping people to know God and live on purpose so that together we

[B]

can go change the world.

[A]

Amen.

[B]

Welcome to our teaching series called TikTok Theology. And we are.

[A]

We're talking about what it means to have depth and discernment in the age

[B]

of 30 seconds and sound bites.

[A]

And in John, chapter 14, verse 6, Jesus is about to. He's about to say something incredibly bold, something incredibly clear, something incredibly controversial, and something deeply comforting.

[B]

John 14:6. These are the words of Jesus. He said, I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. Me. And the question we're wrestling through today is the question, is Jesus really the one and only way to the one and only God?

[A]

Because the answer to that question is not just theological, it's also deeply personal and emotional as well. But if heaven and hell are real, the stakes are high. And so I want to preach a message today with clarity and confidence as well, from the words of Jesus called the only way to heaven. The only way to heaven. And I pray by the end of this message that you have confidence that

[B]

you know the way. It's a person, and his name is Jesus. Amen. So, God, we love you, Jesus. You are the way, the truth and the life draw near to us as we seek you. We love you. In Jesus name. And everybody said, amen.

[A]

Go ahead and take a seat.

[B]

The only way to heaven.

[A]

Okay, so I want you just to imagine for a moment that you're overseas and you've been traveling for a while internationally, and. And now you are in a foreign country with the foreign language that you don't understand, and you're exhausted. It's been a long trip. And to make matters worse, you're sick, but not like a little sick. You're like, I caught something in a different country. I don't know what it is. Stomach flu kind of sick, and you just want to get home. That's all you want to do. So you're dragging your suitcase through the airport and your body's weak, but you can't keep anything down. And there's symbols on screens you can't read, and there's announcements on the pa, but you can't understand what the announcements are saying. And you're just like, gosh, I just want to be home. And then all of a sudden it's

[B]

like the crowd parts in front of you. And I walk right up to you, and with perfect English, I say, can I help you get home? And you're thinking, oh, my gosh, am I entertaining an angel right now?

[A]

To quote the writer of Hebrews, is this guy my hero? Yes, you can help me. Please help me. I don't know which plane to get on to get home. Would you just point me in the direction of the right gate? Because I'm lost and I have no idea what it is. And so I give you a hug

[B]

and with a reassuring smile I say, I got good news for you, brother. Got good news for you, sister. You're getting home a lot faster than you think. You're gonna be home in your own bed, next to your own toilet with saltines and ginger ale and a TV show on in the background. And you're looking at me with watery eyes and you're thinking, perfect stranger, how do you know this? And I smile and I say, because every plane at this airport goes to the same place. Exactly where you're trying to get to. Pick a gate, any gate. They're all going to take you home.

[A]

Now you hesitate for a second because you're like, wait, who is this guy? He's really confident and really nice. But he just said, like, every plane goes to the same place. You're like, are you sure they all get.

[B]

Yeah, I'm sure they all do.

[A]

Okay, but like at an airport, don't all the planes go to, like, different places? And then I would say, that's a little closed minded, little exclusive if you ask me. Come on, where's your optimism? Where's your faith? Enlighten yourself a little bit, man. And like me, you will see an airport full of gates that all go to the same place. Go to A16, go to B23, heck, you could go to G37. It doesn't matter. All of them are basically Austin, Texas. Just go there and believe. You gotta feel it. I feel it. And I love you. Now the real question is, is that actually loving? Because, man, it sounds really comforting and that guy is really kind and Confident. It's just that it's completely ridiculous. Because it's also impossible. If you've ever been to an airport, you know, all the planes go to different places. Some planes will go to Tokyo, some plane's gonna go to Sydney, some plane's gonna go to New York City. Heck, some plane will take you to Cincinnati. And why would you wanna go there?

[B]

I was born there. I can make that joke, don't worry. And if you get on the wrong one, you're not going home.

[A]

But here's what's crazy. It's obvious at an airport, but in our cultural moment, a lot of us believe this to be true about eternity. According to a Pew research study, the majority of American Christians believe that other religions lead to heaven, that all spiritual planes will take you to the same place. And honestly, it sounds loving, doesn't it? That's probably why we all just stop there without thinking or learning or listening beyond it. Because all of them will take you home. Any spiritual plane. It sounds loving, it sounds inclusive, it

[B]

sounds kind, it sounds comforting.

[A]

But the real question isn't, does it sound loving? The real question is, is it true? Because when it comes to eternity, comforting lies aren't love. Truth is love. Because to quote Jesus, the truth will set you free. Clarity is loving, regardless of what the truth happens to be. And you know the phrase clarity is kindness? Our culture says that a lot right now. I love that phrase. I agree with that phrase, which means the kindest thing I could ever do in a culture of your truth and my truth and all roads lead to heaven and even that low grade confusion we're all swimming in all the time. The kindest thing I could ever do is be as clear as I can possibly be by proclaiming the truth that Jesus Christ said. This is the truth about heaven and

[B]

hell and which plane will take you home. Right now, above our heads, there's about 15,000 planes in the air. This was just a few moments ago.

[A]

Isn't that stressful just to look at, by the way, that's so overwhelming. I see so many planes all heading

[B]

in different directions that it seems none of them are going to end up at the same time destination. And to me, that is a picture of our spiritual moment right now that there are thousands of voices of different

[A]

ways to go, different 30 second sound bites, different major world religions and your truth and that truth and new age practices and. But guys, they can't all be right. They can't all be going to the same place. Which brings me back to the words of Jesus When Jesus drops that famous bar from John 14, he does so at the tail end of the final supper. Now this was a dinner to remember, okay? It's Thursday night, the night before his crucifixion. Jesus is in an upper room sharing a meal with his disciples. And if you go read John 13, it's gonna tell you all about the final supper. Here's just some of the spark notes. Jesus washes all the disciples feet in this beautiful portrait of servant leadership and says, as I have loved you, you are to go and love each other. And right after that, Judas stands up and walks out of the room. Cause he's busy getting paid to betray Jesus. And then Peter, to follow that up, stands up. Of course he does. And he makes this grand declaration. Jesus, I will never abandon you. Whatever happens, I'll be with you, right by your side the rest of the way.

[B]

And Jesus says, oh, Peter, before the sun comes up tomorrow morning, you will deny knowing me three times. And so this dinner's kind of getting awkward.

[A]

It's getting hot, heavy, and heated in a hurry.

[B]

And Jesus is about to take it to the next level. He says, in this moment, guys, I'm about to leave you to go to a place you've never been, to prepare a place for you and me.

[A]

And we kind of know what he's talking about. But let's cut the disciples a break for a second because we have 2020 hindsight, vision. These guys have never celebrated an Easter before. And this is like the pinnacle, the crux of three years of following Jesus. It all comes down to this moment. The table's been set for Jesus the Messiah to overthrow Rome and initiate his kingdom. And Jesus, this is it. This is the opportune moment right here, right now. And you're telling us that you're about to leave.

[B]

And Jesus says, yeah, I'm telling you I'm about to leave. So Jesus is talking to his disciples who are confused, they're scared, and they're emotionally shaken. And so Jesus opens John 14 like this in verse one. Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father's house. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you guys? When everything is ready, I will come and get you so that you will always be with me where I am. That's beautiful. That metaphor kind of makes sense to us, but it really would have made sense to the disciples because it spoke to a Jewish wedding tradition Where a

[A]

young Hebrew man would leave his mom

[B]

and dad and go to a foreign land to find a bride. Who thinks we should bring that back today?

[A]

Like, you leave Dallas, you come to Austin. You leave Austin, you go to Cincinnati.

[B]

Well, guys, now I'm from there. I can say that.

[A]

Okay, you go to this foreign land. He would find a bride and propose to her via this dowry. But then he would leave and go back to his homeland to build a house for them to spend the rest of their lives in. So while he's busy preparing the place, she's busy preparing for the wedding. And when it's finally ready, he goes back to the foreign land to get her, to take her home, to spend the rest of his life with her. And Jesus is saying, guys, I'm leaving, but I'm not abandoning you. I'm going to prepare a place for us and Red Rocks. We don't know the hour, we don't know the day, but he's coming back to get us, and he's going to take us home for the rest of forever. That is what we have to look forward to. Any Pirates of the Caribbean fans in this room? There's a few of us. All right, the first one was awesome.

[B]

And numbers two and three kind of started to have a lot going on as far as plot lines, you know what I mean?

[A]

And so at the end of number three, at World's End, Will Turner, the protagonist of the story, he now is

[B]

sentenced to spend a decade aboard the Flying Dutchman.

[A]

One day on land, 10 years at sea. So he spends one day on land with his bride Elizabeth. And then later that evening at sunset, he kisses her on the beach and

[B]

he says, keep a weathered eye on the horizon. And then he disappears. And it's really cool. All right, true story. Back in 2012, me, Ryan, and Ethan left for an entire year to do mission work around the world. Me and Sam were dating at the

[A]

time, so we had a goodbye at

[B]

LAX in the main terminal, American Airlines terminal.

[A]

And I'll never forget, because we're standing

[B]

there and it was an emotionally heavy night, I know I'm not going to see her again for an entire year. And so I kissed her and I looked her in the eye, and I said, keep a weathered eye on the horizon.

[A]

And I walked away because I don't have the emotional capacity to handle moments like that. And that is 100% a true story. That's why our firstborn son's name is Will. It's kind of true.

[B]

My wife doesn't like when I Say that. But

[A]

Jesus says to his disciples, guys, this isn't goodbye. The church is my bride, you're my people.

[B]

I'm preparing a place in eternity for us. So keep a weathered eye on the horizon because I'm coming back the same way. You watch me go. Now, that part is meant to give comfort. This next part is meant to bring clarity and confidence. Verse 4, Jesus says, and you know the way to where I'm going.

[A]

I love verse 5. Cause Thomas raises his hand. Uh, no we don't, Lord. And to be fair to Thomas, I feel like Jesus, entire ministry, it was just a full time press conference. He'd say things, people raised their hands. But in fairness to Thomas, he's like Jesus, if you stop just talking in parables and metaphor and story all the time, just tell us what you're saying. We don't know the way. Thomas said, we have no idea where you're going going, so how can we know the way?

[B]

He doesn't realize it, but he's actually asking Jesus, what is the way to heaven? Verse 6, Jesus told him, I am the way, the truth and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. When Jesus drops that big I am statement, it's not to make a point or win an argument. He's not answering a philosophy question. He's saying to his ragtag team of hurting and perplexed disciples, you guys don't need a map, because you know me. And it's meant to bring clarity to our confusion. And it's meant to bring confidence to our uncertainty. So let me ask you a very pastoral question. I'm curious. On a scale of 0 to 5, if you were to die today, how confident are you you're going to heaven?

[A]

Zero being.

[B]

Nope.

[A]

Five being completely confident.

[B]

And I'm wondering if you guys would have the bravery and transparency just to hold up a number at every single location. Okay, hold up a number. Zero to five. Okay. I see all different numbers. I've been every single number throughout my lifetime. Thank you, by the way, for your authenticity. You can put your hands down.

[A]

Yeah, like that one and two range, sort of like. Well, I mean, I think so. Honestly, it kind of depends on what

[B]

I did last night and what kind of mood God's in today.

[A]

Threes and fours is where a lot of us live. Where you'd say. I mean, I'm pretty sure that I'm on the right plane. I mean, maybe not enough to call a different plane the wrong plane. I don't want to be that guy. I'd like to be more confident because it's not just me on this plane, it's also my loved ones as well. And if I could know that I know that, I know that I know

[B]

that I know this is true, I

[A]

mean, I'd take that. And then number five is I'm completely

[B]

confident God is good, Jesus is alive and my salvation is in his hands and not mine. I saw a lot of fives all over this room and that is wonderful. For that reason, my hope and prayer for this message is by the end of it, every single person beneath the sound of my voice would know it is possible, it is so possible for you to spend the rest of your days as a 5 completely confident that God is good, that Jesus is alive, that your salvation is in his hands, that he is the way. And you know him. You know same John who wrote the Gospel of John where Jesus makes that I am statement that we just read. He was Jesus, self proclaimed best friend. And at the final supper the Bible literally says John was reclining on Jesus kind of arm around his buddy and Messiah. So when Jesus said I am the way, the truth, the life, John's ear was 12 inches from the mouth of Jesus who spoke those words. Later in his life, John would go on to write a few letters, one of which is First John, not very creative with the titles of all his different works. But in First John, chapter 5, verse 13, John writes this. I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you know, that you know that you know that you know you have eternal life with clarity and with confidence. How do you do that really? That's the point of this TikTok theology series as we talk about apologetics, which

[A]

is to create reasonable and fundamental arguments for what we believe based on evidence and based on logic and that we do not have a blind faith. Red rocks. And that is wonderful news. And as we wrestle with some of these hard hitting questions, it actually I believe builds our faith. Because if you are wrestling with God, by definition you are close to him. And that is the whole point of

[B]

a relationship with him.

[A]

So two questions we're going to wrestle

[B]

with for the rest of the message. The first one is this.

[A]

Are all religions equally right? Most Christians don't struggle to believe that Jesus is a way.

[B]

They struggle believing Jesus is the way.

[A]

USA Today states that 70% of all major Christian and non Christian religious groups

[B]

say that many religions can lead to eternal life. Most people today aren't asking if there's A way to heaven. They're asking how many planes will actually take you there. But guys, let's do this.

[A]

At the risk of sounding like a

[B]

nerd, I'm going to put a math equation on the screen.

[A]

Don't yell out the answer, but I want you to compute it in your

[B]

fantastical imagination right now, okay?

[A]

Just do the math.

[B]

Can feel the brain power in this room. Great minds battling it out. Okay? Does anybody need more time? Just yell, hold up if you do.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

All right.

[A]

On go. I want you to yell out your answer. All right? You ready? Ready. Set, go. One. Sixteen. I think a three. Was I right? Okay, here's the thing. Pause for a second. I'm going to tell you the right answer in one minute. But really, this is the point I'm trying to make. I heard a one over here. Now here's what's possible. You could be right and they could be wrong. I heard a 16 over here. You could be right and all of them could be wrong.

[B]

My money's on you.

[A]

And I think I heard a three. My money's not on you. But it's still possible. You could be right and everybody else is wrong. There's also another possibility that all three of you are wrong. Okay, but here's what we know is impossible. All of you are right. That is completely impossible.

[B]

Because you have.

[A]

Not only are your answers different, they contradict by definition. So the right answer is 16, but who knows why? Who knows why? Pemdas. Yes. And that's not a cuss word. Don't worry, I would never say, ethan, stop being a pemdas. Like, that's not, I wouldn't cuss in church. It's the order of operations. It's, please excuse my dear Aunt Sally. It means that you do stuff like exponents and parentheses first, and then you do multiplication and division in order from left to right and then addition and subtraction in order from left. Now, if you didn't get the right

[B]

answer, relax, it probably just means you were cool in high school. Okay, so

[A]

most Christians and non Christians

[B]

believe that more than one religion is the right answer.

[A]

But they can't all be right if they contradict each other. Christianity teaches Jesus is God and salvation happens by your faith in his grace. Islam teaches Jesus is not God and salvation happens by works and submission. Now, Christianity could be right and Islam wrong, or Islam could be right and Christianity wrong. Or they could both be wrong. But we know one thing for certain, they're not both right. They can't both be right because they contradict each other. And by the way, it's not disrespectful

[B]

to recognize the difference between major world religions. It's actually disrespectful to call all of them the same when they're not. Are we listening to what they're saying? Let me read for you two verses from the Quran. Okay, so this is Islam, what they would call the word of God.

[A]

Surah 4:1 57. They did not kill him being Jesus, nor did they crucify him, but it was made to appear so to them. Okay, by the way, earlier in the Quran it says you, you should trust the Bible and the Torah. But then it later goes on to contradict and deny two of the most major events in the Bible, the resurrection and the crucifixion.

[B]

The Quran is contradicting its itself.

[A]

One more Surah 385.

[B]

Whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted of him. That seems like it's saying anybody who follows another way is not going to heaven but is going to hell. And just for clarity's sake, it is saying that and I fundamentally disagree with it. But honestly I appreciate the clarity of belief in a world where all truth just seems to be relative and we're not really hearing what people are saying.

[A]

All religions cannot be equally right, as loving as that sounds to say. In Hinduism there are 330 million gods. In Christianity there's one they're not both right. Buddhism and not the, not the new American, new age version of Buddhism where you do like some yoga and you got a little Buddha statue and you like the vibes like that's not Buddhism. It's not the real Buddhism completely rejects the concept of a Creator God. Verse 165 of the Dhammapada, a collection of the sayings of Buddha says by oneself is evil done and by oneself is one purified.

[B]

In other words, you are the way and you are the truth and you are the life.

[A]

See, all religions make truth claims and Christianity does too. Jesus saying nobody comes to the father and gets to heaven unless it's through me. That is the truth claim of Christianity. He says I am the way. He does not say I am a way. And we need to understand that the difference between A and B in our English language that A is an indefinite article, it is non specific, but the is a definitive article because it is. It's a a person or this is the person. It's a place or no, no, no, it is the place. This is why Ohio State is the most Annoying fan base in the entire country because they all say the Ohio State. Cause Ohio's so amazing.

[B]

What a majestic landscape. I'm from Cincinnati. I can say that. Okay. Jesus doesn't say, I am a way and a truth and a life. He says, I am the way, I am the truth and I am the life. And I am not here to belittle other people in other religions at all. I have had so many dinners in Hindu homes over the years in Fiji and in India and Uganda and Burundi with delicious food and amazing people. I have walked with imams through mosques and had wonderful conversations. I don't for a second believe those belief systems are true, but I know for certain people in other belief systems are not the enemy. Like Katniss said, remember who the real enemy is. Everybody. The devil, not people.

[A]

God wants all of his children to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. Being Jesus, that's how he feels about all of his kids. People are not the enemy. The devil is the enemy. And in our day and age, the devil shows up looking like lies that are masquerading as love.

[B]

I love people from all religions. To be so clear, I do not love all religions at all because I've seen too much. I've been in too many of those Hindu homes where in the corner there's idols and statues of gods the family has inherited and incense burning like a sacrifice to appease those gods just so the gods won't give their kids cancer that year. Call that bondage. I have been in the red light districts of India and laid hands on people on the quote, unquote untouchables, the bottom tier of the caste system, who are stuck there because of the belief system of a nation religiously, that that

[A]

person is there because of their karma.

[B]

And if you interfere, you're interfering with

[A]

their karma, which affects your karma.

[B]

I love all those people. I hate that system. I've also personally seen the facial expression of a teenage boy named Shanil who grew up in a Hindu family in a little house in Fiji when he heard about Jesus for the very first time. Chanel was sick, had a stomach disease, and me, Ryan and Ethan, on that year long trip, we were there for about a week, spent a week with him, praying and getting to know him. And I'll never forget that afternoon sitting in this little house on a sugar cane farm, and I'm on the living room floor playing FIFA with Chanel on this tiny tv chewing on sugarcane, and Ryan and Ethan are explaining the gospel to him. And over here is that corner of idols and incense burning because his parents are begging the gods their family inherited to heal their son. And I got to see the look in his eyes when he heard about Jesus for the very first time. Like the hope and the freedom of. Are you kidding me? So this isn't another God to add to the list to try to make happy so he won't. Like, this is real.

[A]

This is like.

[B]

I realize why it's called good news. Sitting in that living room as he heard you don't actually have to do anything to earn God's love. That Jesus died for you and paid the price for you. And by his stripes, you're healed, which means salvation. And now you get to live for

[A]

him because you are already more love, Shaneel, than you could ever possibly.

[B]

No.

[A]

And I got to see why it's called the greatest news ever.

[B]

I mean, no disrespect to people in other religions. I'm just trying to be bold the way Jesus was and tell you the truth about other doctrines. Because we live in a culture of confusion. And every truth, relatively is great. And all the planes will take you to the same place. And if you think about it for more than three seconds and it's wrong and it's not loving. Christianity says Jesus is God and salvation is by grace. Buddhism has no personal God. And the objective is Enlightenment Judaism teaches this is the law and it must be kept because Jesus is not the Messiah. Hinduism says there are millions of gods and no heaven. You just get reincarnated again and again. And by saying all religions are equally true, you sound inclusive.

[A]

But you're saying the one thing that

[B]

is not possible and you're not really listening.

[A]

And second, when you say all of them are true and every plane will get you there, you are. You're saying that Jesus didn't really have to die. He didn't have to die to create that way because we got all these other planes. God, man, I have a son. His name's Will. He's seven. If I sacrificed him to save you and then later found out I didn't have to because we have all these other ways as well. I'm trying to wrap my mind around

[B]

how I would feel or what I would do.

[A]

I can think of no greater way

[B]

to belittle the gospel than to say God's son did not have to die. So all religions can't be equally right. But let's flip that. Are all religions equally wrong?

[A]

Do they all just kind of know

[B]

a little bit of the bigger picture?

[A]

See, this is historically Explained with the

[B]

parable of the blind man and the elephant. And there's this elephant, and then there's

[A]

a bunch of blind men kind of

[B]

representing the different major world religions.

[A]

And each of them are feeling a different part of the elephant, trying to explain the whole elephant. So one guy is. He's got the tusk, and he says, I know an elephant is like a spear. That's what an elephant is, is a spear. But then the next guy's like, what are you talking about, man? He's feeling the side of the elephant. He says, an elephant's like a wall. But then another guy's going, you guys are both crazy. He's got the tail of the. He's like an elephant is like a vine and smells so bad. And all of them, no, no, no part of the elephant, but none of them know the full story. And this has been used to talk about major world religions that all of you know part of the greater truth. But when your powers combine, like Captain Planet, right, And we bring all this together, then we get the full story. And it sounds so sweet, and it sounds so loving, and it sounds so hu. Like, look at. Look at this guy. He just got the tail, but he thinks it's the whole thing.

[B]

Bless his heart. Bless that religion, that.

[A]

It's one of those stories that you

[B]

hear it at first and you go, man, that's good. Tell it again, dude. Like, I might go get a tattoo of an elephant. That's just so beautiful, man. But there's a couple problems with it. The first is that no major world religion agrees with it, and it disrespects people of faith all over the world. It seems humble, but the big problem with it is the only way the parable works is if the narrator of the story, the one who agrees with the parable, is the only person who isn't blind.

[A]

So that person can see in full what all the other blind guys can only see in part see. It sounds like the most humble, inclusive position is actually the most arrogant of all the positions to take. Tim Keller says it like this. How could you possibly know that no religion can see the whole truth unless you yourself have the superior comprehensive knowledge

[B]

that you just claimed none of the religions have. So you can't actually say that all religions are right because they contradict each other, that all paths lead to heaven and every plane will get you home. No. And you can't actually say, well, none of them are. None of them know the full story. They're all equally wrong. And. And just kind of pick and choose your favorite parts from each. Like, I love the some Hindu vibes with the enlightenment thing from Buddhism, and throw that in with some astrology and manifesting. And then give me a little bit of Jesus because he's my guy. And we try to make Jesus fit into our narrative like he's just part of our spiritual cocktail. But Jesus does not leave room for you to do that.

[A]

If he said, I am a way and a truth and a life, then he could be an ingredient in your spiritual cocktail. But the reason that cocktail isn't working and you have a new version of last year's, which was a later version of the year before, which also didn't work, is because he doesn't come as a supplement here to make your life a little bit better. He is the way, the truth and the life. He only works as savior of your entire life. And therefore the only appropriate result response

[B]

is that my entire life must revolve around him. That's the only way he comes. At some point, everybody's got to answer that question, who is Jesus to you? Even every major world religion has had to incorporate Jesus somehow and say who or what Jesus was. We don't do that with any other figure in any other religion. But every religion has to do something with Jesus. Islam says he's a lesser prophet than Muhammad. Buddhism calls Jesus an enlightened man. Judaism says Jesus was a rabbi. Even atheists weigh in and believe Jesus was a good teacher who just got blown out of proportion. But everybody must have an answer to not answer is an answer. But none of those take into consideration what Jesus Christ said about himself.

[A]

I think it's Luke 10:18, okay, Jesus is with his disciples and. And Jesus says, and I quote, guys, I literally saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning. So if he's just a good teacher and you hear him say that, you're thinking, where and when was this Jesus? Like, you can't just be a good moral guy and say stuff like that. There was another time that Jesus said before Abraham was, I am. In other words, I've always been, I will always be. I am. That's what God called himself in the Old Testament. He's making a truth claim, I am God. I was there before Abraham. I spoke Abe into existence. I am. It's like, that's a big thing to say. I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life. Nobody comes to heaven. Nobody gets to the Father unless it's through me. He cannot be a good teacher or a good guy who had some good ideas back in the day he doesn't let you call him that. He's either a liar and not just a casual liar, a manipulative, evil liar attempting to mislead millions just to affirm some narcissistic insecurity of delusions of grandeur, or he was absolutely insane, or he

[B]

is who he says he is, in which case your entire world must revolve around him and there is nothing in the middle. N.T. wright says it like this. How can you live with the terrifying thought that the hurricane has become human, that fire has become flesh, that life itself became life and walked in our midst? Christianity either means that or it means nothing. It is either the most devastating disclosure of the deepest reality of the world or it is a sham, a nonsense. Most of us, unable to cope with saying either of those things, condemn ourselves to live in the shallow world in between. Other religions began by prophets claiming to help us find God. Christianity is Jesus claiming to be God here to find us. He is the way. So imagine you're stuck overseas again and there's an emergency, you need to get home, but you're standing in this airport that's abandoned and there's no planes at any gate. Cuz really this is what sin has done to humanity. Because sin has place this chasm. Picture the Pacific Ocean in between a fallen human being and a holy God.

[A]

And religion is us trying to figure out how our good works and good deeds and being a good person can help us sort of swim across. Guys, Michael Phelps is a good swimmer. This is the Pacific Ocean, you cannot do that. If Mother Teresa were here, she'd grab the mic and say on my best day, I did not come close to

[B]

spanning the gap of sin that is the Pacific Ocean. To get to God, we cannot get up the mountain to Him. We cannot. So something had to be done. Now picture I show up in that deserted airplane, report way more humble this time, and I say I actually have the greatest news ever. We've got a charter jet that just pulled in that's going home and it's the most expensive charter jet there is. The price was the perfect blood of the Son of God, but this ticket's already been paid for, so it's yours for free if you want it. You don't need to figure out how to get across this ocean by swimming. This plane is the way. Jesus is the way. So walk with me to gate C23 and let's get on together. Now imagine being you. And right then and There you go, C23.

[A]

So you, you telling me there's only one way home. Don't come at me with all this. C23. You telling me there's just one way? It's just the way or no other way? Not a chance. Would you respond that way? Because there was not a way until

[B]

this one showed up.

[A]

Guys, Jesus is the one and only way to the one and only God. But it's not like he showed up and there were 10 other planes, but he shut those down because he wanted to be the man. There were no other ways to heaven. And now there is. That's the point. C23.

[B]

Just one.

[A]

How many ways do you need? I got a jet.

[B]

And the ticket is free. Your faith in his amazing grace. And it's not exclusive, because everybody is on the list. And God wants every single one of his kids in that jet coming home. That's not exclusive. That's specific. Because it has to be exclusive. Is is a bouncer at the door to that gate who's scaling how good your deeds were compared to how many times you messed up. That's exclusive. This is specific. The ticket is free. At some point, everybody has to answer that question. Who is Jesus to you? He is the way, the truth, the life that is the truth claim of Christianity. By the way, everybody makes a truth claim. That word truth with a capital T gets a bad rap in our day and age. But even if you were to say there's no such thing as ultimate truth, you just made an ultimate truth claim by saying that every religion makes a truth claim. Jesus is the truth claim who showed up dressed in grace, mercy and justice. Grace. Who is living and breathing and walking and talking truth. Truth that showed up as a person to know. That's why God being the transcendent source of truth is not only logical, it's also liberating and freeing. Because not only is he real, he is also good. And Jesus doesn't come with the grand I am statement to make a point or win an argument just like he did 2,000 years ago. He shows up to offer clarity to confusion and to offer confidence to uncertainty. And really, that is my prayer for today. That it's possible for you to spend the rest of your days a five where you know that you know that you know, confident and I'm clear that Jesus is the way, that God is good, that my salvation was in his hands. And I'm on the jet that's taken me home. A church with that kind of confidence will change the world. So with every head bowed and every eye closed at all of our locations, if You've never made that decision to get on that jet. The ticket's been paid for by the blood of Jesus. This is just a little bit of your faith in the Amazing grace of this God, where you say, jesus, with what you did for me on the cross 2,000 years ago, could that count for me? Would you take my sin? Would you give me your righteousness? You span that ocean of perfection and you give me that perfection, perfection that I need to go to heaven forever one day when I die and live life to the full in the here and now. So I turn from my ways that aren't working. The cross before me, the world behind me. I make you, my Lord. I make you, my Savior. I believe your maker is speaking to you in your heart. I want to challenge you. Say yes. Make a decision called love and choose him the way he's been choosing you. Just say yes to him. Say yes to him. And I want to ask you to be bold at every single one of our locations. If you're saying yes in your heart, would you just raise your hand so I can say a prayer for you? It says, if the body teaches the soul, there's hands all over this room. And I believe and there's hands all over every single room. Amen. Your hand raises, like teaching something to your soul, something physical you're doing is teaching you about something spiritual that's taking place. Amen. You guys can put your hands down. And then number two, if you've been following Jesus, maybe for a while, but you hear about that kind of confidence, that confidence of the apostle John, who goes, I tell you these things so that you might know that you might know that he has your salvation and that he is with you. And you think, I can use a lot more of that confidence. I just don't know how to get it. Here's one first action step is that you simply ask. So take that step. I want to invite you to raise your hand. And my hand is up. I'm guessing there's going to be a ton of hands up. We could all use more confidence in our salvation. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you for that step of faith. You can put your hand down. God, we love you. Thank you that heaven just got more crowded. And thank you that faith just got more bold. Deepen our roots, strengthen what we believe. You are the one and only way to heaven. You are the truth, like a north star leading us home. And you are the life that we're looking for. Thank you for being so good. We love you. We worship you in Jesus name. Amen.

[A]

Hey, Red rocks at every single location. Could you stand to your feet? First of all, let's make some noise because heaven just got more crowded. That'll never get old. But we're going to worship the King

[B]

of kings and the Lord of Lords. Love you guys.