The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in John 10:7-10,
"Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."
Here Jesus Christ proclaims he is "the gate". Those who enter this gate gain life, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."
There are no other "gates" by which we may enter into God's family. In John 14:6 Jesus says, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." All others are "thieves and robbers".
Merriam-Webster defines "religion" as "an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or a group of gods."
You hear it said these days that it is somehow "wrong" to promote Christianity among those who subscribe to another "religion" such as Islam or Buddhism or Hinduism or whatever. After all, who is to say your "religion" is any better than another's?
The problem with this thinking is that Jesus proclaimed he was "the way", "the gate" into God's family. He did not promote himself as a religion. He promoted himself as the Son of God, the Savior of the world. To equate Jesus Christ to any of the world's religions is to miss the point of who he is and what his agenda is.
As we share the gospel message, it is not an act of promoting one religion over another. It is an attempt to introduce others to a person, Jesus Christ - he is the way to God.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
"Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."
Here Jesus Christ proclaims he is "the gate". Those who enter this gate gain life, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."
There are no other "gates" by which we may enter into God's family. In John 14:6 Jesus says, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." All others are "thieves and robbers".
Merriam-Webster defines "religion" as "an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or a group of gods."
You hear it said these days that it is somehow "wrong" to promote Christianity among those who subscribe to another "religion" such as Islam or Buddhism or Hinduism or whatever. After all, who is to say your "religion" is any better than another's?
The problem with this thinking is that Jesus proclaimed he was "the way", "the gate" into God's family. He did not promote himself as a religion. He promoted himself as the Son of God, the Savior of the world. To equate Jesus Christ to any of the world's religions is to miss the point of who he is and what his agenda is.
As we share the gospel message, it is not an act of promoting one religion over another. It is an attempt to introduce others to a person, Jesus Christ - he is the way to God.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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