Roads Day 3 All Roads Lead To Heaven?

John 1:1-18
1 John 4:1-6
John 14:6-11

Roads, Day 3

“All roads lead to Heaven…”
Do they really?

It’s easy to say, “Of course, I’d rather know the truth!”.
But what if truth challenges what we already think,
what we already believe, and how we already live?
What if truth is different than what we’ve grown up believing?
What if truth offends us?
Would we still rather know?

Jesus As God?
Several cults include belief in Jesus as part of their doctrine, which can make it seem like “all roads lead to Heaven.”
But dig a little deeper, and the definitions are entirely different.
Many world religions hold Jesus as a model, a good man, an exceedingly wise prophet, or even a form of a deity, but only one, Christianity, claims Jesus to actually BE fully God.

Jehovah’s Witnesses, like Mormons, believe that Jesus is a created being. Jehovah’s Witnesses hold that Jesus is actually the archangel, Michael, and was created before a physical world existed. He has god-like qualities, but is not equal with Jehovah God.

Could This View Be True?
According to the Bible, Jesus has existed eternally with God not just “as a god”,
but actually “God.” Period.
“In the beginning was the Word (Jesus). The Word (Jesus) was with God and the Word (Jesus) was God.” (John 1:1)
Even Jesus says these words about Himself,
“Truly, truly before Abraham was, I AM.” (John 8:58)
This wasn’t poor grammar on Jesus’ part, He was using the title God had first called Himself when He was speaking to Moses at the site of the burning bush.
God told Moses He was the “I AM”.  (Exodus 3:14)
Jesus was calling Himself God, and every Jewish ear around Him knew it full well, which is why they ultimately crucified Him. They believed He claimed Himself to be God, not just once, but repeatedly and consistently.

If Jesus Himself said He was God all throughout the New Testament (John 10:30, Hebrews 1:3), was prophesied as the coming Messiah in the Old Testament (Isaiah 43:11 with Titus 2:13), and widely preached about as the Creator God, fully equal with God the Father as the Church became established, (Colossians 1:15-20, Isaiah 6:1-5 with John 12:41) who are we to claim differently?

Jesus ~ Spirit? Body? Both?
Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Jesus’ body and spirit were separate entities. The spirit part was good, but the physical body part was weakened because of His humanity. They claim that when Jesus was crucified, it was only His spirit that was resurrected because He couldn’t “take back” His fleshly body as it had been destroyed by sin in the sacrifice.

Could This View Be True?
The Bible is exceedingly clear about Jesus’ humanity and His deity, both before and after His resurrection. When Jesus appeared to the disciples in the upper room, He showed them his hands and feet, and invited Thomas to put his hand inside the wound where Jesus had taken a spear to His side. (John 20:27) Jesus also countered the idea that He was only “resurrected spirit” by directly saying of His resurrected body, “A spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.” (Luke 24:39)

Truly, for Jesus’ sacrifice to be acceptable on our behalf, He needed to be fully human and fully God. Human, so He could live our human life, and God, so He could do so blamelessly, for no human being could attain to God’s righteous holiness.

A Triune God?
Jehovah’s Witnesses believe the Holy Spirit to be an impersonal “good force”, much like the depiction in Star Wars. He is not a person, not even a Being, and certainly not a deity.

Could This View Be True?
Biblically? Most definitely not.
The Holy Spirit is noted in Scripture as having the three attributes of a personal Being:
A mind (Romans 8:27), emotions (Ephesians 4:30), and a will (1 Corinthians 12:11).

The Holy Spirit is also recorded in Scripture as doing actions only attributed to sanctioned, reasoning beings. The Holy Spirit teaches (John 14:26), testifies (John 15:26), commissions (Acts 13:4), gives commands (Acts 8:29), and intercedes (Romans 8:26).
All with authority, and all through the union of oneship found in the relationship of the godhead as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (John 16:12-15)

Also of significance in Scripture, is how often all 3 distinct persons of the godhead are mentioned together with equal rights and authority. Below is just one example:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19)

Saved ~ Some? None? All?
Jehovah’s Witnesses hold firmly to their belief that two “classes” of people are given salvation. First, the “Anointed Class” of 144,000 who will live and reign with Christ in Heaven. Second, the “Other Sheep” who will be relegated to earth, although it will be a “paradise”. Jehovah Witnesses believe that the full benefits of salvation are not for everyone.

The “how” one can be given salvation according to a Jehovah’s Witness isn’t “given” at all, it’s “earned” by obedience to the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ laws and rules, association with their organization, as well as faith in Jesus.

Could This View Be True?
Jesus answers like this:
“I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) No extras, no additional pathways, no “all roads lead to Heaven”, just Jesus.

Paul states Christ’s truth like this:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing;
it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
No works, no good deeds, no religious association, just the radical grace of a God who pursues and loves us.

The truth?
Jesus, His fullness, His deity, His humanity, His righteous sacrifice on our behalf.
Plus Nothing.
Equals Everything.

Salvation is for all peoples equally. (Titus 2:11)
Given through God’s gracious mercy.
That we might live fully free because of His unchangeable, unshakeable truth.

If you, dear one, are reading this across the screen from me as a follower of the Jehovah’s Witnesses belief system, I invite you to sit and consider these words today. Not because they are cleverly crafted or tied with a pretty bow, but because they are true.
All on their own, without one bit of help from me, because they are breathed by the very Spirit of the Living God.

Be willing to wrestle, just for a bit, with “what if….”
What if Christianity is true?
What if I’m hinging my eternity on a lie?
Come, kick the tires of Christianity.
Come, meet my Jesus, the Jesus of the Bible, the Jesus who is fully God, fully man, fully able to save, and find real life!

The thing about truth is that it remains true regardless of whether we accept it or not.
Wouldn’t you rather hang eternity on something you can know for sure?

“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth,
and the truth will set you free!” (John 8:31-32)

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