"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." - Jesus Christ

"AKSHUALLY..." - Rev. Anna Flowers

Before we even dive in, we have to get one thing straight: Jesus did not come into this world to preach and to teach a 'my way or the highway kind of religion.' Absolutely not.

Ahem:

"Anyone who is not with me is against me, and anyone who does not gather with me scatters." - Jesus

Back to Anna Flowers:

And in every other one of the gospels, people come to Jesus and ask Him point-blank, 'Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life,' and Jesus' answer is this: Follow the 10 Commandments, love God, be an ethical person. Do the right thing.

What about John 6:53?

"Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you."

Jesus lost a great many followers the day he said this because they thought he was talking about cannibalism and had gone insane. He was actually pointing to the cross. You cannot be saved unless you die with Jesus, covering yourself with His blood like the Israelites covered their doorposts just before the angel of death swept across Egypt. We all go to the execution chair: The question is whether you would have Jesus take your place.

And John 8:24?

"...if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins."

Back to our female pastor:

We Christians get to jump, get to leap, not because it is an exclusive experience, but because it's authentic. Because it is true alongside other truths in the world ... it is not meant to be taken literally, but metaphysically.

SOMEONE GET THIS WOMAN A COPY OF C.S. LEWIS' "MERE CHRISTIANITY."

Do you understand that people are going to spend eternity separated from God because of this woman?

Does that weigh on you? It sure weighs on me.

"Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly." - James, the brother of Jesus

Ironically, the woman is correct that people from other faith traditions can be saved, but not in the way she means. She is conflating religious dogma/tradition with the worship of false gods.

Rahab was not Jewish. Ruth was not Jewish. Namaan, the commander of Assyria's armies, was not Jewish. Nebuchadnezzar was not Jewish. The centurion who sent a servant to Jesus wasn't Jewish. Jethro wasn't Jewish.

But all of these people, even though they might have had different languages and customs, and even religious practices that dabbled in falsehoods, acknowledged that the God of Israel was the one true God. These people made God their God.

"Your people will be my people and your God my God." - Ruth

In other words, there are people out there that God will save who do not know the fullness of the truth of Christ. We should be cautious to define how He does that. Some authors, even Lewis, have posited that people can worship the true God while calling him by another name. But our focus should not be to nail down God's methods. Our focus should be obedience to His command to share the Gospel as the only hope for mankind.

Anna Flowers is arguing more than this. She's saying animists, Buddhists, Muslims, and Hindus - a plethora of gods and pantheons! - can all be truths in the world that point us in the general direction of everlasting life. All you need to do, in her mind, is be nice. That is the road to hell.

"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved." - Peter, Acts 4:9

Jesus himself claimed to be God multiple times. If you believe that, then it is impossible to know God by entering in through a different way.

He's calling you to listen. Don't delay.

Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn

‘a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law —
a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.'

Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.

- Jesus