You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.
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Today is the last sermon in our summer series on tough questions.
These are hard topics and I, for one, will be relieved to get back to preaching through a book of the Bible as usual.
Even if that means revelation here shortly.
But in all sincerity, this study has been really helpful for my faith.
I pray that the same is true for you.
And I pray that in addition to your own faith being strengthened, that you'll be encouraged to listen to,
to engage with friends and neighbors because these questions we're talking about really are fundamental to life.
A foundational to eternity.
We've talked about suffering and science and the Bible and hell.
But today we close with a question that a lot of people ask.
Is Jesus really the only way to God?
And I want us to turn to Acts chapter 17 together.
There are passages that answer this question more simply and directly.
But I really love this passage where Paul is in Athens and he's engaging with the philosophers of the day about such significant and eternal issues.
I'd encourage you, if you're not personally wondering about the question for today, think of someone who is.
Put yourself in their shoes.
Think of someone you know, perhaps.
Let's read God's word in Acts 17 at verse 22.
With Paul standing in the center of the city's social discussion, underneath the shadow of the Parthenon and speaking to the crowds gathered there about Jesus.
So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said,
Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious.
For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription,
To the unknown God.
What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.
The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,
Nor is he served by human hands as though he needed anything,
Since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.
And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth,
Having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place,
That they should seek God in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him.
Yet he is actually not far from each one of us.
For in him we live and move and have our being, as even some of your own poets have said,
For we are indeed his offspring.
Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone,
An image formed by the art and imagination of man.
The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,
Because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed,
And of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.
Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked.
But others said, We will hear you again about this.
So Paul went out from their midst, but some men joined him and believed,
Among them Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
This is God's word, let's ask for his help.
Father, what an incredible day when Paul spoke,
Would you do that now?
Would that be true again as we speak of this same Jesus with our friends and our neighbors and those we love?
That your same spirit would be at work?
Give us that hope in the resurrected, living, powerful Savior.
We ask you in his name.
Amen.
The nuns are on the rise in our culture, surveys tell us.
The nuns are not an order of Catholic women,
but rather those who describe themselves as having no religion at all.
Some of you in this room think of yourself that way.
One of the interesting things is less than 20% of the nuns in America say that they are atheists.
In other words, the large majority of them are open to the idea of God.
They're asking some honest questions about what God would be like.
Questions like the ones we've asked this summer.
And one of the benefits of asking such questions, if you're one who's prone to doing that,
one of the benefits of having an open mind is that many people are there interested in answers.
As G.K. Chesterton once quipped,
an open mind is like an open mouth.
The purpose of its being open is to close it on something substantial.
What I mean is, in different words,
we're all actually worshiping something, all of us.
Whether or not we would use that word worship.
Most of us are looking for some centering principle for our lives,
something that helps us understand our place,
our significance in the world,
that gives us meaning and purpose each day.
Even if some wouldn't call it God,
we're looking for something bigger than ourselves to be a part of.
If you don't believe me, go to a college football stadium on a Saturday this fall.
It may be freedom that we're looking to,
being true to myself, right?
It may be success, professional advancement,
or money will make me somebody.
Or it may be pleasure.
Maybe happiness will satisfy me deep inside.
But we're all looking for something that we can live for.
And this is where Paul makes his connection with the intellectual elite in Athens.
Athens long, the philosophical center of the world.
Paul's going to answer yes to our question,
is Jesus really the only way to God?
But he wants to connect with his hearers first.
He wants to help them understand Jesus as answer to questions they ask.
That they too ask questions to which Jesus is the answer.
That's what happens here in this interaction.
Paul sees this altar, right?
To an unknown God.
God, you've got questions, he says.
Amidst this Greek pantheon of gods and idols,
they had plenty of them.
There's one for crops, right?
There's one for your family.
There's one for love.
There's one more here.
To an unknown God, you know, to cover their bases
because they weren't sure that they had life figured out.
That they'd covered everything.
There was no one God that could handle all of it.
But Paul doesn't leave them just with open minds, right?
Searching for answers, not caring where they find them.
No, Paul has more in his heart for them.
He says, you worship.
You worship.
What you worship as unknown,
this I proclaim to you.
For our purposes, Paul says three things.
First, there is a God who made all this world, including us.
That's where he starts, right?
Paul says, there's a God,
not one tribal deity among many,
but the one supreme over all.
He does not depend on people to serve him like your gods do.
But he makes the world and all people.
On top of that,
this God is involved in the world.
Now, here's where it starts to get a little bit different
from what they would have expected.
Some of them would have expected there was a God.
But this God, he says, is involved in the world.
Where people live and when they move
and every other piece of society,
this God is involved.
And that's new information.
But see, they loved new ideas.
That's what they gathered to talk about.
It would be new to them
because their leading philosophies,
Stoicism and Epicureanism,
are mentioned in verse 18.
They were both functionally naturalistic,
like many in our culture today.
In other words,
if there was a God outside this world,
and maybe they weren't sure,
but if there was,
he didn't get involved here.
So you were stuck dealing with yourself,
your desires,
your emotions,
either way.
Paul says this true God
is different from that.
He's inside and involved.
In fact,
there's a reason, Paul says,
this true God
is so intimately involved
in this world.
This God is personal,
and he wants a relationship
with us.
Track there in verse 26,
why did he make them
and put them
in this time,
in this place,
verse 27,
that they might seek God
and find him
since he's actually close to us.
So he says,
listen, listen,
don't think that this true God
is made of stone by men.
Don't think, friend,
that life's centering principle
is something that we invent,
that we could come up with,
that we could concoct.
No,
he made us
and is personal.
And that speaks to his reality.
This is important to follow.
See,
if God is just some man-made God of gold,
then you can pretend
whatever you'd like
about who it is
and what he does.
You could pretend
that he'll hear you
if you dance longer
or reward you
if you say the magic words
or that he'll satisfy you
if you mix in other pursuits
and you learn some calming postures.
Whatever.
You get to make it up
if you made the God.
But if God is personal,
then like you or me,
you have to know him
for who he really is.
That's what it means
to be a person.
Paul says,
truth is a person,
someone you know
in relationship.
So,
you should not say,
well,
you know,
I like to think of God
as a vengeful warrior
or a heavenly Santa Claus
or a cosmic cheerleader
who supports whatever I want to do.
No, no, no, no.
Even if you really like the idea
of God being like one of those things,
it doesn't make him that.
He's a person.
You can think of Will Spink
as a gifted auto mechanic
who hates people
and loves cooked spinach.
You can,
but you'd be wrong
on all counts.
In fact,
if you really,
sincerely believe those things,
you are really,
sincerely wrong.
See,
truth,
God says,
is a person
you can know
in relationship.
Truth,
then,
is based
not on sincerity
but on reality.
Because God
can actually be known
because he wants
relationship with us,
because he's a personal being,
you can be sincere
in your thoughts about him
and be sincerely wrong.
Right?
That's what Paul's saying.
And by the way,
any other kind of God,
a distant one,
an impersonal one,
you got nothing to do with,
right?
And nothing to worry about
from anyway,
so don't bother
with that option.
One side note
before we move on
to Paul's punchline.
I hope that you,
just if you grabbed this verse
and thought,
man,
this isn't even really
what Paul's building to,
but I hope you can stop here
and remember
how much God wants to be
in relationship with you.
Can you see that there
in verse 27?
Why he's doing
all of these things
in history?
When we talk about
our faith priority,
the importance of owning
our relationship with God,
we don't mean
that it's up to us
to figure it out
and make our way
up the mountain
to God
to finally get
to where he is.
No,
he has made us
and he has placed us
when we are
and where we are
that we might know him.
He made you
and placed you
in Huntsville,
in the 21st century,
in your school,
in your friendships,
in your neighborhood,
today at Southwood Church.
Why?
Why are you here?
That you might know him
because he wants
to know you
and he wants you
to know him.
I hope that encourages you.
I hope that warms
your heart to him
to making a priority
out of that relationship
as he makes
a priority out of it.
If that doesn't do it,
how about the fact
that he came after you
for that relationship?
God became man
to fix our broken relationship.
This is where I want us
to slow down.
It's Paul's climactic point.
Jesus' resurrection
demonstrates
that he uniquely
is the key
to this relationship.
It's what DJ
was just singing about, right?
It's a living hope.
See verse 30,
God commands all people
everywhere to repent,
to turn back to him
as the true God,
not just one among many,
not just take your pick
today or this week,
to turn back to him
as the true God
because,
verse 31,
God has fixed a day
on which he will judge
the world in righteousness
by a man
whom he has appointed.
And of this,
he has given assurance
to all
by raising him
from the dead.
boom.
Paul has moved
immediately
and starkly
from philosophical
to practical,
from theoretical
to tangible,
from hypothetical
to historical,
right?
Why is Jesus
the only way to God,
Paul says?
Why,
if God so wants
to have this relationship
with us,
are there not just
a million ways
and you can get to him
any way you please?
Because God
is a person
and no other person
has ever risen
from the dead
like this
but God has
in the person
of Jesus.
So to finish
Paul's argument,
that got interrupted
there in Athens,
the unknown God
is unknown
no longer
but has made
himself known
in Jesus,
crucified
and risen
from the dead.
He's how you know
God.
Yahweh,
his personal name,
has sent
his son
and he's the way
that you know
God.
See,
the point
Paul is making
is there's a lot
of philosophical
things you can talk
about
but in
an objective
human history,
Jesus
either rose
from the dead
or he didn't.
Right?
It's not like,
well,
kind of
and maybe
he either rose
from the dead
or he didn't.
It is a debated,
admittedly,
historical fact
that makes
a significant
statement
about who
God is
and this
is why
saying
that all
roads
lead to
God
while
perhaps
well intended
by some
actually does
not respect
any religion
except
the one
belief system
that embraces
that particular
theory.
That's not
the teaching
of Buddha.
That's not
the teaching
of Muhammad.
That's not
the teaching
of Confucius.
That's not
the teaching
of Jesus.
They all
present
unique ways
to experience
the divine.
And by the
way,
only one
of those
founders
claims to
have died
and then
risen from
the dead.
You can
visit
Muhammad's
grave site
today.
The resurrection
of Jesus
is where
all these
roads
diverge,
isn't it?
See,
Muslims
talk a whole
lot about
Jesus,
but they
don't believe
that he
died.
Jews
talk a lot
about Jesus,
but they
don't believe
that he
rose from
the dead.
Christians
understand
that both
the death
of Jesus
and the
resurrection
of Jesus
are essential
for our
salvation,
for our
relationship
with God
to be
restored.
the life
giver
must pay
our
penalty
and then
conquer
death
once
and for
all.
And what
does he
do?
Jesus
appears
to hundreds,
starting with
women who
wouldn't have
been legal
witnesses.
He appears
to hundreds
and hundreds
on different
occasions.
In fact,
many of his
followers who
see him
then end up
giving their
lives to
defend the
truth of the
resurrection
that they
saw with
their own
eyes.
None of the
religious
authorities,
none of the
Roman authorities
who desperately
wanted to
stamp out
this movement
could produce
his body
days or even
months after
his public
crucifixion.
If you think
of the
resurrection as
something that
Jesus'
followers made
up to pretend
that he was
God,
and he really
didn't think
that,
now just
remember all
the things
Jesus himself
said and
did to
demonstrate
his self
understanding
that he
was the
divine
son of
God.
What does
Jesus do?
Jesus forgives
sins.
Jesus accepts
worship.
Jesus commands
creation.
Jesus speaks
of the unity
that he has
with his
father,
and then he
says in
John 14,
I am the
way,
the truth,
and the
life.
No one
comes to
the father
except through
me.
undeniably
an exclusive
claim.
Right or
wrong,
an exclusive
claim.
One echoed by
the apostle
Peter in
Acts 4 as
he says of
Jesus,
salvation is
found in no
one else,
for there is
no other name
under heaven
given to
men by
which we
must be
saved.
He said
the Bible's
answer,
Jesus'
answer,
the apostles'
answer to
the question of
how to live a
meaningful life.
How do people
separate it from
the God who
created them
in his image
to have a
purpose for
which he made
them?
How do they get
back into
relationship to
have that image
restored completely
from cover to
cover?
the answer to
that question
is Jesus.
Right?
The death of
the sacrificial
lamb.
The life of
the resurrected
king.
Jesus is the
way you find
the purpose and
significance that
you feel deep
inside but you
can't live up to,
that you struggle
to explain in
the real world.
Jesus is the
way to God.
God.
Now that can be
good news.
That you today
can respond to
that with joy
and embrace
and believe in
him but I
understand that
often statements
like that Jesus
is the only way
to God are more
of a shock to
our system.
Especially with
our modern
sensibilities.
People often ask
our question
this morning
because the
exclusive claims
of Jesus
sound to
them narrow
minded
or intolerant
or arrogant.
You may have
heard those
words in that
context.
It's important
to say that
sometimes the
way we hold
these truths
is arrogant.
Right?
Shame on us.
Father forgive
us for
ever being
like that.
Actually
properly
understood
the claims
of Jesus
should make
us not
arrogant but
humble.
Eager to
see others
as better
than ourselves.
Empowered
to love
sacrificially
since that's
what the
Savior at the
center of
Christianity
is and
does.
Those are
resources that
no other
religion has.
We ought to
live like that.
But if the
claims of
Jesus are
true,
demonstrated by
his rising
from the
dead so
that we
can trust
everything else
he says,
then sharing
them in
love is
not arrogant
or intolerant.
I've told you
before of this
evening that I
was on some
nearby trails
and starting
to get really
confused about
where I was.
I was turned
around,
I walked in
circles,
it was starting
to get dark,
I decided to
run some but
I didn't know
if I was
running in the
right direction,
I walked
back a little
bit,
tried different
trails.
I was urgently
needing to
get back to
the safety of
my car.
When I walked
past an old
sign that
said parking
lot this
way and it
pointed to a
trail.
Now that
trail was not
one that
looked very
bright,
it was getting
quite dark
and looking
down the
trail I
could not
see the
parking lot.
There were
actually a
couple other
trails nearby
that looked a
little bit
brighter but I
followed the
trail within a
few minutes,
made it back to
the safety and
rest of my
car.
Now listen,
that sign was
not arrogant
because it
told me the
one trail that
led to my
car, right?
And it would
not have been
loving to
label all of
the trails with
the same sign
when some of
them were
actually loops
that I could
have walked
around all
night and
never found
my car.
The only way
that the trail,
the way,
doesn't matter
matter is if
the destination
doesn't matter,
right?
But if there
is a personal
God, if there
is a true
source of
safety and
rest, then we
follow the sign
to Him and we
know we can
trust Him.
Think about it
this way, I
hardly hesitated
when I saw
that sign.
I was looking
for a sign to
follow, right?
But to be
honest, it was
kind of an old
sign and I
do know some
kids who have
sometimes in
their boredom or
mischievousness
decided to mess
with a sign and
point it down a
wrong trail.
Maybe they were
messing with me.
I couldn't be
sure that that
trail would get
me to my car just
because the sign
was there.
But what if there
was a person
standing there
instead of an
old sign?
What if there
was a person
saying, I've
just come from
the parking lot
and I've got a
headlamp that's
really bright.
Jump on my
back, in fact, I
will carry you
there to the
parking lot.
Wouldn't that be
even better?
Jesus is the
person who came
as the way to
safety and
security and
joy and hope
and life with
your heavenly
Father that you
may never have
personally met.
Jesus says, I
am the light of
the world.
Whoever follows
me will never
walk in darkness
but will have the
light of life.
He is the way,
the truth, and
the life.
He's the door of
the sheep because
he is the
resurrection and
the life.
We need no other
way.
Jesus saves.
That's our hope.
God.
One other concern
that causes some
people to ask this
question is their
genuine care for
those who have
never heard the
good news of
Jesus.
I love the heart
of that concern.
A couple of things
I want to say
briefly.
First, the Bible
says that creation
itself testifies
to God.
It's a way,
all of creation
is, that God
generally reveals
himself and his
character to all
people.
So there's always a
sign pointing to
God near everyone
who has ever lived
and who knows all
of the ways that
God might use this
sign to point them
to Jesus.
I don't know.
But we do know
the most common
way that God does
that and that's
that God sends
you and me to
them.
That's the message
of Paul in Romans
10.
How will they
believe in him
of whom they
have not heard
and how will they
hear without
someone preaching?
If that's a
burden on your
heart, how is
God sending you
to be a part of
that mission?
Sharing the good
news, translating
his word, equipping
others to share
the good news with
people you'll never
reach?
Who are you going
to meet this week
that you can share
with?
So there's
creation.
There's God's
people as
ambassadors of
Jesus.
And my single
greatest hope by
far is God
himself.
God's grace that
is bigger than
any of us can
grasp.
Let's contemplate
this glorious truth
as we come to
this table.
It's what I call
inclusive
exclusivity.
people complain
about the
exclusivity of
Christianity,
claiming to be the
only way to God.
But listen, many
religions and
approaches to life
require a lot of
proper performance
from you to
approach God, to
get anywhere near
him, to have any
opportunity to be
pleasing to him.
There's often a
long list.
Some require, in
fact, multiple
lifetimes of good
deeds.
Try that.
others offer
preference based
on race,
finances,
or physical
sacrifice, even
harming yourself
or others.
Still others
insist on inner
peace from long
practice of getting
there just right.
that.
Listen, only Jesus
says, God so
loved the world
that he didn't
send a long list
of things to do
to get near to
him, but in fact
he gave his
only son, the
exclusive only
son, that
whoever believes
in him will not
perish but have
everlasting life.
whoever just does
what?
Believes.
Whoever follows
the light of the
world will never
walk in darkness.
If you are hearing
my voice right now,
you are invited
in, not excluded
from, the family
of God, the hope
of Jesus, the
Savior who's big
enough for you.
God is so gracious,
y'all, that his
family is made up
of people from
every tribe and
tongue and language
and nation, Jew
and Gentile, rich
and poor, tight
laced rule follower
types and go with
the flow, partiers
are all in his
family.
I mean, just
think it's amazing
to consider the
different ways people
encounter Jesus and
the different lengths
of time they
actually spend
following him.
The way to God.
Right?
Isn't it the same
for everybody?
Don't we all have
the same experience?
We do not.
Some never remember
a day they didn't
trust Jesus.
Baptized before they
can remember but
prayed to trust Jesus
in the church,
nursery or VBS or
their home at three
years old.
Others met Jesus
on a retreat as a
teenager.
Others spent years
sowing their wild
oats before a friend
told them about a
Savior who would
forgive all those
sins and show them
the path of true
life.
Still others
wrestled painfully
through intellectual
questions and
discussed things
with friends and
others and then
Jesus met them as
an adult over
coffee and they
surrendered.
Increasingly these
days I hear stories
of a man in white
who appeared in a
vision to introduce
himself to people
before they knew
his name.
And yet others are
like the thief on
the cross who
doesn't follow Jesus
a single day in his
life here but
spends eternity with
Jesus in paradise.
Not because he knew
enough, not because he
did enough, but
because God's grace
saves people that you
know didn't deserve
it and never thought
would encounter Jesus
personally at all.
That's what God's
grace is like so you
keep praying, you
keep sharing, you
keep praying.
What greater hope
could there be than
a God whose gracious
character brought him
from the comforts of
heaven to the pain of
a cross and the shame
of a tomb for us?
Yes, Jesus is the only
way to God but anyone,
yes him, yes her, yes
you can come to God
through Jesus.
Jesus, praise the Lord.
This may be your first
day in church and you
may think you are the
worst person in here.
You're not.
But Jesus is alive for
you regardless.
You may think you have
nothing to do with
religion, with lists of
rules, it's just anathema
to you, with hypocritical
people like you're
surrounded by right now.
Well then listen, come
not to us, come to
Jesus who brings you
straight into a
relationship with God
because he's the way,
the truth, and the life
risen from the dead.
You have options.
You can mock like some
did that day to Paul.
You can ask to talk more.
We would love that
opportunity.
We'll even do it after
the service.
You also have the
option to join the man
Dionysius on the
philosopher's council or
the woman Damaris.
Among others, you can
hear the good news of
Jesus and believe and
find life in him today.
I want you to hear the
invitation straight from
the lips of Jesus.
Come to me, all who
labor and are heavy
laden, and I will give
you rest.
I am the way and the
truth and the life.
No one comes to the
Father except through me.
And whoever comes to me,
I will never drive away.
Jesus sat with his
disciples the night he
was betrayed and he
took bread and he broke
it and he gave it to
them as I am ministering
in his name.
Give this bread to you.
He said, take and eat.
This is my body given
for you.
Do this in remembrance of
me.
Then after supper, he
took the cup saying,
this cup is the new
covenant in my blood.
My blood shed for many.
For the forgiveness of
sins, drink from it, all
of you.
Do this.
Eat this.
Drink this as long as
you're remembering Jesus
as you do.
If your hope is not in
Jesus, don't come and
perform a religious ritual
that your heart is not
in.
We're warned against
acting like that.
Instead, would you
consider the offer of
Jesus to bring you to
God, to be the person
at the center of your
life that gives you
hope and peace and
purpose that you so long
for?
Jesus is offering you
that today.
And for those of you who
have found him to be just
that, even though you
struggle, even though you
may have wandered after
idols, but you're coming
back right now to the one
in whom you found life.
You've been baptized in
his name.
You're part of his family
at any church that
preaches the good news of
salvation by grace alone,
through faith alone, in
Christ alone.
Come and eat then with the
one who comes first to set
the table and to eat with
you.
Let's pray and we'll do that
together.
Father, Jesus, we're so
grateful for you, for your
salvation, for the hope
that we have because you
died instead of us and you
live so that we will live
with you.
Would you use very normal
bread and wine to remind our
hearts afresh that we have
life in you?
We ask it in your name.
Amen.
For more information, visit
us online at
southwood.org.
Thank you.