Sermon Notes
What
about Other Religions?
Steve W. Reeves
INTRODUCTION:
A. There
are many questions being asked today
about religion and its influence in our
lives
1. If all religions believe just a strongly
as we do how do we know ours is right?
2. Will God save people of other religions?
3. Aren’t all religions trying to get to
God?
4. Does it make any difference what a
person believes? Aren’t religions of the world
simply different expressions of the same
thing? What about Islam, Hinduism, Islam,
or Buddhism? Is Allah the same deity as
Jehovah, and is Jehovah the same as the
Hindu god, Brahman? Aren’t we all trying to get to the same place,
and simply call
God by different names or approach Him
in different ways?
5. Among the Christian religion aren’t all
churches basically the same?
B. The
religious landscape in our nation is changing drastically. In the May 12, 2015
edition of USA Today there was a report on
results of a Pew Forum survey
about religion in the United States. The
article begins with the statement, “The United
States is a significantly less Christian
nation than it was seven years ago.”
1. The percentage of people who describe
themselves as Christians fell about 8
points — from 78.4% to 70.6%. The
decline is reflected in almost all Christian
religious groups in every section of the
country.
2. While 86% say the grew up as Christians,
almost 20% of those say they are no
longer Christians. “Overall, there are
more than four former Christians for every
convert to Christianity,"
3. “The ‘nones’ — Americans who
are unaffiliated with any religion — are the
new major force in American faith. And
they are more secular in outlook — and
"more comfortable admitting
it" than ever before, said John Green, director of the
Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at
the University of Akron.”
4. The “nones” have increased from 16%
eight years ago to 22.5% today.
5. "The share of Americans
who identify with non-Christian faiths also has inched up,
rising 1.2 percentage points, from 4.7%
in 2007 to 5.9% in 2014. Growth has been
especially great among Muslims and
Hindus."
C. What
about other religions? Are they right or wrong? We are not the first people to
deal with this question.
1. The Hebrews in Egypt lived in a society
of polytheism – many gods.
2. The Israelites in Canaan encountered
pagan nations who worshipped idols such
as Baal and Ashtoreth.
3. In the New Testament Christianity
emerged in a world full of many different
religions. Let’s notice one particular
intersection of Christianity and other religions in
Acts 17 as the apostle Paul came to the
city of Athens.
1. Athens was the literary and cultural
center of the ancient world. It had a population
of 100,000 people. It was home to
orators, philosophers, artists and poets. It was
also a city of diverse religions. Luke
says Paul beheld the city full of idols.
2. In Acts 17:17 we read that Paul was speaking
to the Jews and God-fearing
Gentiles. Verse 18 says that some of the
Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were
conversing with him.
a. Epicureans believed that truth is
something experienced through the senses –
gratification of the flesh.
b. Stoics believed truth was gained from
reasoning and denying fleshly pleasure. .
c. They said, concerning Paul, “What
would this idle babbler wish to say?” Others
said, “He is proclaiming a new
religion.”
d. They took Paul to Mars Hill in the
shadow of the Parthenon, the temple to the
goddess Athena, and asked him to
explain his new teaching to them.
4. What did Paul say? He presented them
with a correct view of God. These were
religious people. In verses 22 and 23
Paul said, “Men of Athens, I observe that you
are very religious in all respects. 23 For
while I was passing through and examining
the objects of your worship, I also
found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN
UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what you worship
in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.”
D.
Paul then set forth his defense of the Christian faith. His argument consisted
of four
essential foundations.
I. THERE IS ONE GOD
A. In verse 24 he begins, “The God who made
the world and all things in it, since He
is Lord of heaven and earth.”
1. Notice how Paul began with the
definite article, “The.”
2. The Athenians worshipped many gods.
Paul emphatically said there is one God.
B. One of the unique features of the Bible
is its presentation of one God.
1. Deuteronomy 6:4 - “Hear, O Israel!
The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!”
2. Everything about God shouts “one.”
Not many – but one! In Ephesians 4:4-6
Paul wrote, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called
in one
hope of your calling; 5 one
Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of
all who is over all and through all
and in all.”
C. Everything about God is based on His
“oneness.” This strikes a deadly blow to the
pluralistic mindset that says there is
no standard for truth. The Bible as well as
secular history demonstrates how a
society that rejects a common standard of right
and wrong will not survive.
1. Paul says that God is the creator of
the world and everything in it.
2. This God is Yahweh. Jehovah, the “I
AM.” He has confirmed His existence
through the world He has created.
II. A CORRECT WAY TO WORSHIP THE ONE
GOD
A. Paul proceeded to say that because God
is sovereign He should be worshipped in
a correct way. These people were
involved in vain worship. They were worshipping
false gods in ways that gratified their
sensual desires.
1. In verses 24-25, God, “does not dwell
in temples made with hands; 25 nor is He
served by human hands, as though He
needed anything.”
2. This statement struck at the heart of
pagan worship.
3. In Paul’s day as well as ours people
engage in all types of rituals and activities
and called it worship. The message
of the Bible is that God seeks those who
worship Him with their obedience to
His will.
B. Jesus addressed the issue of worship in
his conversation with a woman at
Jacob’s well. When she asked a question
about the correct place of worship, Jesus
responded by saying, “God is spirit, and
those who worship Him must worship in
spirit and truth” (John 4:24).
1. There is a correct way to worship
God.
2. There is a proper spirit. Worship is
not merely a check list that is void of spirit.
In Matthew 4:10 Jesus said, ‘You
shall worship the Lord your God, and serve
Him only.” The words He used for
worship mean to bow down in adoration.
3. There is a proper way to worship.
This is truth. When Paul wrote to the church in
Corinth (another Greek city), he
sought to correct some errors that existed in
their worship. He said, “I will pray
with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also;
I will sing with the spirit and I will
sing with the mind also” (1 Corinthians 14:15).
C. This brings us back to Acts 17. There is
a right way to worship the one God in His
one body through one spirit, one Lord in
one hope, one faith, and one baptism.
III. THE ONE GOD IS WORTHY OF TOTAL ALLEGIANCE AND OBEDIENCE
A. Why is God worthy of our allegiance?
1. He is our creator. Vs. 26 – “Since He
Himself gives to all people life and breath
and all things; 26 and He made from
one man every nation of mankind to live on
all the face of the earth.”
2. He is not far from each of us – vs.
28.
3. He sustains us – vs. 28 – “for in Him
we live and move and exist.”
4. He is not an inanimate object like an
idol. Vs. 29 – “Being then the children of
God, we ought not to think that the
Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an
image formed by the art and thought
of man.”
5.
He wants everyone to repent. Vs, 30 – “Therefore having overlooked the times of
ignorance, God is now declaring to
men that all people everywhere should
repent.”
B. Why would God require repentance (which
means to change and turn to Him) if
these people were spiritually safe? Is
the command to repent still valid today?
1. If everyone is okay why did Jesus
die? If there are many paths to God how do
you explain the life, death, burial
and resurrection of Jesus?
2. If everyone is okay how do you
explain the great commission of Jesus to go,
teach all nations in Matthew
28:18-20, Mark 16:15-16 and Luke 24:47? Why not
leave everyone alone to do their own
thing?
IV. JESUS IS LORD
A. God He has declared Jesus as Lord!
Notice verse 31 – “Because
He has fixed a day in which He will
judge the world in righteousness through a Man
whom He has appointed, having furnished
proof to all men by raising Him from the
dead.”
B. The one God – worthy of our worship, who
commands our allegiance and
obedience, says that the only way to
come into a relationship with Him is through
His Son, Jesus.
1. But wait, what about the person who
is morally good, hard working, faithful to
their spouse, who never cheats,
steals or murders anyone?
2. What about the Hindu, the Buddhist,
the Muslim or the Jew? What about the
good people in all faiths and
religions?
a. This is not a question of human
righteousness. This is not a contest to see
who is better or more devout or
religious. “All have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).
b. This includes you and me. It
includes the person in China or in Belgium or
Russia or Cambodia. The one God
has established a plan whereby sins may
be forgiven. It is the route
that follows the blood of His Son.
c. Jesus said, “I am the way, the
truth and the life. No man comes to the Father
except through me” (John 14:6).
d. Acts 4:12 says, “And there is
salvation in no one else; for there is no other
name under heaven that has been
given among men by which we must be
saved.”
C. Because of this truth I want to share
the message of salvation with everyone so
they might have the opportunity to
come to Christ.
V. WHAT CAN WE TAKE AWAY FROM THIS?
A. Paul’s response to these people provides
us with a guide for responding to people
of different faiths – whether they be
wearing the term Christian in connection with
some type of denomination or someone of
a totally different belief.
B. First, Paul understood there was a
standard of absolute truth. This is extremely
important in our culture. Stand for
nothing and you will fall for anything.
C. Second, He was prepared to make a
rational and reasonable defense for His
belief in Christ. Peter tells us to
always be ready to give a reason for the hope we
have (1 Peter 3:15).
D. Paul spoke with a spirit of love. He
urged the Ephesians to “speak the truth in love”
(Ephesians 4:15). He had no personal or
political agenda. He was concerned about
the eternal soul of every human being.
This should be our concern.
CONCLUSION:
A. In Titus
2:11 – Paul wrote that God’s grace has appeared to all men. God is not a
respecter of persons. He wants everyone to
be saved.
B. We
are here to love everyone and do everything we can to provide everyone with the
opportunity to receive God’s grace and be
obedient to Christ. Have you? Will you
believe, confess your faith, repent of sins
and be baptized into Christ?
