In June, the Dallas Morning News published an article entitled “Most Americans say many religions can lead to eternal life.” This title in an of itself shouldn’t be surprising, considering the spiritual climate of tolerance that exists in the country today. It’s not politically correct or socially acceptable to claim exclusive ownership of true religion or the key to entering the afterlife. What was surprising about the study was that the MAJORITY of people surveyed who are connected to a Southern Baptist church agreed with this concept. “More than 60 percent of those who said they were Southern Baptists said many religions can be right about how to get to the hereafter.”

Why this surprises me is that the impression I get from Baptist churches is that they believe that the Bible is the ultimate authority for all spiritual matters. Where the Bible is clear on an issue they are typically ready to accept it as fact.

So, does the Bible leave any room for the possibility that other religions can lead to the same destination: heave? Uh….no. See for yourself:

John 14:6
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Acts 4:12
And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

1 Timothy 2:5
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

John 3:36
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

There are plenty more examples I could give, but I think these get the point across. The Bible points to only one source of salvation, and that is the grace that is offered through faith in Jesus Christ. Every other way does not lead to heaven.

I think the real issue that this article addresses is people’s acceptance of the authority of the Bible and the amount of time they spend reading and studying it. It’s not fun to think about friends or family that don’t practice Christianity but seem like good people who have faith in another religion ending up in hell. But if you accept the authority and inspiration of Scripture, you have no other option. This shouldn’t make you mad. It should inspire you to do everything in your power to help them come to a saving faith in Christ. Not only will they end up receiving an eternal reward in heaven, but they will also get a full life lived her on earth.