The Lutheran Hour
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"Not All Paths"
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Text: Acts 4:12
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Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! The resurrection truth is that which sets Christianity apart from any other religion. It is God’s truth which tells us, ‘there is salvation in no one else. It is the Lord’s assurance that those who have faith in Christ have been given salvation. Lord, grant this living faith to us all. Amen.
The last time Pam and I were in Egypt our guide gave our group some instructions on how to successfully tour that ancient land. Most of the things he said were pretty much common sense: don’t drink the tap water, don’t lose sight of the group, try to stay on time, you know, things like that. There was one other bit of advice he shared. He said, “Saddam Hussein is trying to upset the economies of various nations in the mid-east. To do that he has been counterfeiting American $100 bills. If you are going to exchange American dollars for Egyptian pounds, please do so from a bank, hotel, or someplace which is safe.”
We were about halfway through our trip when one of our fellow travelers decided to buy a souvenir from a shop in Cairo. Unfortunately, when he presented a $100 bill in payment. The clerk felt it, held it up to the light, and called his manager who called his manager. All looked and all agreed. This $100 bill was a Hussein fake; it was first class, A-1, government unapproved piece of funny money.
We talked to our friend as he, counterfeit $100 bill in hand, walked away from the counter. We asked him, “Are you all right?” He replied, “I’m just embarrassed.” Then he explained. The day before he had gone for a short walk before the day’s travels had begun. As he walked, a young, very polite, dark-eyed boy; a boy about eight or nine years old came up to him. In flawless English the lad had said, “Excuse me, sir? Are you an American?” Our friend said, “I am.” The boy said, “It is a great land with many kind people. In this country people are not always kind. That is why I need your help, sir.”
“And just what can I do to help you?” our traveling companion had asked. “Sir, I am only a poor boy. As you can see I am not dressed well. When I try to go into the bank the guards stop me. They won’t let me come in. I was wondering, sir. I have this $100 bill. It is the only money I have. I need to change it for something smaller. Then I can spend it and buy some presents for my mother and father.” That’s when the little fellow produced his $100 bill. Our friend had remembered what our guide had said about exchanging money, but he could clearly see this polite, good-looking lad was not a counterfeiter. “Sure, son, I’ll be glad to help you out. Here’s five twenty-dollar bills… and an extra five dollars for yourself. When you buy those gifts for your mom and dad, you get some candy or something for yourself.” Today that $100 bill has been framed and sits on our friend’s desk… it is a tangible reminder not to accept counterfeits or substitutes; a remembrance of the day he learned a fake isn’t as valuable as the real thing.
I think you’ll agree it’s a sad thing when nice people, reasonably well-intentioned, trusting folk find out they’ve been duped; when they discover their treasured things are little better than tarnished trash. If you agree with that, you might also agree when I say people can disappoint you far more than an inanimate thing ever could. Let me explain.
You know, there can be no doubt that the vast, the overwhelming majority of druggists are incredibly ethical. Even so, on my desk there is a story from Temple Hills, Maryland, and another from Mount Vernon, Indiana and yet another from Scott County, Tennessee. Each of these stories tell of a pharmacist who took drugs which had been prescribed for a patient. Each of these stories speak of clients, patients who were incredibly disappointed to find out they had been put at risk by someone whom they had trusted.
I would be less than honest with you if I ignored one of the great scandals which has rocked the Christian world. That scandal is centered around beloved pastors and priests who have taken advantage of the trust placed in them by members of their parish. You’ve read the headlines. You know how these men of the cloth took advantage of young men and women who had been entrusted to their care. That thousands have lost faith in the Lord Jesus because of their sins cannot be understated.
Yes, when it comes to people, it’s a shattering experience to find out you’ve put your faith in someone who is not the real thing, that you have believed on someone who is fake and phony.
Should I talk of the families which have been scarred and shattered, the emotions which have been ravaged and ruined, the children who have found themselves as the grand prize in a vengeful tug-of-war being waged by those whose first job should have been to shield and shelter them? Should I talk of spouses who made wedding promises which were proven to be phony and fake, whose pledge of lifelong faithfulness could be measured not in years but in weeks and months, and whose word of honor was empty and hollow? I can think of nothing worse than the heartbreak which has been brought about when a loved one was revealed to be phony and fake.
Wait, that’s not true, I CAN think of something worse. In this life the worst sorrow and sadness, the most tragic calamity and catastrophe that anyone can face is to find that his trust in his god has been misplaced. Nothing can be more catastrophic or have greater implications than, on your last day, to find your hope of eternal happiness is not going to deliver, is not going to come through for you. If the deity in whom you have placed your trust turns out to be a false and forged counterfeit, you will be lost, left only with an eternity to agonize over what might have been; to mourn the happiness which could have been yours.
My friends, I bring this thought before you not to terrify or frighten, although it may. I share it so, while you still have time, you may rethink and reconsider. I want you to realize we live in an age where many people have fallen victim to an inaccurate, albeit a politically correct position which says all gods, if there is a god, are created equal; which says all divinities, if there is a divinity, are ultimately the same, and heaven, if there is a heaven, will be the final destination of every individual who has believed in… well, believed in something. Now I am not surprised that this position is so popular. Why shouldn’t it be? It fits our age which hates anything judgmental and embraces everything which is tolerant. Such thinking not only sounds sophisticated and in tune with what our 21st century ears want to hear, it is also politically correct in that it makes every belief system, every divinity equal.
Yes, these beliefs are both popular and politically correct; but the reality is this: they have little to do with the truth… and it is truth which shall ultimately and finally and completely have the last word in our eternal destination. I’m telling you this because many of you have accepted and hold fast to the sad and silly philosophy which says if you believe in something hard enough, and sincerely enough, and long enough, and intensely enough that belief will, in some mystical, inexplicable way become true… at least it will be true for you.
But remember what we said at the beginning of this message: there is a difference between the real thing and a counterfeit of that thing; there is a difference between a real friend and an acquaintance who feels no loyalty toward you; there is a difference between a spouse who lives and would die for you and a bed companion who continuously takes from you without a second thought. And there is a difference between Christianity and every other religion of the world. That difference, my friend, is the difference between truth and falsehood.
How do I know? I know because God’s Word has told me so. It’s true. Scripture does say Jesus is the only way to heaven. That simple statement was made in the 3rd and 4th chapters of the book of Acts. There it tells of the day Peter and John encountered a man, a man who was a beggar because he had been crippled from his birth. As the two apostles were going into the temple, this man asked for a gift of charity. Peter, speaking for them both, said, “Sorry, my friend, we don’t have any silver or gold… but we do have something which we are glad to share with you.” With that Peter took the man’s hand and lifted the crippled beggar to his feet. The Bible says the man was instantly healed. With strengthened muscles the man immediately jumped up and began to walk. The disciples continued into the temple and they were followed by the ex-cripple who was jumping, and dancing, and waltzing, and shouting. You should know it doesn’t make any difference in what century you live, a jumping, leaping, shouting, dancing man is going to attract attention when he comes into church.
Most certainly that is what happened that day. A crowd of people gathered round and they tried to make sense of what they were seeing. One started, “Hey, isn’t that the guy who…” “Yup” interrupted another, “that’s the beggar who’s been sitting on the temple steps for almost forever. That’s him, no doubt about it.” Then another would ask, “But how did this happen?”
Peter, who knew a preaching possibility when he saw it, immediately spoke up. He said something like, “Ladies and gentlemen, I see you’ve been watching our friend, the ex-beggar. You’re wondering what has happened to bring about his transformation. I can tell you. First, I don’t want you to think we made this man well by our own power. We didn’t. This miracle comes to you courtesy of the crucified and ever-living Jesus.” It didn’t take too long before Peter and John found themselves sitting in jail for that kind of talk. The next day they had a hearing… a hearing in front of the men who had been personally responsible for having Jesus murdered.
There, in front of a less than friendly audience, Peter and John repeated what they had said the day before. “No, they hadn’t done the miracle on their own power. Yes, it was Jesus who had done it all.” Then they added, ‘You do remember Jesus, don’t you? We’re talking about Jesus, the Fellow whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead. Well, let us tell you a little bit more about Him. He wants to save souls. He wants to send the Holy Spirit to bring hearts to repentance… and bring them into the family of faith. And… lest we fail to mention it, you fellows should know, “there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven… by which we must be saved” Acts 4:12 (ESV).
There you have it my friends. Jesus alone can save. Anybody else who makes such a claim is nothing more than a counterfeit. And, as we have seen, counterfeits aren’t worth very much and they are, almost always, a great, great disappointment. Of course there are those doubters among you who are now saying, “Balderdash! What a bunch of tomfoolery. Every religion makes such a claim. Every religion says it is the only one. Every religion says that its path is right; its deity true; its hope for eternity solid.
Now most of the time when you say such a thing, the people you say it to merely nod in agreement. Today I’m not nodding in agreement. Let me tell you why. I’m not agreeing with you because you’re not right. Christianity is special because, amongst all the world’s religions, only Christianity tells sinners that they will absolutely, positively be saved, but that that salvation will happen not because of what they have done, but because of God’s grace as given to them in the sacrifices Jesus made to win their forgiveness and salvation.
I encourage you, talk to a Buddhist and ask him, “Exactly how are you going to reach the state of enlightenment?” Well, Buddhism has all kinds of suggestions on how to get there… but when all is said and done, they’re not quite sure. Please, go to someone of the fellowship of Islam. Most certainly they believe their faith is the only right one. Ask them, short of dying in a battle or as a martyr, precisely what they have to do to be accepted by god. No doubt they will refer you to the Five Pillars of Islam. Still, ultimately they must admit, “No matter what we do, god is god and and he can do whatever he wants.”
The truth is this: the religions of the world are all centered on what a man must do to make up for his sins; they all try to list the spiritual hoops an individual must jump through to appease a deity who is not very pleased with sinners. The religions of the world are pretty sure you have to do something, but they’re not quite sure about how much you have to do or how long you have to do it. In short there is, and there always will be a great frustration and a greater uncertainty for those folks who follow those plans of salvation.
But Christianity is uniquely different. Christianity admits what other religions are afraid to say. Christianity confesses we can try to be good and we can try to make God happy, but we can never be good enough to meet the standards of a holy Lord. We acknowledge that when it comes to getting rid of our sins, on our own we will always be failures. Christianity is different. It is unique because it says the Triune God, seeing our helplessness, seeing the punishment which awaited us, decided to do something, something beyond human comprehension. With a love that exceeded anything this world had ever seen before and will, outside of Jesus, never see again, the Lord promised to send His Son to take our place under the law. He said, “So you might be saved, My Son will keep the commandments you have broken. So you might be saved, My Son will reject the temptations which you find so enticing. So you might be saved, My Son, my innocent Son will be nailed to a cross and He will die the death your sins have earned.” Unilaterally the Lord decided to save us, and from start to finish He is the One who implemented and completed all that was needed to save us.
But there’s more, so we might know He was keeping His promises, so we might recognize His Son, the Lord sent us prophets. For 1,500 years He sent prophets who said, “By these signs you will be able to reject counterfeits and identify the real Savior when He comes.” These were amazing signs… the Savior would be born in the city of Bethlehem; the Savior would be born of a virgin; the Savior will give sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and mobility to the crippled.
So complete were these prophecies one could say Jesus’ entire life, including His suffering, death, and His third-day resurrection from the dead were laid out in advance. They were laid out in advance and they were fulfilled during Jesus’ 33 years of life here on earth. If you read the Gospel of Mathew, you will find the narrative sounds a bit like a broken record. So you don’t miss the point, again and again Matthew says, “And this came to pass so the word God spoke through the prophet might be fulfilled.” Might I add, this came to pass so that you, my friend, could be assured that Christianity is true. Jesus came into this world miraculously so you might be sure; so you could be sure is why He did His miracles; so you could be sure is why He allowed Himself to be arrested, tried, beaten, and crucified. So that you might believe that Jesus is the only Name which saves, the Savior rose from the dead and showed Himself again and again to a world which doubted… which tries to pretend all religions are the same.
In January of this year, a young man, a sailor, spent the evening drinking and playing video games with his pals. At the end of the evening he went back to his apartment, went to the bathroom and crawled into bed. When he was asked, “What are you doing”, he replied, “Passing out”, and he did. But there is, my friends, a ‘rest of the story.’ The apartment the young man entered was not his. The bathroom he used was not there, and his bedmate was an 80-year-old woman who was surprised to see him. The police were called, the young man was arrested. The next day the young man, in the presence of an officer, apologized, paid for all damages and sat through a chewing out by the lady. And the lesson learned: not all paths lead to the right apartment, not all doors lead to the place you want to go, and not every bed… well, you do get the idea. And if you do have the idea and want to know more about the world’s only Savior, you can call us at The Lutheran Hour. Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions and Answers) for April 29, 2012
Topic: Prayer – Posture and Miracles
Announcer: And we are back in the studio once again with our Speaker Emeritus, Pastor Ken Klaus. I’m Mark Eischer. Hello, Pastor.
Klaus: Hi, Mark, and hello to The Lutheran Hour listeners.
Announcer: Well, today we have a question which may have an incredibly simple answer, but I think it also has far-reaching consequences. I hope that doesn’t sound too ominous. I think this letter has a lot more hope in it than, perhaps, what I’ve suggested.
Klaus: Sounds fascinating.
Announcer: It comes to us from a listener who writes that she’s been listening to The Lutheran Hour and attending church regularly for a long time now.
Klaus: I guess we could stop with that. That’s as good as I can get for today.
Announcer: Well, that’s not the question though. Let’s proceed. She listens and worships faithfully. Week after week in church prayers are offered for various people who are sick or are in the hospital. And a lot of times those are names that are unfamiliar to her. It’s a big congregation; might not be people she knows personally. However, recently a dear friend of our listener has been added to the prayer list. And at that point prayer took on a new dimension for her.Klaus; Yeah, that’s normal. When it’s personal, we tend to pay better attention.
Announcer: She continues, “As I was listening to the prayer, I realized what we were asking of the Lord. My friend has what the doctors have said is terminal cancer. What I want to know is this: are Christians allowed to come before the Lord and ask Him to provide a miracle? I know I should have an answer to that question, and maybe I do, but this is hitting so close to home, I don’t want to pray in a way that is wrong.”
Klaus: Great letter.
Announcer: What can you tell her?
Klaus: First, we should tell her to be thankful for the miracles she already has.
Announcer: Already has. What do you mean by that?
Klaus: There are miracles all around us and sometimes we don’t see them; sometimes we have grown too accustomed to them. For example, “God sent Jesus to live, suffer, die, and rise for us.”
Announcer: Which is a fundamental doctrine of the Christian faith.
Klaus: A fundamental doctrine; also a fundamental miracle. Why would God do such a thing? What kind of love would motivate such a sacrifice? That Jesus came into this world to save sinners is a miracle. That He lived a perfect life is a miracle. That He didn’t save Himself from the cross, but carried our sins to the cross is a miracle. That He actually came back from the grave… that is a miracle. In short, our salvation, the faith we are given, the baptism which brings about faith, the forgiveness we receive from the Lord’s true body and blood during Communion; these things are all miracles… but we see them as being kind of normal and regular.
Announcer: I agree, and I think our listener would agree with that, too; but now we’re talking here about what you could call a “real” miracle, where the normal laws and rules of the world are put on hold in order to enact a miraculous healing.
Klaus: Okay, I understand. Let me answer the question simply, and then, if I might, add a few warnings.
Announcer: Okay.Klaus: As far as I know from Scripture, the Lord has not said that the age of miracles is over. Centuries have taught us that the Lord works in extraordinary ways when there is an extraordinary need. For example, when the church is in real danger the Lord does what is necessary to preserve her; including miracles.
Announcer: All right, but should our listener be praying for a miracle in this case?
Klaus: In her situation, in her friend’s situation, there is nothing else to do. If this friend is to live, it will call for a miracle. So… pray away.
Announcer: All right, but you also said there might be a warning here.Klaus Yeah, there are.
Announcer: Such as…
Klaus: Prayers should be offered in faith, believing.
Announcer: Right, prayer is more than wishful thinking. What else could you say?
Klaus: It would be wise to avoid dictating to God the way, the time, the manner He should respond. His will, not our will, must be done. That is the example Jesus gives in the Garden of Gethsemane… and when He shared the Lord’s Prayer. In the final analysis God knows what is best.
Announcer: We should point out that God also knows what is best for the friend of our listener, the friend who is dying.
Klaus: Yeah, for her and all of us. We may not see why death can be best, but it often is. Only God can see such things.
Announcer: And in summary, what could you say?
Klaus: If the lady lives, it’s going to be by the Lord’s hand and that will be a miracle. And if the Lord takes that lady home, the one who is dying of cancer, that is a miracle, too. A sinner has, by the innocent blood of the Savior, been saved.
Announcer: Very good and there is certainly no bigger miracle than that. Thank you, Pastor Klaus. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.
Music Selections for this Program:
“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by Chris Bergmann. Used by permission.
“Now All the Vault of Heaven Resounds” arr. Hart Morris, et al. From Hymns for All Saints: Lent, Easter, Pentecost (© 2006 Concordia Publishing House)
“Preludio” by Arcangelo Corelli. From Charles Callahan Plays the Organ of the Church of the Holy Family by Charles Callahan (© 1997 Charles Callahan)
“Praeludium pro Organo pleno” by J.S. Bach. From Pipe Organ Dedicatory Concert by Charles Ore (© 1999 Chapel of the Cross Lutheran Church)