by Sandy Kirby Quandt

Perhaps you’ve heard people say it doesn’t matter what you believe because God won’t send anyone to hell. Maybe the words were different, but the sentiment was the same. Believe whatever you want, they say. You’ll get to heaven anyway, they tell us. 

Wrong.

For one thing, it certainly does matter what we believe. Jesus is the Only Way. The Only Truth. The Only Life, the Bible says. No one can come to God except through Christ. The Bible tells us. True fact.

Secondly, God doesn’t send people to hell. People make that choice by their rejection of Jesus as their Savior who died on the cross of Calvary for the sins of the world. It’s our choice whether to accept that salvation or not. That’s another fact.

Whenever Pilot and I hike a trail for the first time we look at trail maps to be sure we’re headed the right direction to get to our destination.

As we hike, we might come upon paths people trod that departed from  the main trail.

Sometimes we might even go down that trail thinking the view will be better, or we’ll get where we’re headed quicker, or it will be easier.

Leaving the main trail and following a path other than the one marked out on the map rarely ends well. We might have to retrace our steps to get back to the main trail adding time and energy to our hike. We might get to an obstacle that we can’t move past. We might get tangled up in vines and boulders that impede our progress.

It’s always better to stick to the mapped out trail.

I compare this trail illustration to following the trail mapped out for us in the Bible.

Sure. We might think we know more than the One who designed the trail for us to follow, and go off on our own, falsely believing we’ll arrive safe and sound at our intended destination, but it doesn’t work that way.

We’ll waste precious time backtracking instead of making forward progress. We’ll run into major obstacles that we can’t overcome on our own. We’ll get tangled up in the vines and boulders of a wasted life.

We need to stick to the facts.

Jesus is the Only way. The Only truth. The Only life. Apart from him there is no way through the wilderness.

What do you say to people who tell you it doesn’t matter what you believe, you’ll get to heaven anyway?

Leave a comment below to share your thoughts on the subject.

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Jesus answered, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. The only way to the Father is through me. John 14:6 (NCV)

I wish you well.

Sandy

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