"Good Enough" Part 2 of DINNER WITH A PERFECT STRANGER

Here are the notes from the message at New Life Community Church on Sunday, March 16.  Little late posting them, but here they are anyway.  This was the second message in the series DINNER WITH A PERFECT STRANGER, and is entitled "Good Enough."  If you desire to listen to this message, you may do so by going to our website at www.newlifesite.com.  God bless.

Dinner with a Perfect Stranger, Part 2                                           Sunday, March 16, 2014

“Good Enough”

Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner, … and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”’  Matthew 22:4 (ESV)

Last week:  Questions.

How can you say that Jesus is the only way? 

Truth claims.  Claims of exclusivity.

Uniqueness of Christianity.

1.      The offer of forgiveness.

2.      The person of Jesus.

3.      Relationship rather than rules.

4.      Do vs. Done

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  Ephesians 1:7 (NIV)

¹ Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!  ² Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, ³ who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases,  Psalm 103:1-3 (ESV)

¹² as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:12 (ESV)

Pluralism.

p. 38.

Nick Comisky: Okay, fine.  I agree that there has to be some transcendent being…  And you’re great at poking holes in all these other religions.  But it seems to me that all religions, including Christianity, are different paths to the same place.  I mean, everyone is looking for God, and …

Jesus:  Are you?

Nick:  (he is temporarily surprised by Jesus’ interruption and feels a twinge of guilt at Jesus’ question.)  As I was saying, it seems like everyone is looking for God in their own way.  That’s what I like about the church our friends Dave and Paula attend.  They embrace everyone’s beliefs and try to help them on their path to God.

Jesus:  There’s one problem with that thinking.

Nick:  What?

Jesus:  There is no path to God.

Nick is talking about PLURALISM.

Jesus then says, There’s one problem with that thinking.

There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.  Proverbs 16:25 (NASB)

¹³ “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. ¹⁴ Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.  Matthew 7:13-14 (NKJV)

PLURALISM.

Definitions

: a situation in which people of different social classes, religions, races, etc., are together in a society but continue to have their different traditions and interests (called empirical pluralism)

: the belief that people of different social classes, religions, races, etc., should live together in a society and the belief that such a condition is desirable or socially beneficial. (called cherished pluralism)

a :  a theory that there are more than one or more than two kinds of ultimate reality and that reality is composed of many ultimate substances

b :  a theory that reality is composed of a plurality of entities and that no single explanatory system or view of reality can account for all the phenomena of life.  (called philosophical pluralism)

D.A. Carson: Finally, any notion that a particular ideology or religious claim is intrinsically superior to another is NECESSARILY wrong.  The only absolute creed is the creed of pluralism.  No religion has the right to pronounce itself right or true, and the others false, or even (in the majority view) relatively inferior.

Diane Eck:  The plurality of religious traditions and cultures has come to characterize every part of the world today.

Description

Quotes

“We believe that religions are basically the same…they only differ on matters of creation, sin, heaven, hell, God, and salvation.” 
― Steve Turner, Up To Date

Question No. 1: What’s the problem?

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,  Romans 3:23 (NKJV)

Did you ever get into trouble as a kid?

What is the problem with people?

Question No. 2:  How can BAD be made GOOD?

What are we to do about the sin problem?

So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was doing work at the potter's wheel.  But the vessel he was working on with the clay was ruined in the potter's hand. So he remade it into another vessel that seemed appropriate to him.  Jeremiah 18:3-4 (ISV)

Question No. 3:  Who measures up?

Best person – worst person

Man’s way of seeing this vs. God’s way of seeing this.

Jeffrey Dahmer.

Raped, murdered, and dismembered at least 17 people.

Question No. 4:  What must I do?

¹²But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: ¹³who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.  John 1:12-13 (NKJV)