>> None of them. But many of them would say that the way one chooses to get to Christ is not necessarily the only way.
EXACTLY!
Furthermore, I believe this is what is meant by “judge not”. I am unprepared and ill-equipped to judge the Salvation of another.
Christ is the only way — but I am not prepared to contend that mine is the only way to Christ.
H
broad is the way ? - care to throw some parameters on that comment ? - or do jehovahs and Mormons fall in there too?
The Californian will argue vehemently, insisting that the only true path to GOD is, in fact, due east, across the deserts and the Rockies. Likewise, the Texan will insist that both the Virginian and the Californian are dead wrong, and that the one true path to God is due north, through the oil fields and farms of Oklahoma.
Certainly there are false religions that will lead people away from GOD and keep people wandering around in circles, but depending on where you are when HE calls you, the most direct path for any given person might be an interstate highway or a lonely goat trail.
As a Christian, I truly believe the only way to salvation is through CHRIST, but in my limited human comprehension, I dare not feign the ultimate vanity of claiming to know how CHRIST may choose to reveal himself to other people.
That is good, because any way that is "our way" will not lead to Christ. The only way to Christ is through the regenerative work of the Holy Spirit, which occurs BEFORE conversion. That is the ONLY way to Christ, and Christ is the only way to the Father. It is God's way, any way that we call "our way" just drives us further from God, because we in essence try to impose our will on Him, to gain acceptance us on our terms.
Christ is the way to the Father, how Christ may introduce himself to us either “by fire or by love” as the scripture states is as individual a path as each of us are individuals.
The arguement I most hear is that Christ was just one of many paths to God and eternal life. The answer I give is that Christ is the only way to God and eternal life. The scriptures allow no other choice! Now, how Christ may introduce himself to a needful soul, that is between that soul and Christ!