The Way to God
THE WAY TO GOD
No subject so inflames the minds and divides the spirits as quickly as the one about God. But ultimately no one can get past Him, not even atheists. Every human being on earth is born into a certain worldview, and most remain in it until the end of their lives without having examined it and convinced themselves of its correctness. It is good manners everywhere and for everyone to continue according to the inherited tradition. Even the people who fulfil their religious duties basically want to be left alone with the personal God. They need a God who fits their religion well, who corresponds exactly to their conception. The reason for this development lies not least in the religions themselves. From birth to death, people are provided with pious rituals and solemn ceremonies without ever having heard the pure divine message of salvation and having found inner peace of mind.
Even the Christian denominations are no exception and have to put up with scrutiny. Mere appeal to Christ is of no use to anyone; we need a personal relationship with Him. Every church and free church, down to the smallest groupings, uses Bible passages made to fit their own concept. All in all, today's Christianity has almost nothing in common with the early church. The Bible is interpreted in a hundred different ways. In place of the divine Word and the binding teachings, new, human interpretations, statutes and dogmas have been placed again and again, but these have no sound basis. This is called "Christian tradition".
Some, namely those who reflect, turn away from the traditional faith in disappointment. The confessional offer raises the legitimate question of whether there is a reliable standard, an absolute, a final criterion on which everything can be tested, on which one can really rely without being abandoned by God. Is there a confirmed truth, beyond all doubt, on which we can build? If so, what is it? Many ask in disappointment: Is there a God who cares for us, who is interested in us? If so, where is He, how can we find Him?
This brief presentation is intended to give every reader food for thought to deal with this subject critically, yet searchingly. After all, it is about you personally and where you want to spend eternity. God has a plan with humanity that is clear and concise, but there is a lack of enlightened men of God along the lines of the prophets and apostles who can show others the way to God because they know and walk it themselves. For centuries, people have had the idea that God and religion, God and the Church belong together. If that were so, with which of the more than three hundred Christian denominations should He identify Himself? Is He perhaps Catholic? Is He Protestant? Or did He found any of the other denominations? Are the Mohammedans, the Hindus, the Buddhists, or whatever else there is, on the right path? After all, they all claim to be enlightened from above and to have the truth. But is it not rather the case that they have all set up their own religious kingdom under the pretext of the kingdom of God?
God has a plan with humanity which He Himself is carrying out. To understand this plan, we must detach ourselves from all traditional views and return to the original starting point. God does not require blind "night-and-day" faith from anyone. Genuine faith has two sound spiritual eyes and two sound spiritual feet; it stands on the unshakable foundation of the Old and New Testaments. In it God has set forth the whole counsel with mankind from beginning to end. In it is shown the way from God to us and at the same time the way from us to Him - as well as the place of God's encounter with humanity.
God's plan with humanity began at creation. Certainly, each one of us has already admired the majestic nature that urgently needs to be preserved. But not all of us logically presuppose its Creator. It is common knowledge that the existence of the Almighty has been questioned for some time and the creation account has been called improbable. Atheistic philosophers have made people believe their contradictory theories and at the same time plunged them into unbelief. Those who deny God as Creator and think that everything came into being by itself could just as well deny their own father and claim that he was the result of evolution. Who can imagine the universe in its immense expanse, with its innumerable stars and perfect harmony, as having come into existence by itself? So far, nothing has come into being by itself, nor has anyone come forward to improve the slightest thing about the whole of creation. Let us only think of the innumerable living creatures in the oceans, to which ideal living conditions have been assigned, or of all the animal and bird species on all continents, how perfectly they are adapted to the respective climatic conditions!
Just as the Creator ordered all things in the beginning by His omnipotent word, they still exist today. Since the creation of the earth, sowing and reaping have taken place every year, for thus the Lord commanded: "Let there be sowing and reaping." Only where man interferes with nature does chaos ensue. Billions of people are fed every day, and if everything were distributed properly, no one on earth would need to starve.
The fact that all living beings produce according to their kind will also remain until the end. No one has yet seen an ape become a man or a man become an ape. Every other species has also remained as it came forth in creation. Even today the same seed is sown that first came forth at the creation of the earth by the spoken word of the Creator; the same trees and fruits grow, and the same species of animals still live on the earth. Man, the crown of creation, is also still the same as Adam and Eve were then. He was given creative qualities; this has become particularly clear in our time. Man is basically capable of everything he sets his mind to, as the Lord has said: "... henceforth nothing shall be impossible for them in all that they undertake". (Genesis 11:6).
There is only one thing man cannot do, and that is to create life. Those who believe in evolution and speak of a primordial cell should tell us who created the primordial cell and who put life into it. Here one could also ask who put the disposition for reproduction into all living beings. Why do the deniers of God not sow artificially produced wheat? Because they know very well that it would not sprout, for it has no life-germ in it. Every normal thinking person should actually presuppose the existence of the sovereign Creator in the vast, all-encompassing Creation. If people had not turned away from Him in their presumption, they could believe His Word, for God and God's Word are credible.
According to God's will, people are destined from the beginning to live in eternal communion with their Creator. Therefore, everyone also carries an unsatisfied longing in their heart. Everyone has an indefinable longing in their soul, everyone is looking for something, but only one can satisfy the longing and make them blessed! In all religions, worship is a part of the service. The Mohammedans pray to Allah. Their prophet Mohammed did not classify the Messiah as Saviour and Lord, but merely as a prophet. Mohammed preached absolute monotheism and did not recognise the self-revelation of God in Christ. It was incomprehensible to him that God made himself known in heaven as the Father and only on earth in the Son and is active through the Holy Spirit. The Hindus believe in a multitude of gods. Their conception is dominated by a very special trinity: Brahma - Creator; Vishnu - Sustainer and Mahesh - Destroyer; only after that come all the others for them. It would go too far if we wanted to list all ideologies. If anyone rejects anything religious, he is paying homage to Mammon, his passions or some idol. No matter what colour, race or nationality one may belong to, in every human being there is this deep, unquenched longing that can only be truly satisfied with the eternal and the divine.
There was a period of time when the first human beings had direct communion with the Lord God, in the beginning in Paradise. In this original state of innocence they knew nothing of suffering, pain, sickness or death. As creatures of the Eternal, they were destined to live forever. The Lord God had endowed them with free will so that they were allowed to make their own choice. They could choose between good and evil, obedience and disobedience, faith and unbelief. So it is with all of us even today. They had a test to pass, but they both failed, first Eve, then Adam. She listened to Satan's lie, and Adam listened to Eve. So they both fell under the influence of the adversary and transgressed the commandment of God against better knowledge. God, who is true, then carried out His threat - they were expelled from Paradise, the connection with Him broke off, suffering and death came upon all mankind.
No one washes his hands of it now and says, "What's it to me?" because every man and woman would have acted just as Adam and Eve did. God knows us all and knew from the beginning that no human being is capable of fulfilling His demands and commandments. Nevertheless, in His justice, He issued them so that we would all recognise our transgressions against Him and, convinced of the need for salvation, make the right decision. We have free will, no one is forced to be happy. If there were no divine law, then no one could be convicted of the transgression of the Word of God and see the need for forgiveness and redemption. Conscience admonishes everyone, even those who have never heard the divine message or read the Bible. Everyone knows when they are lying, cheating, stealing or doing something else forbidden. Conscience is often a very strong reminder. Every human being, rich or poor, good or bad, is equally guilty before God. We were all born into this world as sinners, separated from God. No one thinks that everything is not so bad, after all, he did not beat anyone to death or commit any other crime. God's righteous judgement has been passed on everyone, so they all have to die. But that is not the end; it does not have to be the end.
After the Fall, Adam and Eve had to leave Paradise, access was blocked, communion with God was interrupted. That was terrible. But God remembered us and paved the way back to Him. The Lord came to us in His immeasurable love and mercy. In Christ He met us and made the New Covenant. Only in Christ can we meet God and confirm the covenant with Him.
Because we have sinned in this earthly body, He had to take on such a body in order to take on the guilt of all as the only innocent one - representing the whole of humanity - and to reconcile us with Himself. This happened in Jesus Christ, our Lord, who, hanging on the cross, cried out to the thief: "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, this very day shalt thou be with Me in paradise". Everyone who calls upon the Lord shall be saved and enter Paradise.
The begetting of our Saviour's body was a purely supernatural act of God, in which Mary was not in the least involved. She was born into this fallen creation like every other human being and was therefore also in need of redemption. It was not Mary, but the Redeemer who was born sinless into the fallen creation in order to pull it out of the Fall.
Jesus Christ was the self-revelation of God in human form. He was God and man at the same time. In spirit He was God, in body He was man. He transgressed no commandment, was absolutely holy and sinless. That is why He could take all our guilt upon Himself and die in our place. Through His blood, which He shed as a sacrifice for reconciliation and forgiveness, a complete atonement and a perfect salvation has been given to all who believe in it. For all biblical believers, therein lies the unshakable anchor for their souls. The proof is given that death, hell and the devil have been overcome. Amen. His resurrection on the third day divinely crowned and legitimised the work of redemption. As the Risen One, He appeared to His own during the 40 days leading up to the majestic Ascension. HE preceded us into glory, having said, "I go to prepare the place for you, and will come again and receive you unto Myself." (John 14). At His return, all the children of men who became children of God and partook of the first resurrection will behold Him and be transformed into His image (1 John 3). This is not a fairy tale, this will soon be a realised reality.
Almighty God planned an eternal kingdom for His sons and daughters before the foundation of the world. The failure of human beings cannot possibly frustrate and nullify God's plan. It merely created a temporary interruption. Mankind voluntarily submitted to Satan's dominion, but was bought back by the Lord without their intervention. The Lord has made a way back to Him. Redemption is both a historical and a salvation-historical fact. Through the Gospel, the joyful and liberating message is brought to people. It is God's all-encompassing offer of grace. By virtue of this redemption, children of men who were children of death from birth become children of God who have received eternal life.
Because the kingdom of God is an eternal kingdom, all who wish to live in it must have eternal life. Therefore it is necessary for us to be born again (John 3). The seed for this birth is the Word of God; it carries the germ of life. The Holy Spirit comes upon all who receive the Word in faith. Through natural procreation we became earthly, temporal creatures. Through the Word and the Spirit, God brings about eternal life in all the redeemed. "...ye are born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the living and everlasting Word of God" (1 Pet 1:23). Whoever believes in the Lord as his Saviour may personally experience salvation. This incomparable offer of grace from God applies to everyone who wants to accept it, as long as the day of salvation lasts. Salvation does not happen through a teaching or knowledge, but is to be sought and found in the Saviour Himself.
No one can imagine how terrible it is for people who have rejected salvation when they are taken over into eternity. At the hour of our death at the latest, we will be confronted with the hardest reality; then even all those who believe in no further life will see that not everything is over with death.
Our Lord and Saviour is heavenly different from all the founders of religion. It is an insult to try to compare Him with any self-styled "prophet". All philosophers of religion have been buried along with their ideas. None of them has been resurrected. They were only human beings like us and could not help themselves or others. There is forever only one who could say, "I am the way, the truth and the life." Only in Christ did God meet us, only in Him can we meet God. There was only One through whom the Father revealed Himself here on earth, namely in the Son, in whom He also made us sons and daughters of God. Only One could say:
"He who sees Me sees the Father." Many roads lead to Rome, but only one leads to God.
I hope, dear reader, that you will see in these remarks a signpost. True faith is in no dead Saviour, but in the living, risen Lord, who overcame death, ascended into heaven, and lives for ever and ever. HE not only said: "I am the resurrection and the life", but also gave irrefutable proof of it. HE vouched for our resurrection. "Jesus replied, "I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in Me, though he die, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die for ever! Do you believe this?"" (John 11:25-26).
Dear friend, there is only this one way to beatitude. There is only this one truth, only this one Saviour. Whoever wants to reach the eternal goal must turn away from everything, come out of religious Babel and believe from the heart in the Lord Jesus as his personal Saviour. Belonging to a religion has nothing at all to do with the salvation of our soul and salvation. There is neither a salvation-giving sacrament nor a religious act that can make blessed. Only in the Saviour do we find salvation, only in the Redeemer do we have salvation. It is a matter of the individual's personal faith in the only true God who has revealed himself to us in Jesus Christ and redeemed us.
Even the best resolutions we make are doomed to failure - man is justified before God through biblically based faith alone. It is a free, unconditional gift of grace that God has given to humanity. All the additions of councils, which were made in the course of church history but were not taught in early Christianity, are not valid before God. The hour of God has struck for you, this is your opportunity to accept salvation. The Gospel of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, is to become a truly joyful and blessed message for you personally, the effect of which you will experience. Believe it now that the Lord has also borne your guilt and pardoned you. You are called to return to the time-honoured biblical faith that all the prophets and apostles had. No one needs to be misled and deceived any longer for eternity. Everyone can experience the salvation of God and receive the assurance of having been accepted by the Lord.
Right where you are now, you can talk to God and say in prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, I believe that You died for me sinful man. I believe that You have redeemed me. YOU have accepted me. I belong to You, my Lord, for time and eternity. O God, You met us in Jesus Christ, in Him I want to have an encounter with You.
Please believe what is written in Psalm 103 and accept it for yourself personally and thank the Lord for His grace. "Praise the Lord, my soul, and all my inmost being His holy name! Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not what good He hath done thee! Who forgiveth all thy trespasses, and healeth all thy infirmities; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction, Who crowneth thee with grace and mercy."
We would be pleased to hear from you if this tract has appealed to you. We would be happy to send you the desired number for distribution.