One God, One Way

One God, One Way
Words of Faith 5-1-2023
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2023
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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1 Timothy 2
[5] For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, [6] who gave himself as a ransom for all men‑‑the testimony given in its proper time. [7] And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle-- ‑‑I am telling the truth, I am not lying‑‑-- and a teacher of the true faith to the Gentiles.

Celebrity interviewer Larry King was well-known for pinning Christian leaders down when he got them on his "live" television broadcast. His favorite thing to ask of high-profile Christian personalities was if they thought he was going to hell-- or if a particular group of people who do not believe in Jesus were going to hell. The answers given by gracious leaders often created a fuss.
The problem is that Mr. King was not asking the right question or the correct person. The answer is really quite simple: It does not matter what you or I think, say, or express regarding the salvation of any person. My opinion is irrelevant, and so is yours. The only opinion that matters is that of God Almighty. He is the One you need to ask. He is the one that Mr. King needs to consult with. His Word is the only resource for such consultation.
The Word of God is clear about several things. We should listen carefully to the Word rather than form an uninformed opinion. There is only one God, not the many gods of men. Paul knew this better than anyone-- There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men-- the testimony given in its proper time. And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle--‑‑ I am telling the truth, I am not lying--‑‑ and a teacher of the true faith to the Gentiles.
Scripture could not be more clear about this. The testimony is consistent. "How great you are, O Sovereign LORD! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears ( 2 Samuel 7:22). For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God (Psalm. 86:10).
"This is what the LORD says-- Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first, and I am the last; apart from me there is no God (Is. 44:6). There is one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all (Eph. 4:6). There is no God but one (1 Cor. 8:4).
You see, opinions about other gods are immaterial. No matter how popular it may be to follow false gods, genies, and descendants of local pagan gods in many parts of the world, this does not change the reality of the Creator of the universe. The point is this: since there is only one God, there can be only one way to reach Him and only one way to be saved.
There is only one mediator between God and men. Man must have a mediator if he is to be saved. We can only approach God and be acceptable to God through a mediator. There is only one perfect Person: God Himself. No man can stand before God, not in his own name or righteousness.
God had to make man acceptable. God Himself had to handle the problem of sin, condemnation, and death of men. There was only one way: God, the Perfect Person, had to become Man. God had to come to earth so that man could understand Him and understand what He was doing. This He did by taking on flesh and blood and coming to earth in the person of His Son, the Man Christ Jesus.
God had to demolish and defuse the problem of sin Himself. He had to live a perfect and sinless life as a man in order to handle the problem of sin. By living a perfect and sinless life, He fulfilled every requirement and became the Ideal and Perfect Man who could cover and stand for all men. Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by His death, He might destroy him who holds the power of death-- that is, the devil-- and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death (Hebrews 2:14-15).
As our Mediator, Jesus stands before God and stands between God and men as the Perfect Man. He is the perfect pattern of all men and what we should be. The result is that when a person really believes in Jesus Christ... God takes that person's belief and counts it as the righteousness of Jesus Christ... God accepts the person's faith and honor in His Son as righteousness... God lets the righteousness of His Son, Jesus Christ, cover us... God accepts our faith as the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
Very simply stated, we are never righteous, but God takes our faith in His Son and credits that faith as righteousness. Jesus Christ stands as the Mediator between God and men. He stands as the Mediator of perfection and righteousness for man.
The big point is this: since there is only one Mediator, we must pray for men to come to know Him. And we must rush to proclaim Him to all men so that they can know about Him and have the opportunity to follow Him. Peter and John proclaimed with such clarity-- Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).
Now. It does not matter one wit what I might say or not say on national television. This is the truth. Those who have difficulty with this truth should take it up with the One who declared it.

Father God, keep the hope of salvation ever before me as I seek to proclaim the glorious truth of Your work in Jesus to save men. Give me courage to speak the truth and back it up with love. In Jesus' Name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2023
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2023 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.