Which Religion is the Right One?

This is what my dear friend Abdul, a Muslim friend from the Middle East, asked me the other day. We discussed his question over tea and his favorite kind of dates. Abul can’t talk about anything without making tea and eating dates! Our discussion of this important topic is proof that two committed friends, from different religions, can disagree with respect and their friendship grows even stronger.   

When Abdul asked me, “Andy, which religion is the correct one?” I asked him, “What’s the purpose of religion?” He thought and said, “To bring us to God.” I continued, “If that’s true, then let’s talk about how our respective religions offer to bring us to God.” Taking a sip of tea Abdul said, “OK Andy, that’s fair, you can begin by telling me about the religion that Jesus started.”

“Abul, Jesus never came to start a religion; Jesus didn’t even come to start Christianity.” My statement shocked my good friend. “What do you mean by that?” I explained, “Habibi, we both agree, God is One (although we define that differently) God is merciful, holy and His justice demands that we be righteous enough to enter to reach paradise.” Abdul replied, “Yes, we are in agreement about all of this.” So I continued, “While true that we agree on several fundamental attributes about God, Jesus taught us that being forgiven and having a relationship with God isn’t through any religion. Actually, Jesus dealt with people from many different religions and didn’t accept any of them as the means to be righteous. The Bible teaches us that it can’t be man reaching God through any religion, but it’s God who reaches out to man; it’s God who calls man to have a relationship with Him. Jesus taught us this is because only God can make us righteous, never a religion, or even our best efforts within our religion.   

Abdul sat and contemplated what I had said as he served us more tea, then responded, “It sounds like you are saying your religion is the ‘right one.” “Sorry Abdul, I must not have been clear. Let me say it this way: If we look in the Bible at how God called men to Himself, we’ll God never pointed men to any religion, but called men directly to Himself. Abdul, Jesus explained this idea even more clearly. Jesus taught us the path to having a relationship with God is not found through any religion, even Christianity, the path to have a relationship with God is found in a person. Abdul, Jesus claimed to be the only One who can reconcile us and bring us to God.” He laughed and said, “O Habibi, I knew you would bring us to this point.”

I laughed too, ate another date, then said, “Habibi, let me give you an example. In John chapter 3, Jesus spoke with a Jewish religious leader named Nicodemas. He was convinced he would inherit eternal life because he belonged to the ‘right religion.’ Nicodemus assumed that because he had the ‘right religion,’ was a descendant of Abraham, and even a highly respected religious leader, that his place in paradise was secure. Abul, what is really interesting about this story is that Jesus was raised in the same religion as the religious leader Nicodemas was, yet Jesus explained to him how wrong he was to assume his religion was the right one.” Abdul seemed curious and asked, “What did Jesus tell him?”  

“Abul, Jesus directly refuted Nicodemas’ thinking that he had the ‘right religion’ and explained to him that if he wanted to have eternal life he must first “be born again.” John 3:3. What Jesus was clearly saying to Nicodemas was that if he didn’t let go of thinking that strictly following his ‘right religion could save him’ that he would never be able to embrace the eternal life God offers.

While chewing a date Abdul said, “Wait, Jesus was a Jew. So was Jesus saying Judaism wasn’t the right religion?” I laughed and said, “Abdul, finish your date, then talk!” We both laughed and I continued saying, “What Jesus was telling Nicodemas was the same message that Jesus had for people of other religions that He encountered, which is that no religion is the correct one to get to God.

Abdul said, “Can you give an example?” “Sure, for example, once Jesus talked to a woman from Samaria, who had a different religion than Judaism. Jesus explained to her that He, and only He, was the way to God. At one point in the conversation with Jesus, this Samaritan woman wanted to discuss ‘religion,’ and which one was the right one. Jesus responded by telling her, ‘If you knew the gift of God and who is asking you for a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.’” John 4:10

Jesus was clearly telling this woman, it wasn’t through her religion, or any religion, that anyone would find the “living water,” (which in the Bible is eternal life). Jesus was telling this woman, and you and me, He is the gift of eternal life we are offered to find God’s mercy and forgiveness.  Jesus reminds everyone that no religion is the “right one,” and that He, and only He, is the path to God. He stated this clearly when He said in John 14:6 "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Abul looked at me and said, “Andy, if what Jesus said is true, then how we obtain eternal life is not through any religion, including Christianity.”

I responded to my dear brother saying, “Habibi, that’s true! The Bible teaches the salvation God offers to every man is not through any religion, but through a person; that’s why I said, ‘no religion is the right one.’ The Bible shows us clearly and repeatedly that God longs for us to have an eternally secure relationship with Him, but never through a religion. God knew we could never be ‘good enough’ to complete perfectly  every requirement that our respective religions require of us.” I told my friend, “Honestly Abdul, I don’t come close to fulfilling all the demands of Christianity, truthfully, I’m not even close and I sin every day.”   

Abdul laughed as he popped another date in his mouth and said, “Habibi, are you telling me you don’t perfectly obey your holy book because you know I don’t always pray 5 times a day?” I chuckled and said, “Abul, I don’t know how many times a day you pray, but I do know if eating and talking at the same time is a sin, you’re a really bad sinner.”  We both laughed.

I continued, “Abdul, God knew we could never perfectly meet all our religion’s requirements. That’s why God offered Jesus to come and die on the cross for every man’s sins. It’s through Jesus, not a religion, we are offered forgiveness and an eternally secure relationship with God. We can never even hope to meet God’s perfect demands of holiness, neither through our respective religions nor by our best efforts. Sinless Jesus is the only sacrifice for our sins that we can hope in to be forgiven and live with God forever.

Abdul thought for a while and finally said, “I need to think about this, but what’s more urgent right now is that we are all out of dates. You need to buy more food so we can continue our discussions.