Is Christianity too exclusive? It's a question I've heard over 20 years in ministry, and it's one that we're gonna dive into here in week one of a new series entitled Good Question, where we wanna ask and discuss uh honest questions for the purpose of having a deeper faith. So is Christianity too exclusive? Uh, it might be framed this way, with so many people in the world, with 8 billion people in the world, and so many religions, so many options. Isn't it arrogant that Christians claim to be the only way to God? And what's the purpose behind that and, and why do we cling to that and how do we respond to that? And so it's a question I've heard and, and over 20 years of ministry experience, it's usually tied to one of the commonly shared stories that goes along with this question, and maybe you've heard these analogies as well. I've heard somebody describe it, uh, and they use the story of uh three blind men are, are grabbing hold of an elephant. One grabs the trunk, one is grabbing the leg, and another one's grabbing the tail. And they try to describe what it is that they're holding, and based on what they're holding, it looks very different. But at the end of the day, they're all holding the same elephant. And so people use that story to say all religions are practically the same, right? We all have different viewpoints and aspects that they all point to God. I get the intention, and I respect the heart behind it and the desire for all people to come to God. But there's a flaw in that story, in that the storyteller himself actually has an outside view and can actually identify that it is a full elephant. In the same way, when we talk about God, there is an origin to our story, that there is is somebody, Alpha Omega, who is above it all, who can see it all. Now, in the person who tells the story, they are the storyteller, so they see it all. In the in the life of a Christian, they're saying that God sees it all, and that we're just simply trying to follow or obey what he's telling us to do. Now, some other stories or examples or analogies that commonly get referred to when they talk about the inclusivity of all religions is that it's like all religions are like fingers of the same hand. Or they say that we're all climbing up a different side of the mountain, that when we all get to the top, that we all experience God together. Now, again, I, I, I humbly respect the idea and the intention behind it, but there is a significant flaw in that logic, in that, you can't have different religions who claim completely and opposite things simultaneously be true. So it's impossible for all things to be correct. Now, I'm not saying even that you can disagree and say that Christianity is not correct. You have the right to believe that. Uh, we could all be incorrect. That's an option. We could all be wrong. But it's impossible for us, us all to be right. Does that make sense? There's actually in logic, there's this thing called um the law of non-contradiction that two opposite ideas cannot be true at the same time. Right, so if somebody claimed to me or said, uh, John is wearing shoes right now. And then somebody else said, John is not wearing shoes right now. Those are two different ideas, and they can't both be true at the same time. In the same way, there's this law that that we have to really start comparing ideas than just simply saying, OK, well, everything's correct. Because they're saying opposite things. So the, the God of Islam or the, or Allah is very different than the God of Christianity, right? Or when you talk through about Hinduism or Buddhism, right? Whether it's self-actualization, that or reincarnation, or that we're all, that God is in everything or that God is everything, that really, it doesn't line up because they're opposite claims. And so while most religions have some version of if you do enough good things, and the good things are defined differently, but with different religions, that if you do enough good things that at some point you either become a god, become like God, or become accepted by God. Where Christianity differs from other religions is while they try to describe how men and women work their way up the mountain, the reality is Christianity and what Christianity claims here is that we can't make it up the mountain. That on our own, no human is good enough to make it to God, who is perfect, who is holy. So instead of man working its way up the mountain, God came down the mountain. And came down to us and then took on the limitations of human form. That's the Christmas story, right? Word became flesh, lived the perfect life, died on the cross as payment for the shortcomings for the sins that you and I have, and then thus dying on the cross, paying for those sins, conquering death, satisfies the justice of God, recognizes the evil of the world, and then through that point of the cross and the resurrection, then provides a way to, to faith in him. And then if Jesus really was a way, or one of the ways, then a logical conclusion is, well, then why did he die? Like, imagine if you imagine. A doctor going to a family saying, We need your child. We need your child because your child has a cure for this very rare disease, that it's only their blood that can save that, that we need their blood to save. So we need you to give us your child for the sake of medical, you know, clearance and and healing of the world. Well, that's pretty heavy. And so right before you're processing and, and thinking through was that possible and say, OK, just to make sure, um, is this the only way to bring the cure? Well, no, it's, there's a lot of other ways, but we just think your child is gonna be the best one. Like, like, well, no, you wouldn't do it. There's other options, why would you do that? In a similar fashion as Christians believe that that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. We'll talk about that more in just a moment, but I want to understand this idea here is that, so uh author and writer Mark Clark, he wrote a book called The Problem of God. It's a great book if you wanna check it out. Um, he describes it this way that we often mistake cultural pluralism with metaphysical and theological pluralism. So cultural pluralism says that you have the right to believe what you want. Which makes sense, especially in our context of America, right? America is described as a melting pot of the world. So people come from all over the world with different backgrounds and different ideas and beliefs, and so you have the right to believe that. Uh, he's a Canadian, um, and so he and, uh, the author of that book talked about how in Canada, they talk about how, uh, really Canada is like a mosaic. And so they come in these different pieces, uh, from different cultures, and you leave me alone, I'll leave you alone. And it's all beautiful and great. So that's cultural pluralism, which makes sense on a logical sense. But don't confuse it with metaphysical or theological pluralism because there is a difference between saying you have the right to believe what you want versus every belief you have is right. And especially doesn't work out when what somebody believes over here is complete opposite of what somebody believes over here. All right, we're, we're gonna break down this idea here, but we got to be willing to start processing these conversations in a practical sense. And so I want to give you the freedom to disagree with me here. I want to invite you to be skeptical yourself and to investigate what it is that you believe and why you believe it. Because here's what I know to be true. Christianity isn't uniquely exclusive. Every worldview is exclusive, actually. It's just that Christianity is more honest about where it draws the line. It's just more clear. It just draws a very distinct line, saying Jesus is the way, the truth in life. But every religion excludes. How do I know that? Because when somebody says a statement, there are no absolute statements, or there is no absolute truth. Do you know ironically what that statement is? is an absolute statement. OK, when somebody makes the claim, you're being judgmental. Do you know what that phrase is? A judgment So, by, by definition, when you're saying that you are judging, that is a judgment. And so even if you are the most inclusive person in the world. You are inclusive except for the people you view as exclusive. That makes sense? And so by definition, it like everyone excludes somebody. And I think the unspoken struggle with Christianity is not just the exclusivity. But the authority Because if you acknowledge who Jesus is, that impacts how we live. So here's, here's how a lot of people function. I'll say they view themselves and maybe they'll put God right here, OK? But if there's something they don't like about God or there's something they don't understand about God, they put that, let's say this table is that question or that doubt. They put God here and then they put themselves here, and now there's something in in between us. But what happens is that then they never actually do the deep work to actually figure out the thing that's between them. And by having a gap, what they really wanna do is I wanna sleep with who I wanna sleep with, I wanna live how I wanna live, I wanna do what I wanna do. And as soon as I get questioned, I'm gonna, oh, nope, you're judgmental. Well, you can't tell me I can't do that way because how can God exist? And we fill in the blank. Right? And so I wanna invite you to be skeptical over the next couple of weeks. But I wanna encourage you then to be skeptical enough to go deep enough to find what is the answer. What do you believe and why do you believe it? Because truth at its core must correspond to and be connected to reality. You see, Christianity is narrow. It is exclusive in the process of salvation. But it's actually the most inclusive religion in the world, and who can receive that salvation. Another way to think about it is the door to Christianity is very, very narrow. But the door is wide open for anybody to receive it. Other religions, so in, in the Muslim case or in Hindu or Buddhism, there are castes, there is stages, there is people who are acceptable, people who are not acceptable, right? And whereas the Bible says anyone who believes in him, anyone who calls on him as Lord Savior can be saved. So yes, the claim that Jesus is the only way to heaven. Is exclusive But every religion is actually exclusive when you get down to it. So the question then is, OK, what is true? Why do we believe it? And how do we treat the people even that disagree with us, OK? Because everybody has a worldview. A worldview can be defined this way. It's the filter through which you explain, interpret and apply life. Just because you ignore it, well, I don't care. I don't think about that stuff. OK, but not thinking about that stuff is a way to think about stuff. Right? Just because you'reo it doesn't mean you don't have one. It just typically means that you put yourself in that God position, is what that means. OK. So explaining it, why do things happen? Interpret. What does it actually mean and apply it? What do I do about it? And it's, it's the glasses that through, it's how you see the world. We don't imagine ourselves walking around like this, but you view it in light of some big questions that we're gonna get to. There's 5 questions that every worldview tries to answer. We'll get to that in just a few minutes. But what I wanna do to start is just clarify, OK, what does the Bible actually say? Why, why do we claim as Christians that Jesus is the only way? OK. Why, why, where does that come from? Well, a few verses here. Let's jump into it. First Peter 3:15. Says, but in your hearts, honor Christ the Lord as holy. Always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason, for the hope that is in you. But notice this last phrase that I think sometimes Christians forget, uh, yet do it with gentleness and respect. I think some people are hesitant to believe in Christianity because some Christians are jerks. Can we just be transparent about that? That some of the most arrogant people are these people who use religion from a standpoint of, ah, and it's like we start, you know, like a club, hitting people over the head with it. And, and we start emphasizing guilt and shame and like, ah, but It says, no, be prepared to answer for why you believe what you believe, but do it with respect, right? What do we believe? Well, Jesus himself said these words in John 14:6. He says, Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. So Jesus directly claims authority over truth, life, and salvation. And I think in this case, what we find is not not that this could be threatening, but rather, clarity is actually kindness here. Cause a vague faith is really a powerless faith, right? Cause if we're vague about what we believe, then we're vague in how we obey it. Does that make sense? And so like when we just kinda like, oh, there's a power out there somewhere, I don't know. Um, there's not a lot of power in that where Jesus comes in and directly draws the line. He says, I'm the line. I'm the line But it's not just there And it's not that they're, it's, it's reality. So just because here's, here's the thing, just because something makes us uncomfortable, doesn't mean it's not true. And we live in a society that highly values comfort. And so we say something and we're like, oh, I don't know, I don't like that. OK, but what if I came to you like, hm, I don't know if I'm feeling gravity today, you know. I don't love the idea. Right, if I go to the rooftop, like I really don't believe I'm not feeling gravity today. Like, it, no, well, just because you don't feel it doesn't mean it's not true. Like, like truth is connected to reality, so what is real? Right? What is real? Uh, Paul writes this in 1 Timothy chapter 2, verse 5 and 6. He says, for there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men. The man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. So one God, one mediator. Who is that? It's Jesus Christ. Why is this powerful? Because where other religions, again, have some form or attempt to get to God, is saying Jesus came down to us. He is the way, he's the truth to life. Uh, Paul writes this same author writes this to the church in Galatia. Uh, he says in Galatians 1:9-10, he says, as we have, um, as we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you've received, let him be accursed. For am I now seeking the approval of men or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, then I would not be a servant of Christ. See, what happens here is there are other religions and other books and other things and other claims. Now, a side note, we can talk more offline of this if you want, of the historical accuracy of scripture and where it came from. There's actually more copies, more evidence for the Bible um than any other ancient Near East document in history. Um, people have great writings and teachings on this. Uh, recommend guys like, uh, Wesley Huff is a guy who's a current guy in the news a lot. Um, he's even been on shows like the Joe Rogan podcast, like he's talking with people who are not like believers in the public square, but just showing historical documents and evidences for what we believe. It's a really interesting find and study if you want to go down that path. But as you go through this, it's, it's this idea of where does it come from, why do we believe it, and, and what do we do with it. And so, one God, one meat eater. And, and so what religions do is they want, they want the benefits of Christianity, or they want the acceptance of Christianity or something that it brings or the moralism that comes with it. And so what they do is they take the gospel and they either add to or they take away from. So it's the gospel plus this prophet, or it's the gospel, but I don't like this teaching, so they remove something. But by definition of a cult actually is that when you take what the Bible says and you add to it or you take away, what you get is actually not Christianity. So you might be using the same vocabulary, but you're basing it off a different dictionary. And so that's why there's a difference in these religions, and we want to clarify what those differences are. So there's most, most famous verse in the Bible, John 3:16, uh, uh, many of us know, but have you read the verses right after that? So John 3:16 says, for God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. But notice the following verses, verse 17, for God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. So whoever believes in him. is not condemned, and whoever does not believe is condemned already because he is not, but because, uh, tongue tied here, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment. The light has come into the world and people have loved the darkness rather than light because their works were evil. Now, hell is an interesting topic. Evil and suffering is an interesting topic, and I encourage you to come back for week 3 where we're gonna talk about all of those, OK, of our series. But for right now, understand that for those that believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, right, that end result is heaven. But if you reject God as savior, you're going to the place that is left for those who've rejected. You're getting what you want and so I don't want anything to do with God. Well, where's the one place that doesn't have anything to do with God? It's hell. So we'll, we'll, we'll take a deeper dive into that cause that's there's some interesting interests and, and issues there, but that's gonna be week 3. But for right now, just understand that the Bible is very clear. And what it says, Jesus is the way. Here's an example. How do I know that? Because the church started in Acts chapter 2, right? And by Acts chapter 4, people are already struggling with the exclusivity of Jesus. It's one of the first issues in the church. So if you struggle now, our society struggles now, don't be discouraged. Understand that it also was the very first issue of the church, because we're only like 2 to 3 months removed from the resurrection of Jesus. So talk about very present time, real time, and they already struggled with people saying it's only through Jesus. So here's the context. The church starts in Acts chapter 2, and Acts chapter 3 in the beginning of chapter 4, Peter and John heal a crippled man in the name of Jesus. The religious leaders of that time don't like that. This church movement is starting, and they don't like that they healed somebody in the name of Jesus. And so they throw these guys in the jail, and they're not sure what to do. And so now they're standing on trial, and we pick up our story in Acts chapter 4. Again, just a couple months removed from the killing and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And here's Peter there in verse 8, says Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, rulers of the people and elders. If we are being examined today concerning the good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, notice how specific that is. Jesus Christ of Nazareth, like, he's not saying here, oh, it's not Jesus. Oh, this is Jesus over here or something like like there's which Jesus here is, it was Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Oh, by the way, the one you killed, that's how, that's how proximity, like the proximity of this event. The very people that crucified Jesus were now being talked to by Peter. So they're saying this Jesus, this historical, real Jesus Christ, fully God, fully man, the one you killed, whom God raised from the dead, by him, this man is standing before you well. Verse 11, this Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone, and there is salvation in no one else. They don't stand before the leaders and say, well, you just believe in what you believe, we'll believe what we believe, and it's fine. The very beginning of the church, the very beginning of the Christian movement, he says, there is salvation and no one else, for there's no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. And how do they respond? Verse 13, when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished, right? Again, we're 2 to 3 months removed. They're like, wait a second, isn't this the same Peter that tried to cut off the ear of the soldier? Isn't this the same Peter that denied Jesus 3 times the last time to a little slave girl? Isn't this Peter, the one who locked himself in the room before they were afraid for their life, and now they're, and Peter and John are now this bold? These are fishermen. These are uneducated common men. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. From the beginning, it's been an exclusive claim, but from the beginning, it's been an inclusive invitation. To anyone who would believe. OK Every worldview is exclusive. Why do I say that? There are 5 questions that every worldview tries to answer. OK, I'm inviting you to be skeptical, and whatever you believe, I want you to process these 5 questions, right? Even if you're like, I don't think Christianity is right, OK? Uh, maybe none of us are right, but I can tell you for certain, we can't all be right because we're claiming opposite things. OK? For me, there's more historical, I can say why I believe that there's more historical evidence for Christianity than any other religion. I can speak to the power of the Holy Spirit and transformation in my life, in my marriage, how I speak, how I live. I've seen miracles working people's lives. I've seen people's lives completely turn around. I've seen God work in various situations. I've seen it work all around the world. I, I've seen it, uh, the transformational power and the truth of Jesus Christ, resurrected Lord and Savior. OK, that's why I believe. But as you process, consider these five questions. Number 1, origin, where do we come from? Where do we come from? Right? If, if you're an atheist, I, I almost think it takes more faith to believe that. Because think about how complex the body is. Right? If you see art, it points to the artist. If you see music, it points to the musician. Same thing, when you see creation, it points to the creator. Where do we come from? Did we really come from nothing by chance? That formed records that I don't think so. Question number 2. Why am I here? Purpose Why are we here? Right? You follow that process. OK, if we came from nothing, then we really exist for nothing, right? Whereas a Christian believes that we were created in the image of God on purpose, for a purpose, to glorify Him, to know Him, to make him known, and, and to have a personal relationship with the God who made us. Right? We're praying kingdom down, heaven, heaven down, culture down, right? We're, we're processing this together, right? So, origin, where did I come from? Purpose? Why am I here? Question number 3 is destiny. What happens when I die? Right. Think about the rich theological question or song, uh, Cotton Eye Joe. Where did I come from? Where did I go? Where did I come from? Where did I go? OK, sorry, that was, that was goofy. Sorry, sorry. I didn't share that first service, so. Take a But practically thinking though, right? What happens when you die? Well, for believers, we say that life doesn't end there. It really begins, eternity with him. OK. Fourth question, meaning, how do I make sense of the invisible but the real stuff? What do I mean? Morals, morality. Where does your morality come from? Where does ideas of justice and love and beauty come from? Because we have the conscience in us to know when things are right or wrong. There's a reason we can look at tragedies and atrocities like the Holocaust, the execution of millions of people, like that's wrong. But where's that, where's that idea come from? You can look into the eyes of a child of your spouse or your loved one and just experience, understand that love is much deeper than a series of synapses and chemical responses. You can look at something with beauty, you can look at something, right, judging meaning and purpose. And, and so how do you explain Where all that comes from. It makes sense if you're created in the image of God. Right. And then the last question, this is where some of these um other religions struggle with is like, what do I uh redemption, what do I do with suffering? What do I do with suffering and is there any way out of it? You know, if you think of Like Buddhism or something like that there where you're trying to sep separate yourself, or that life is pain and life is suffering and you're trying to detach and remove. Um, OK, but what, what does that lead to? It might be discipline, but does that lead to enjoyment? Does it lead to fulfillment? Does that lead, does it, does, it doesn't really describe why it's here. It doesn't really describe where it's going, it doesn't really describe how we handle it. And that's where I love the beauty of Christianity and the power of the cross, because the cross is the intersection of so many different things. It acknowledges evil of the world. It acknowledges the darkness of the world. It acknowledges suffering because Jesus Christ Himself suffered. But it's also where we see the justice of God meet the grace of God. Right? His wrath meets his mercy. And understanding that suffering is very real. And we're gonna, we're gonna talk about that in a few weeks. But it's also temporary for the life of the believer. And it gives that way for the redemption of Jesus. Origin, purpose, destiny, meaning. Uh, what are some examples of other worldviews? OK, there's naturalism, right? That includes things like atheism or if you're agnostic, meaning like, I think there's God, but I don't quite know. Uh, there's humanism. Humanism stopped being a big prevalent thing because World War 1, World War 2, right? We go through these series of enlightenment phases as a culture and society, we're like, oh, we're getting better. And then we see darkness, and we're like, wait, where did that come from? There's also pantheism, which is like God is everything, or panentheism, which God is in everything. And so we can just believe whatever you want. But then that struggles, right, in relationship, that struggles in pain, that struggles in for like where do ideas like forgiveness and cleansing come from? And we're trying to answer these questions. Uh, after World War II, you kind of saw this development of what became postmodernism. So modernism is just like, just facts, truth. Postmodernism is more about feelings. It took the authority from the author and put it on the receiver, right? And then, and then we start getting things like, uh, well, I'm gonna stand in my truth. And, and love is love and, and whatever I believe is me and you can't tell me I'm wrong. But again, remember our first premise. When somebody says you can't tell me that I'm wrong, what they're also directly saying is you are wrong, right? In their claim of saying that you can't tell me is somebody saying, I'm telling you. That's where the exclusion really does go across the board and so we gotta be able to evaluate these ideas, OK? And then you have theism and, and belief and whether it's Judaism or Christianity or Islam, but the God of Islam is very different than the God of Christianity. That's why we say you can't have opposites. Be true at the same time. So as we evaluate ideas, as we evaluate worldviews, let me address just briefly here, cause we're kind of running out of time. What I would say 3 misunderstood tensions when it comes to truth. It's I heard this from uh Pastor Alistair Begg, uh, and it was really powerful for me, for me, so I wanna share this with you as well. 3 misunderstood tensions with truth. Number 1, Uh, when we talk about truth, oftentimes it gets associated with arrogance. And in some ways I kind of get it, right? I think we all know somebody who's an arrogant Christian. And they frustrate us. And if you don't know an arrogant Christian, You might be the arrogant Christian. Right? But here's the thing, confidence is not the same thing as arrogance. There's a guy named GK Chesterson, um, who about 50, 75 years ago, wrote in this idea in his writing called Orthodoxy, uh, and he described this thing of the dislocation of humility. And I thought it was genius. Have you ever dislocated something like your shoulder or arm, like it pops out, it hurts, right? And it's cause it's not in the right position. And so just paraphrasing him, he said, we have dislocated humility. He put it this way. He said, we have reached the stage when we have humility in the wrong place. A man has meant, a man was meant to be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the truth. This has been exactly reversed. We now are on the road to producing a race of men too mentally modest to believe in the multiplication table. Right? We, we are hesitant to say 2 x 2 is 4. We're like, is it? Right? And like we go through and like we struggle. It says, we need to understand that truth is not a matter of pride or humility, it's a matter of fact. As humans, we should be humble about ourselves and confident in our God. We've reversed it We've become overly confident in ourselves, and we become doubtful about God. Don't be the arrogant Christian. But with humility, understanding that we are all fallen creatures. Right. But we can have confidence in a God who's not. Second thing, tolerance. That's the buzzword, that's the value of right now. Um, but here's the reality is that modern culture has confused tolerance with affirmation. Christian scholar DA Carson put it this way, that the dictionaries 30, 40 years ago literally changed the definition of of tolerance. The definition used to be the acceptance of the existence of differing viewpoints. They took out the word existence of. So now, today's dictionary definition reads the acceptance of differing viewpoints. It goes back to the idea that you have the right to believe what you want. That doesn't mean that every belief is right. See, Jesus modeled radical love without compromising truth. It's full of grace and truth. You can deeply respect and love somebody and not believe what they believe. We have to get back to that as Christians. That we can care for people of different religions. Care watches people with different political views. Right? Care for people, respect people who differ than us. But caring for someone is not affirming what they believe. We have to understand the difference. The third tension that gets misunderstood in Christianity is relevance. It's relevance. Culture changes, value changes. What's promoted right now in society really wasn't promoted like 30 years ago, right? And we know we change our minds. Just look at the hairstyles from the 80s. Right? Like we change. And so we think, well, shouldn't the church change with the times? OK. I think sometimes we try so hard to be relevant. That we, we miss the fact that we're supposed to be light in a dark world. Here's, here's what I've come to understand. Truth is always relevant. Writer Augustine put it this way, if you believe what you like in the gospel and reject what you don't like, it's not the gospel you believe, but yourself. You see, Christianity isn't uniquely exclusive. Every worldview is. It's just Christianity is more honest about where it draws the line. It's not just a principle, it's Jesus. It's not just morality and rules, it's Jesus. One of the common questions I get to over the years is, OK, John, but what about The people in Africa who've never heard. Or what about fill in the blank? And usually to that question, I usually say 4 things. Number 1, It's really that God can work in mysterious ways. Right? I've talked with people on the mission field who've seen God come to them and and visions and dreams and heard the gospel and and respond. So I don't, I don't pretend to be. God. And so God can work through those ways, but Through those ways, they're always pointing people to Jesus. You see it in the book of Acts. They heard it, they had a dream, they had a vision, but it always pointed to Jesus. So I don't pretend to be God. Number 2. is that it's also the starting premise that I don't think anyone deserves heaven. We don't, we're all falling. So the miracle is not just that God was, uh, the miracle really is that God would save anyone at all. Right, that none of us deserve him. Number 3, it's the reason we send missionaries and, and, and, and go and plant churches and go share is because we want people to hear the good news of Jesus. And then number 4, it's the very reason I'm talking to you right now. And so I don't know about the people in those other countries. But you just heard the gospel. And so what do you personally think when we bring it back to the moment. All right. So I want to challenge you with 3 things as we close. OK. Number 1, examine your filter. Be skeptical. I'm encouraging you to be skeptical. But, but be skeptical enough to really pursue the truth. Cause I think if you really dive into it, what you're gonna see is Jesus. Number 2, then is, I challenge you then to believe in Jesus. Do you trust him as Lord and Savior in your life? Are you willing to humble yourself enough to say, I need Jesus? And then number 3 Please, please, please, represent Jesus well. In an age of anger and division and hate. Can you show and share the love of Jesus with boldness, just like the disciples did in Acts 4. But also as Jesus did, full of grace and truth. Don't be arrogant, be confident. Right, be loving. Sure. Because we have the way, the truth and the life. Jesus Christ, will you pray with me? Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for who you are and what you've done. God, as we remember, How this all started. That when you gave of your life for us. That you died on the cross as payment for our sins. You provided the way, the truth and the life. That salvation now is something to be received. So we place our faith and trust in you. And as we take communion together now, we remember who you are and what you've done. With a humble confidence, humility in who we are, and confidence with who you and who you are. We love you, Jesus, and your sins, and we pray. Amen.