One door for all

https://odb.org/2023/10/25/one-door-for-all-2

At the human level, we find that although churches are at the core multiracial, people do congregate based on language or creed. Thus, in West Malaysia, we have Chinese churches (language) and Chinese dominated churches (race) and Indian dominated ones as well as Tamil churches. In Sarawak, churches are largely of 3 types – English, Chinese, and Iban speaking. This may come across as racist but, in actuality, driven more by language or commonality of upbringing and culture. I had been to a Cantonese speaking church in Bangkok, which was mainly comprised of people from Hong Kong or of Hong Kong origin. The preacher, however, was a Malaysian pastor married to a local Thai pastor. But admittedly, congregating among our own race do speck of racism and may sometimes even lead to racism in our hearts. We thus need to examine our hearts and be careful not to fall into this trap.

But I think the message this morning is less about racism but more of the common front door for all. Unlike the past era, where blacks can order food but can not dine in and have to take their food at the back door, now all are welcomed at the front. The point is that in the faith, there is only one entrance for all. There are no backdoors or side entrances. It is certainly not all doors that lead to God like all roads lead to Rome. There is only one way, and that is by confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord and believing in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead as Paul wrote in Romans 10:9. Any other way, and it will not lead to eternal life but destruction. Even the Jews are not saved if they reject Christ as Paul declares.

In these end times, when there is a proliferation of false teachers, we must always check with the Holy Spirit what we believe in and put our faith on. There is an overload of information and teachings, whether on the web or YouTube, or even Facebook. Not everyone interprets the Scriptures correctly. We may be led astray following a false teacher. Always refer back to the Word and keep to the tenets of our faith. Consult our elders. Most fundamentally, all believers only enter through the front door through our Lord Jesus Christ as He Himself had declared that no one goes to the Father except through Him. He is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).