Author’s note: I decided to reach way back in time in my files of articles I’ve written to present this week’s commentary. I’ve done so because the current Catholic pope continues to declare during 2025 that there are many ways to Heaven–to be saved.
There is no matter more important around which to put forth biblical truth than that involving redemption of lost souls. There is one way to God and eternal Life. Jesus Christ is that only way! He said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the father but by me” (John14:6).
The following article was first posted on September 11, 2006.
History’s Most Troubling Name
Many names come to mind when thinking of individuals who have caused great consternation among the generations of earth-dwellers over the millennia.
We can immediately bring them to the surface of our thoughts. Adolf Hitler stands pretty close to the top, so far as people who have troubled humanity during their time is concerned. His was perhaps the most genocidal regime ever, although if we could hear from some of the other generations of human history–for example, that under the regime of Antiochus Epiphanes—we might hear good evidence for those tyrants being the worst ever. Christians under some of the Caesars and holy Roman emperors could also tell horror stories, giving names of dictators who bedeviled them.
Josef Stalin, the Soviet dictator, is another who has troubled the minds of historians and the rest of us in more recent times. He murdered, it is estimated, between 30 and 40 million of his own people, based upon his paranoid concerns that they were out to topple his rule.
Mao Tse-tung, the beast from China, Pol Pot, of Cambodia, and the man on trial for crimes against humanity, Saddam Hussein, the incarcerated Iraqi strongman known as the “Butcher of Baghdad,” are other troublesome names of recent vintage. And we might throw in guys like Iran’s late Ayatollah Ruhollah Kohmeini and even its current tyrant, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, as candidates for the most troubling names in human history.
It is such an agonizing thing to do, writing about the next troubling name after bringing to mind all of the above horror-blighted names of history, that I can scarcely do it. But I must, because it is a name that is growing in disrepute, and in hatred among this present generation. The person whose name I will write about is dividing the peoples of earth, just as He said His name would do.
It is doubly agonizing for me to write, because evidence of this growing hatred is already well underway, even in the heartland of America. It is, as a matter of fact, manifesting itself in my own community. So, I didn’t have to go to distant sources or lands to make the point that we’re indeed nearing midnight of this Church Age (Age of Grace).
Proof of the growing antagonism to the name is observable in the portion of an article from a newspaper very near my own home. That’s right. Right in the heart of the Bible Belt. And, I must tell you that Arkansas was just listed as one of three of the states that have the most people who believe the Bible is the Word of God, a supernatural book directly from the mind of the Creator.
Little Rock city directors should apply discretion in the words they use when praying before board meetings, Mayor Jim Dailey said Tuesday night. Dailey’s statement followed the board’s receipt of a memorandum from City Attorney Tom Carpenter in which he cautioned board members about using certain words in prayers.
Prayer to open a board meeting is not unconstitutional but can cross the constitutional line of separation of church and state if the prayer emphasizes one religion over another, Carpenter wrote.
In the memorandum, Carpenter advised board members to avoid phrases such as “In Christ’s name we pray” or “In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost” (“LR directors discuss prayer options,” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Sept. 7, 2006).
The above report, I realize, doesn’t equate with people considering the name of Jesus in the same castigating way people view Hitler, Stalin, et al. But, again, marginalizing the name of Christ is taking place in the heart of the Bible Belt. The world at large is on the fast track to bring that Holy Name into hated status on a global scale. The being with the worst of all names–Satan—wants the name of Jesus to become the equivalent of the worst, most terrifying figures of history. Satan has sown in the minds of people that Christianity should be seen as narrow-minded bigotry and hatred, as proven in the Crusades, where, Christ-haters imply, many were murdered in the name of Christ.
The tactic continues to work. Tragically, it is becoming a tactic that even convinces some pastors in churches who fall for and preach the line that thinking there is one way to God is foolish at best and hatred at worst. By preaching and teaching that there are many ways to God and Heaven, that the Bible is actually just a book written by men in order to show us how to just get along, these preachers and teachers are calling Christ a liar–putting His Holy Name in the category of the many tyrants of history who led people down the pathway to destruction.
But the Scripture says: “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
There is coming a time at the edge of eternity that is awesome in its prospect. Every human being who has been born on this fallen planet will give absolute acknowledgement of the name that is above every other, the blessed name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ:
For it is written, [As] I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. (Romans 14:11)
Terry James Prophecy Line 
As terrible as the “major antichrists” were and are, I think the “small antichrists” are doing significant damage of their own. These are the wolves in sheep’s clothing, those running most of organized religion today.
The reason is that people take them seriously as they spew their heretical views because all too many people are scripturally illiterate. Since they don’t know the truth, they can’t recognize the lie, something at which these false “ministers” excel dispensing.
Paul warned that Satan and his minions can appear as angels of light (2 Corinthians 11:14-15), something that, sadly, most church goers today have no awareness. Otherwise they would be headed out the doors in droves.
It is a case where ignorance CAN hurt someone on a level that imperils his or her very soul.
Hi Terry, Enjoyed your article. One thing that came to mind when reading your article and NOTpraying in the name of Christ Jesus was that at Masonic Lodge meetings, their prayerto their deity always ends with “In his name”. I’ve heard pastors use that same phrase to where I asked them if they were afraid topray in the name of Jesus Christ at the end of their prayers. And I do NOT take it lightly when I hear that phrase “in his name” Because it is usedprimarily by Masons. I will ask a person when they close with “In his name” if they area Mason. That phrase is a dead give away they very well could be a Mason. We need to be Bold and approach the Throne of God and petition our Father in the nameof Christ Jesus every time we pray. Lord BlessMark
Thank you Mark, I didn’t know this. I will be careful not to use that phrase.
Didn’t know this was happening. Thanks for the head’s up.
Typical kind of sly move the devil often uses.
You are right again Ed.
Years ago, when I was just newly saved, I was having coffee with a friend from my (now former) AA group. I thought she was a Christian for sure. She would walk the meditation garden at the local Franciscan Church; she read Jesus Calling every day; she carried around a rosary and said many daily prayers. But when I pointed out that Jesus said He is the Way the Truth and the Life she bristled and snapped that I didn’t know what path God would use to bring someone to Himself. She defended the ‘multiple paths’ lies that Satan has effectively entrenched into our world.
It was uncomfortable for me, as a new believer, to have this conversation with someone I thought, up to that point, a genuine fellow Christian. I asked her directly “Have you read the Bible?” She said yes, she had, about 25-30 years ago. Even then I knew where her problems rested. She bought-in completely to the distortions and lies about biblical truth, because she’s never learned and studied biblical truths.
Faithfully attending new age “recovery” meetings (some with over 200 people in attendance) for 18 plus years, listening to everyone there declare their deliverance from alcohol and drugs through a “God of their own understanding”, it’s easy to see how people are mislead when a group gathers together and decides to worship their own gods. Love and tolerance are the bedrock of these ideologies. Much, not all, but much, of the modern Church is the same as AA groups, yoga retreats, or the purpose driven life seminars they underwrite.
God created in each one of us a deep desire to know Him. In Ecclesiastes 3:11, the Teacher says “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men, yet they cannot fathom the work that God has done from beginning to end.” How can we know od? We must seek Him with all of our hearts, and not settle for a superficial relationship with an abstract deity. Jeremiah 29:13 shares God’s promise “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”
We long to know God. Satan is well aware of this, and has learned how easy it is to distract mankind from the narrow path; if we don’t seek Him in truth, we frequently deceive ourselves into believing we have found Him because of ‘group think’ and ‘feelings.’
It’s pure grace that the Lord saved me through all of my rebellion, my struggles against Him, and my wanderings. I pray for all the lost, that their eyes and ears be opened. Regardless of the discomfort, we must stand in Truth and confront the lies of the evil one, while we are able.
The real truth is there is only ONE perfect path to Heaven, and endless ways to Hell. Standing in his evil nature, Satan has inverted the way of salvation, which is found only in Jesus Christ.
I don’t know if I ever told you that I’m an alcoholic, Robin. I never went to AA and went cold turkey 46 years ago. Never relapsed, either. Jesus gets all the credit, to be sure. This “God as you understand him” nonsense pushed by AA is a typical kind of deception. What if a person’s god is Satan? Would AA condone someone choosing him? AA’s success rate is a abysmal, dropping more and more over time. All things considered, it is no big surprise to me.
As you correctly said, there is only one path to salvation – Jesus and him alone – a point the New Testament makes abundantly clear. Bad enough a secular organization ignores this, but when a church does it, it is inexcusable. I give you a lot of credit for making a stand on this point with your acquaintance because a lot of people, even Christians, would have lacked the courage to do it.
I have a neighbor who is an atheist that thinks if you are a good person, that’s enough. (I don’t know what’s “enough” for what because if there is no God, there can’t be an afterlife.) I made my case for the reliability of the Bible by showing her several fulfilled prophecies. So, we’ll see if I’ve planted some seeds to challenge her beliefs.
What did surprise her is that some members of her family walked away from her because of her atheism and I didn’t. I told her I don’t operate like that.
With me, if the subject about my faith comes up, I tell a person what I believe, provide the evidence and leave it at that. I WILL walk away from someone who claims to be a Christian, especially a clergy person, and then promotes outright falsehoods. It has more than once gotten heated. If someone just blows me off out of hand, I won’t waste my time. I’m not here to win a popularity contest – and based on the results, I glad I never competed in one!
Humans are, indeed, wired to worship “something” and Satan capitalizes on this inherent desire to have them worship anything and anyone except the True God.
The devil is truly the god of this world – but his day is coming to an end.
God bless!
The longer I’m saved, the more I understand the different crosses we bear as Christians.
The world hates us, especially when they are presented with the Truth, meaning Jesus.
BTW, when I said I thought my friend was a Christian because I determined that by an assessment in my ‘baby faith,” I want to be clear that it didn’t take long for me to realize ‘Jesus Calling’ is a book created by Sarah Young with daily satanic intervention; that walking a maze at a Catholic church is doing nothing but wandering in circles, and praying the rosary is a heretical practice long held by the RCC. Reading my Bible, lead by the Holy Spirit, cleared those confusions straight away. (It also helped me quickly discern that Beth Moore and Joel Osteen, and their ilk, are all false teachers.)
You are right about AA’s track record. I’m glad the Lord freed you from those demonic spirits without outside help! When it was first founded, AA was rooted in Christian beliefs and practices, and their success record was amazing, in the 85%+ range. That’s miraculous for alcoholics. But within about 11 years they had strayed far from their foundation in Christ, and it is now nothing but a cult. You are right, if Satan is your God, in AA no one can say he is not…and the fact is he is the god of most people, in and outside of recovery rooms, even though they don’t realize it. I ‘fellowshipped’ with Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, New Age Occultists, you name it, they were there. Somehow the Lord got me sober and kept me that way until my relationship with Him was secured.
Philippians 1:6 promises us “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” I don’t know for certain when the Lord began His good work in me, I think it started in a Baptist Church when I was about 6 years old. But I took the long way to get to Him. In the end, what matters is that I am truly saved in the Lord…He is mine and I am His.
Keep praying for your neighbor (as I know you do). She may become a sister in Christ, eventually. Only the Holy Spirit opens hearts to the Lord, but you have planted the seed!
Maranatha!
I didn’t know that AA originally was Christian and then departed from that. Interesting how their success rate plummeted in direct relation, but certainly, no surprise.
I, too, discovered that God was the “real deal” at the age of six. I don’t know if I related that story to you, but it went like this: I was in Sunday School on a bright spring morning. We were singing “All Things Bright and Beautiful.” As I looked out the window into a deep blue sky punctuated with large cumulus clouds, I knew that everything that song said was true. That was 66 years ago.
Of course I’ve fallen many times since then, but God has picked me up each time. Now I figure that I’m coming into the home stretch. Just a little farther to go!
Guys like Osteen are “ear-scratchers” telling people what they want to hear, not what they need to hear. I was repulsed by him immediately because he smiles to much. My philosophy is that anyone who does is living in some imaginary la-la land of their own or they just pulled a fast one and haven’t gotten caught yet, or are about to – on YOU! This con-man is so successful because so many people are scripturally illiterate and that makes them easy marks.
I know you have planted many seeds and it is likely you will not know in many cases if they took root.
Jesus already knows and at the Bema so will you and everyone else that is there.
He is coming SOON!
Amen Ed, He is coming soon!