While surveying a list of Nobel Peace Prize winners there are a few name which may stick out in our minds. Theodore Roosevelt, Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, and Barack Obama have been recipients of this award. It matters not if any reader or this writer believes any of these individuals truly deserved this award. They were recipients regardless of personal beliefs. Furthermore, the point of the article is not to discuss these matters.
As this writer reviewed the list, his mind began to drift toward the Christ. He thought, “If there an individual on this planet who would be deserving of such an award, it would have to be our Lord and Savior.” After all, it was Isaiah who prophesied that Jesus would be called “The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). Paul stated that Christ is “our Peace” (Ephesians 2:14). Still, would Jesus be able to win the “Nobel Peace Prize”? After much thought, the writer decided that Jesus Christ could never win the Nobel Peace Prize. Yes, it has been said. Jesus Christ, The Prince of Peace and our Peace, could never win the Nobel Peace Prize for a number of reasons.
Jesus never compromised the truth in order to make others happy.
Dear reader, please pay close attention to the word “truth.” Too often men and women will compromise his or her beliefs in order to make others happy. Part of the reason for this practice is because of “Pluralism.” Pluralism teaches that every religious facet is as equal as the other. There are multiple ways to achieve eternal happiness, even if you refuse to believe in God or Christ. On the other hand, Christ taught that there was only one way to Heaven , even when faced by those who refused to believe He was God in the flesh. “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). Note that Christ speaks of one way and one truth.
In saying that He is the Way, Christ puts Himself in opposition to all religions that are not Christ oriented. That would include Judaism and the Mosaic Law. Too many “religious leaders” ignore the fact that Jews deny that Christ is deity and claim that the Jews are God’s chosen in this day and age. Truly, they were God’s chosen at one time (Deuteronomy 7:6). Now, Christians are those who have been chosen (1 Peter 2:9). The Mosaic Law was a shadow which led to Christ. It fit its purpose for the time it was in effect but was never intended to last forever (Hebrews 8:7). Christ is the mediator of the New Covenant (Hebrews 8:6). Even in the days of Jeremiah, which were long before those of Christ, God saw the Old Covenant as being ready to vanish (Jeremiah 31:33; Hebrews 8:13) Again, Christ stated there was one way to “eternal happiness” and it was through Him.
In saying that he is the Truth, Christ again makes the statement that one way is not as good as another but in a different sense. Again, the teaching is that there are many ways for man to get to Heaven. As long as one believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, he will be bound for Heaven regardless of beliefs on issues such as: worship, salvation, faithfulness, and others areas of doctrine. In fact, many choose to believe that we “are all headed for the same destination but on different ‘wagons.’” Christ made that statement that there was only one area with a “broad path” and it was not Heaven (Matthew 7:13). He referred the path to Heaven as the “difficult and narrow” (Matthew 7:14). He even stated that there would be those who believed in Him but because these performed not the will of His Father, Christ did not know them (Matthew 7:21:23). These were told to depart from Christ and were called “workers fo iniquity.” This should tell us that our beliefs must be in line with those found within the Word of God. Paul stated that we must “rightly divide the Word of Truth” (2 Timothy 2:15) because there is evidently a wrong way to divide it. This would include the idea that “one ‘church’ is as good as another.” The idea of denominationalism is wrong because of Christ’s plea for His people to be one (John 17:20-21). Denominationalism is nothing more than division. Instead, one must be apart of the “one body” (Ephesians 4:4) through the prescribed method of salvation (Acts 2:38, 41; Colossians 1:24). Using the prescribed method of worship (Acts 2:42; 1 Corinthians 16:2; Ephesians 5:19; Acts 20:7). There is after all, but one truth.
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