15 49.0138 8.38624 1 4000 1 https://hoojewale.com 300 0

WHO ELSE, IF NOT JESUS? (VI)

0 Comments
Buddhist Nirvana or heaven

One of the hundreds of Buddhist’s nirvana –heaven

(VI)

(Continues from part 5…)

Buddhism is one of the major religions of the world.

Buddhism is concerned about misery that pervades all existence and the way in which life evolves; there must also be a means to overcome this process. The means to this end is found in the Eightfold Path, which is constituted by right views, right aspirations, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right meditational attainment.

Buddhism and meditation

How does Buddhist meditation solve the sin question?  

            The sin question: that is what needs to be addressed first. One must come to the realisation of his spiritual cadaveric stand before God. Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” ushers one into the cadaverous reality. The genesis of man’s misery is this, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” [Romans 5:12]. You do not have to kill anyone or spread lies to receive the spiritual tag of sinfulness. Adam passed it to his progeny: mankind. It is a spiritual phenomenon. Misusing his moral agency, Adam gave the world away to the evil one, Lucifer. Jesus came to address the sin question. He is the One of the soteriological focus.

Jesus is the I AM

                Nonetheless, there is a providential solution to this miserable state of man. “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death” [Romans 8:2]. For those who would eventually come to Jesus for salvation, God, in His eternal wisdom, reviewed the law of sin and death. For His divine children, by the oath of His Divinity, a lifesaving replacement was ‘the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.’ No wonder Jesus says in John 15:5, “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” Who else, if not Jesus? Let us look at Nirvana –the Buddhists’ heaven.

Buddhism and meditation

Can a man’s inner meditations take him to heaven?

The aim of Buddhist practice is to be rid of the delusion of ego and thus free oneself from the fetters of this mundane world. One who is successful in doing so is said to have overcome the round of rebirths and to have achieved enlightenment. This is the final goal in most Buddhist traditions, though in some cases (particularly though not exclusively in some Pure Land schools in China and Japan) the attainment of an ultimate paradise or a heavenly abode is not clearly distinguished from the attainment of release. (Encyclopædia Britannica)

Jesus: the King of king and the LORD of lords

A sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom” [Hebrews 1:8].

            Unlike the hazy atmosphere that hangs unexplained to Buddhists, the Lord Jesus puts our minds to rest with these assuring words of, 1)“Let not your hear be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2) In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3) And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” [John 14:1-3]. Verse one makes it clear that Jesus wields the same eternal integrity as the Father. He said, “if it were not so, I would have told you.”  This brings pellucidity into the picture of His integrity.

                Jesus is saying that He cannot, like God the Father, tell lies. The word ‘house’ is the Greek oikia (oy-kee’-ah) meaning: ‘an inhabited edifice, a dwelling; the inmates of a house, home, the family.’ In this context, it is of God’s Family. This is the only verse in the entire KJV where we have ‘mansions,’ monē (mon-ay’) meaning: ‘a stopping place, station, room’. There are many rooms or spaces for occupation. This is not an intimation to concrete structures, going by the ‘home’ or ‘family’ context of oikia. The word ‘place’ is topos (top’-os): ‘a spot (generally in space, but limited by occupancy.’ So, I ask, who else, if not Jesus?

Get born again

                Getting born again is strictly a conscious effort on the part of an individual. It is of a personal conviction that, as the word of God says, Jesus is truly the only Saviour of the world. A soteriological dependence on the finished work of Jesus is the sole belief requirement of Scripture. Get born again by saying this simple prayer.

“Dear heavenly Father, I come to You now in the name of Jesus Christ. I believe in my heart that Jesus is the Son of God. I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sin. I believe that You raised Him from the dead. I confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord and I receive Him now as my Lord and my Saviour. I give God all the glory. Amen!”

(…to be continued…)

Read the fifth part

Get the 7th part. Click here.

Visits: 153

Is Krishna Jesus Christ?
Previous Post
WHO ELSE, IF NOT JESUS? (V)
Next Post
WHO ELSE, IF NOT JESUS? (VII)
hoojewale

My name is H.O. Ojewale. I was born in 17th March, 1955, in the then Gold Coast, now Ghana, Greater Accra. My parents are Nigerians. I am married with three wonderful children.

0 Comments

Leave a Reply