RELIGION: THE BUS TO NO WHERE

Once I was preaching a message in Honduras in Spanish, and God gave me a great illustration right in the middle of the sermon. I said, "Religion is like a bus to no where. It's full of people enjoying each others company, and bragging about how their bus is the best. When the bus stops to pick you up, you ask, 'Excuse me, where is this bus going?' They respond, 'We don't know, but we sure are getting there quickly! Hope aboard, and we'll go there together! For we are the only true bus!"

I then told how this is like modern religion today. Most religions tell you that you must do what they say, and you must be a member of their religion. But even if you do all they tell you to do, none of them can assure you a place in heaven. Take Catholicism for example. You can go to the mass, keep the sacraments, go to confessional, and do all they instruct you to, but when you die, you still go to purgatory!

So, as I preached, I said, "Who in their right mind would want to ride a bus that they don't know where it's going??? That doesn't make sense does it?"

I further showed how Religion as a bus also is very expensive. For "religion is a racket," as many men have said. That is to say religion is a great way to milk people of their money. And I continued, "So the religion bus stops, and you ask, 'So how much does a ticket cost?' They reply, it'll cost you everything you have, but it's worth it, as you'll be going in OUR bus!' "

But who in their right mind would pay everything they have to go on a bus that doesn't know where it's going or how to get there???

I then showed the difference between RELIGION and SALVATION. Briefly stated: Religion is a system of works a man does to try to justify himself to God. While salvation is what a man takes when he realizes all his works are the works of a sinner that can never please God, and he simply accepts Jesus Christ's finished work on Calvary as sufficient to pay for his sins.

I then preached: "So that's the religion bus. Where it goes, no body knows, but it's sure getting there quickly. And, it'll only cost you your soul! Then there is the Jesus Bus--The Bus of Salvation. It rolls near and on the front it says 'Heavenbound.' It stops and the doors open, and you ask, 'Excuse me, where does this bus go?' A man in all white with a beard responds, 'It goes straight to Heaven! And, this is an Express bus and it will get there no matter what!' You then ask, 'But how much does a ticket cost, for it sounds awfully expensive!' The conductor answers, 'It's absolutely free! The ticket has already been paid for, all you have to do is hope aboard!'

I closed my message with this, "Which bus do you want? The one that everyone else is on, but that's on a slippery path to Hell! The bus that's going nowhere fast, but is bragging on how great it is, and the bus that costs an arm an a leg. Or, would you rather go first class on the direct route on the Bus to Heaven with Jesus as your conductor, who has already paid your bus ticket?!"

Relgion or Salvation, which do you have and which do you want? One leads straight to Hell. The other leads straight to Heaven. One follows man, the other follows God. One costs, the other is absolutely free!