For the sake of eternal life, this is one of the most important questions a person can ask.  However . . . the answer to this question is considered by many non-Christians to be one of the most reviled and narrow-minded tenets of the Christian faith.  But this “narrow-minded” answer is not the “Christian” answer, or the Baptist answer, or the church’s answer, it is God’s answer!!  It is His plan, revealed to the world in His scripture. 

 

Here is God’s answer to the question:  YES!  Jesus is the only way to eternal salvation, to God, and to heaven.

 

Jesus is not a way, or one of many ways, He is THE way, as in the one and only.  No one, regardless of reputation, achievement, upbringing, belief, or personal holiness can come to salvation, God the Father, and heaven except through Jesus.

 

Hear what Jesus, Himself, says: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)

 

Again, Jesus tells us: “I am the door.  If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved” (John 10:9)

 

In the book of Acts, speaking of Jesus, scripture declares: “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which you MUST be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

 

As Pastor David Jeremiah writes: “If there had been another way to redeem the human race [from sin, other than the sacrifice of His beloved Son, Jesus] don’t you think God would have chosen it?  Somehow, in the mysterious, hidden spiritual laws that God built into the fabric of the universe, there is a principle that fallen humanity can be restored only by the sacrificial and voluntary death of an innocent and eternal Lamb.  That law cannot be violated.  You can’t change it.  You might disbelieve it, but you cannot alter it.  If you try to climb up to heaven by some other way, you’ll never get there.  There is no other savior, no other Redeemer, no other Jesus, no other name.”

 

If you have read this far you may be saying to yourself:  OK, OK I hear you, but why do you Christians keep harping on about this?  Our answer: BECAUSE WE LOVE YOU!!

 

Consider this hypothetical for a moment: Suppose that you and your young daughter are in an airplane preparing to land.  Suddenly the cabin fills with dense, dark, noxious smoke. There is fire somewhere in the cabin, but the smoke is too dense to see. People are in a dangerous panic.  The pilot manages to land the plane, but the smoke is now so dense you cannot see your child in the seat next to you.  The location of the fire is also hidden in the smoke.  Which way to go to save your child and yourself? Suddenly out of the chaos the voice of a flight attendant is heard screaming, “The plane is going to explode!!  There is only one way out to safety.  Follow me, follow the sound of my voice, I know the only way out!!”

 

This is why God calls us to keep on about Jesus.  To save your life from an eternity in hell.  To keep you from choosing a path that goes nowhere except toward death. To show you the only way to life – Jesus.  BECAUSE GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE!!

 

Dear reader, though the gateway to salvation and God and heaven may be narrow – by Jesus alone – the invitation is broad.  It is extended to everyone. It is extended to you. Jesus in His grace welcomes everyone to God the Father, if they will come through Him. Jesus is calling.  Will you say YES? Try Him, for He is good!! He is very, very good. In Him alone is life.  Without Him is darkness, despair and death.

 

 

 

 

References:

  • 10 Questions Christians are Asking, David Jertemiah, 2015
  • The Message of John, Bruce Milne, 1993
  • Got Questions Ministry: Is Jesus the Only Way to Heaven?