Is Jesus Christ the only way to heaven?
Perhaps you have talked to Christians before who have told you that. Have you ever wondered why Christians would be so intolerant to say that their religion is the only right way? Isn’t it arrogant to say that only members of one religion are going to heaven while everyone in all the other religions are not?
Doesn’t it seem silly to say to people: “Out of all the religions in the world, you better pick the right one, because if you pick wrong you will not win the lottery to get into heaven”?
How could Christians believe this?
After all, didn’t Jesus teach understanding and tolerance towards all other religions?
Well, no.
The reality is that Christians believe that Jesus is the only way because Jesus said so Himself.
In John 14:6, Jesus said this:
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Hmmmm, that sounds pretty exclusive to me.
So, was Jesus wrong?
Was Jesus a liar?
His apostles taught this exclusivity as well…..
In Acts 4:12, Peter said this:
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
The reality is that salvation is found in Jesus alone.
If there were other ways to get to God, then there was NO reason for Jesus to die on the cross for our sins.
Jesus could have just come down to earth, taught us about all the other ways to get to heaven and have our sins forgiven, and then could have left without ever going to the cross.
But the reality is that there is no other payment for our sins.
That is why Jesus HAD to go to the cross.
Being man, Jesus could die for the sins of men, and being God, Jesus could die for an infinite number of sins.
Jesus paid for your sins and my sins and the sins of the whole world so that we could be forgiven and so that we could have eternal life.
In John 3:36 it says the following:
“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.”
So, if you do not receive the free gift of forgiveness through Jesus Christ you WILL NOT see eternal life.
Well, some may argue, what about all the people who lived before Jesus came?
The truth is that the people who worshipped God before Jesus came were looking towards the Messiah just as we now are looking back on the coming of the Messiah. The “Old Testament” was packed with prophecies about the Messiah, and almost all of the ceremonies in the Old Testament prophetically foreshadowed the life, ministry, death, resurrection and second coming of the Messiah who would come and pay for their sins. There has always been just one true religion. Throughout history humanity has either been looking forward to the cross or has been looking back on the cross.
The crucifixion of Jesus was the pivotal moment in all of human history. It changed everything.
Well, you may ask, how do we know that Christianity is true?
After all, most other religions must be accepted on blind faith, because there is no real evidence to back the claims of other religions up.
But that IS NOT the case with Christianity.
When it comes to Christianity, there is literally a mountain of evidence.
If you are not familiar with the evidence for Christianity, the following is a good place to start:
The truth is that Christianity is not about blind faith.
In fact, you can know 100 percent for certain if you are going to heaven or if you are headed for the lake of fire.
In 1 John 5:11-13 it says this:
“And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.”
I love that last part – “so that you may know that you have eternal life.”
Now, if you believe that, there is something else you need to realize.
If Christianity is true, then it is the most important issue to every man, woman and child on the entire earth.
In addition, if you have found eternal life through Jesus Christ, then you have a moral responsibility to share that good news with other people.
In Mark 16:15-16, Jesus impressed this point upon his disciples with these sobering words:
He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
Jesus echoed these same sentiments at the very end of the book of Matthew.
In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus uttered these famous words:
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
The reality is that there is only one true path. Only Jesus died on the cross for you. Only Jesus can save you. If you want to know more about this Jesus and about how He died on the cross for your sins and about how you can have eternal life through faith in Him, then we would recommend the following resource for you to check out:
http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/1049/1049_01.asp
If you have additional questions about Christianity, please leave them in the comments section and we will do our best to answer them.