Many people believe there are many paths to God, but the Bible says, there’s only one way; Jesus. Who is right?

Jesus is God

Who is Jesus? Maybe you’ve asked that question before, or maybe you’re like I once was. I wanted to know what makes Jesus so different from all the other religions of the world. How is He different than other religious leaders like Mohammed, Buddha, or Confucius? Upon reading Scripture, I discovered that Jesus is different. He is fully Man, but fully God. The Bible says that Jesus “was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1), so before He was born into human flesh, He was with God, before anything was ever created, and was God (and still is God) (John 1:2).

The Truth

Mohammed, Buddha, or Confucius may have spoken some truth, but Jesus is the only One Who said “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Mohammed, Buddha, or Confucius never claimed to be the “truth” or to have the truth or to be the way to heaven. Jesus alone claims that He is the one and only way to heaven.

Jesus said, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). Mohammed, Buddha, or Confucius never claimed to be one with the Father or to be one with God, so Jesus is different because He is both God and both Man, and He is the only way to the Father (John 6:44). There is no one else that can make that claim or take you to heaven…no one!

You may be reading this for a purpose; that you might confess your sins, put your trust in Jesus Christ, and acknowledge that He is the one and only way to the Father. Jesus alone claims to be the only way to heaven (Acts 4:12); not Mohammed, Buddha, or Confucius…they’re all dead. It is only Jesus Who lives forever. That is truth.

Only One Way

Why do Christians say that Jesus is the only way to heaven? Aren’t there other religions who promise heaven as a reward? Yes, some do promise heaven but they require them to do good works in order to get there, but the problem is, when will they ever know when they’ve done enough good to go to heaven? Can works really save them though?

I found that most religions of the world are “do this” and “do that” and you might (maybe, hopefully….) get to heaven, so most world religions are “do, do, do.” With Jesus, it’s done (John 19:30)! Why did Jesus say, “It is finished” (John 19:30)?” Don’t try to finish what Jesus already has! Salvation is a free gift of God that cannot be earned (Eph 2:8-9), and was fully paid by Jesus Christ. Who works to get a free gift? If you had to work for it, it’s not a gift; you’ve earned it. Trying driving down a one-way street the wrong way and see if the police think you’re being broad minded.

Narrow Minded

It seems rather narrow-minded to say that Jesus is the only way to heaven, but at least there is a way. If Jesus is right, and I know He is, there is no other way to get to heaven than by trusting in Him. He says that not even death can keep us from God (John 11:25-26; Rom 8:37-39).

Even those who have never heard of Jesus’ name still must face God’s judgment for breaking God’s law because the Bible says that we are without excuse for not believing in God and humans only suppress this knowledge (Rom 1:20). I know that seems narrow minded or harsh, but we are not God. Remember the fact that the native in the deep jungle doesn’t go to hell because he didn’t know Jesus; he goes to hell because he broke God’s law. Humanity has no excuse at all in trying to deny the existence of God. It’s obvious He does exist (Psalm 19:1-2; Rom 1:18-20). That means you and I have no excuse to not believe in Him, but right now, in His mercy, there is still yet time to trust in Christ, and He is actually seeking those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). Is that you? Are you seeking after God? Find Him while He may still be found (Isaiah 55:6-7; 2 Cor 6:2).

“Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth”(1 Jn 3:18).

Many Paths?

I have been told that to believe that Jesus as the one and only way to heaven is being narrow minded. I am. And they ask, “Why are there so many religions in the world? Are all these others wrong? Can only one be true?” If you were having surgery, would you just ask anyone to perform it? Or would you want only a surgeon to do that? If you only want a surgeon to operate on you, isn’t that being narrow minded? There are other ways to do surgery you know. If there is only one fire exit but many doors, why can’t you just take any door to get out? Aren’t you being narrow minded by only using the Fire Exit? I hope you see my point.

If there are other paths to God or other ways to heaven, why did Jesus have to suffer so much and die? Why did He die in such agony on the cross if we could get to heaven some other way? It would have been worthless for Christ to die on the cross if there were other ways to the Father, but again, Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). He is not a way…or just another way among many. He is the only way to the New Jerusalem (Acts 16:30-31).

Conclusion

I told a friend who believed that there are many paths to God that Jesus is the only way to heaven, but there are in fact, two paths that lead to God, but one path, you dare not take! It comes with eternal punishment without end. It is an inescapable horror that we would not wish on anyone. The other path leads to God too, but it is through Christ which leads them into heaven. At the Great White Throne Judgment, John writes, “I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done” (Rev 20:12). Without your having trusted in Christ, you will be among those who “were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done” (Rev 20:13). If you die before repentance and faith in Christ, then it proves that your name was never found in the book of life, and that’s bad, because “if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev 20:15). Today is the best of days to repent and believe. Believe today and you will be saved (Rom 10:9-13).

Here is some related reading for you: Why Does Jesus Say He is the Only Way to the Father?

Resource – Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version^® (ESV^®), Crossway Bibles. (2007). ESV: Study Bible: English standard version. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Bibles. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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