Why would Jesus be the only way to God?

  

Photo by Tim Wildsmith on Unsplash

This is a common question that comes up when talking Christianity and how to "get to" heaven. There are many different faiths and many different ideas on what to expect after we shuffle off this mortal coil. Many people believe that all roads lead to "heaven" (whatever that means for each individual). So, why should Christians believe that Jesus is the one and only way to get to heaven?

Obviously, the short answer is because Jesus said so. Unfortunately this may not be a particularly compelling answer for someone who does not see the Bible or Jesus as an authoritative source. Authority is a fairly significant issue and is beyond the scope of what I want to cover here, but will certainly attempt to address that at another time.

For now, assuming that the Bible is actually authoritative, let's take a look at how this remains a very important doctrine from within the Christian faith. For many, the fact that Jesus said so is sufficient. But how and why is that the case?

Is Christian Exclusivity Arrogant?

One of the many common accusations against Christians is that we are arrogant in believing that we, exclusively, have come to know the objective truth about something such as our eternal destiny. With all the other religions, anti-religions and everything else out there, how arrogant it is for us to claim that our way is the right way and everyone who doesn't believe what we do is just wrong!

In one sense, I suppose I can understand how someone could feel this way. On the other hand, it seems to me that people who do so fail to understand that almost any particular world-view is held by individuals to the exclusivity of other world views. When it comes right down to it, just about everybody who holds to a world view of any sort is actually in the same boat. So, when making this charge against Christians, the detractor is essentially jack-hammering the very foundation that they, themselves, are standing on.

The Word Became Flesh and Dwelt Among Us

I know that this really isn't a question. For some people, it may be questionable, but for the sake of today, I am going to simply assume that it is true rather than address the question. Mainly, this is because of what day it is and what the Church at large comes together to celebrate every year at this time.


Greg Koukl has said, multiple times, that he believes John 1:14 is perhaps the most important verse in the entire Bible. It speaks of a moment in human history when the almighty Creator of the entire universe - the One who made time, space and matter - humbled Himself by taking on a human nature for the express purpose of living a sinless life and dying a violent death in order to restore the broken relationship with His creatures.

How Can We Love Our Neighbor?

The Bible teaches that we are to love our neighbor. With all the parables and stories, as well as examples, of how we should go about loving our neighbor, it seems that how to actually love our neighbor is one of the most universally misunderstood concepts in Christianity.

The general understanding seems to be that as long as we are friendly and cordial to our neighbors on the off-chance that we happen to run into one of them between home and work, we have met this requirement admirably. And that's only for the "neighbors" we actually can identify and have had some sort of prior contact with. To complete strangers, we may not even be quite that nice.

What exactly ARE miracles?

Are miracles just things that we can't explain? Are they violations of natural law? Are they figments of our imagination? Are they really acts of God?

The concept of miracles, how to describe what they are (and by extension, what they are not) and how to identify when one has occurred is a very tricky thing, indeed. The very idea of a miracle is difficult to get our minds around. Popular culture and bad rhetoric from non-believers just make it all the more challenging.