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?

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.

Do we need to earn salvation?

Rather than just answering that question up front, why don't we take a look at what the Bible says about this question. Depending on what theological background you come from, you may have a different answer. However, there seems to be only one answer that fits with biblical, orthodox Christianity.

Two main passages will be looked at to answer this question. One passage is used to favor the concept of what is called "works-based righteousness." The other is often used to refute the idea of works as it relates to salvation. In the end, what we get out of this is a couple of passages where one seems to indicate that works are required, another that seems to say they're not and the concept that people will claim that the Bible contradicts itself.

Can Christians use curse words?

This week, I thought that I would keep things a bit lighter. I'm pretty sure that using foul language is not a salvation issue, but I know that there has been conversation in the past about whether or not it is appropriate or acceptable to use profanity as a Christian.

One thing I should point out before we get too far is that I am not talking about taking the Lord's name in vain. I'm referring to the multitude of other cuss words...you know the ones. They're the ones that George Carlin shared with us in his routine about the seven words you can't say on television.