There is a good reason why the Bible says Jesus is the only way to God.
The resurrection of Jesus is one of Christianity’s bedrock truths, but also one of its most offensive beliefs, to those who reject it.
The apostle Peter, not long after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, emphatically proclaimed this bedrock truth to the Sanhedrin, the Jewish religious leaders. They had arrested Peter and the apostle John after they healed a crippled man and then preached to a gathered crowd about Jesus’ resurrection. Peter boldly told the Sanhedrin:
“Let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:10–12, ESV).
The only way to God
“There is salvation in no one else,” said Peter. This is what the resurrection implies. When God raised Jesus from the dead, he made him the cornerstone, said Peter. Because he is the cornerstone, there is salvation in no one else.
The Jewish leaders wanted to build with a different stone. They rejected Jesus. The majority of people in the world today want to build with a different stone. They reject Jesus. But when God raised him from the dead, he in effect said, I have chosen the cornerstone for my building, and it is the stone you have rejected. My cornerstone is my Son Jesus. The heavens and the earth are mine, and all its people are mine, and I am giving just one name under heaven by which you can be saved from your sins and have a relationship with me. That name is Jesus. If you want to know me and have eternal life, you must believe in him.
The only vaccine
I am writing this in late May, 2020, in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. We do not yet have a vaccine, but I assume that within a year there will be.
At that time, suppose ten pharmaceutical companies, from ten different countries, claim to have an effective vaccine, but in fact only one company’s vaccine works. The other companies are making false claims. Would it be arrogant and bigoted for that one company to say so? If they proved their vaccine’s effectiveness by testing and could show why the other vaccines would not work, they would be doing everyone in the world a favor if they revealed what they knew to be true.
In fact, it would be criminal to say, “Use any vaccine you want; any vaccine will keep you healthy,” when they knew that was false. It would be nice. It would sound humble. They would avoid controversy. But it would be false, and hundreds of thousands of people would die unnecessarily. The honest and loving thing to do would be to say what they knew to be true.
Empirical proof
This is the position of Christianity. But the analogy falls short in one respect. In the world of vaccines, empirical studies can prove beyond reasonable dispute which vaccines actually work. On the other hand, in the world of religion and philosophy, we cannot prove beliefs empirically. In the realm of the ultimate questions in life, we make our way only by faith. Is there a God? If so, which religion is true, or are all valid? Where did everything come from? Is there such a thing as objective morality? Does life have purpose and meaning? What happens after we die? Is history going anywhere?
When I claim to know the answer to any of these ultimate questions, I can marshal excellent, reasonable, persuasive arguments, but I cannot prove anything.
As a result, many people claim it is arrogant and bigoted to say one religion is true and all others are false.
The persuasive difference
Christians disagree, and the fundamental reason is the resurrection of Jesus. The Bible says that days after Jesus’ crucifixion, God raised him from the grave in an immortal human body unlike any human has known. Over a period of 40 days, Jesus appeared on multiple occasions to more than 500 of his gathered disciples and gave them convincing proofs of his resurrection (for the credibility of this testimony, read the book by journalist and former atheist Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ).
How Jesus stands alone
The resurrection puts Jesus in another category all his own. So did the thousands of miracles he performed, according to the Bible, including raising the dead, walking on water, feeding thousands from a few loaves of bread, calming storms with a command, healing innumerable sick people and exorcising demons from the tormented—all witnessed by his twelve disciples.
Jesus’ teaching also set him apart. So did the claims he made about himself:
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).
“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (John 6:35).
“Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’” (John 7:38).
“Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58).
“I am the Son of God” (John 10:36).
Jesus’ predictions
Especially important was Jesus’ claim to his own exclusive position as the Savior of the world and the only mediator between sinners and God:
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
Moreover, he predicted his own crucifixion and resurrection:
“As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, ‘See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day’” (Matthew 20:17–19).
Only way to resurrection and only way to God
Jesus understood the implications of his coming resurrection:
“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die” (John 11:25–26).
For all these reasons and many more, Christians are left with no other option than to proclaim what they believe is true about the most important matters in life. The fact that no one can empirically prove their answers to the great questions of life does not mean we should ignore them or not talk about them with others. To do that would be immoral because it would be negligent and unloving. Adherents to other religions and philosophies are similarly free to say what they believe and, of course, to believe others are wrong. That is freedom of religion and free speech. And all people should do so with respect and goodwill.
Our way and God’s way
Our way: People say, there are many paths to God. As long as you believe in God and don’t hurt anyone, he accepts you.
God’s way: “There is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5).
Life principle: Trust in the resurrected Jesus alone as your Savior and mediator with God.
Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)