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)

God forgive me

Have you ever wondered, Will God forgive me?

To have acceptance with God, we must always depend not on trying to be good enough for God, but rather on Jesus Christ and his atoning death on the cross.

God forgive me

Recently on a ride-share I asked my driver, “May I ask you a question about your faith?” and he said, “Sure.”

I then asked him a question that I often ask: “If you were suddenly to die and stand before God, and God asked you, ‘Why should I let you into heaven?’ what would you answer?”

His response was to describe to me several of his religious activities. He said he went to mass daily. He showed me a prayer card that he keeps with him always. And he said he tries to treat people well. But he said no one can be good enough for God.

Clearly he was sincere about his religion, but what stood out to me was what he did not say. Although he is Roman Catholic, he never said anything about Jesus Christ. He has faith in God, but when asked what will make him acceptable to God and give him access to heaven, his default answer was not to mention Jesus Christ.

My driver is not alone. In all the times I have asked people that question, I don’t remember a single time that the clear, immediate answer was, “I am trusting in Jesus Christ as my Savior.” Ninety percent of the time, people do not mention him at all (even those who say they believe in him).

That’s a critical problem.

On what basis God accepts us

This is the sixth in a series of articles on the subject of what God requires of those who want to know him and walk in his ways. We need to know something all-important: God does not accept everybody. He does not accept everybody into heaven, and he does not accept everybody into a relationship with him. In fact, on our own merits, God does not accept anybody!

The Bible says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). That means we fall short of God’s holy, perfect standard.

That’s a critical problem because God does not grade on a curve. He is perfectly holy and just and does not lower his standards or requirements. Just as a dead fly in a bowl of soup spoils the whole bowl, so the presence of any sin in us pollutes us morally and spiritually and makes us unacceptable to him.

His highest requirement is expressed in these two commandments: “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Mark 12:30–31).

Who has perfectly obeyed either of those commandments for even one day? By nature human beings are simply not capable of that. We have a fallen nature. We are broken. That’s why we are basically selfish and must try so hard to be loving. That’s why relationships are so difficult. It’s why we resist centering our lives in God rather than in ourselves.

If we are to be accepted by God, it won’t be because we are good enough for him. No one comes close. No one can jump a mile high, and no one can meet God’s requirements.

God’s solution

Because God is loving and merciful, he decided to offer a solution to our critical problem. This is why he sent his unique Son to the world to become a man. Because Jesus is God, he was able to live a perfect life and then die a death on the cross for our sins that had divine, infinite capability to satisfy God’s just and holy requirements.

The death of Jesus atones for our failures. The death of Jesus on the cross is the only thing that enables God to forgive us without compromising his justice. He won’t ever compromise his holy justice, but he will in mercy forgive us because of what Jesus has done.

But God still does not forgive everyone or accept everyone.

The requirement of faith in Jesus Christ

The Bible says, “¹⁶ God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” (John 3:16–18).

Notice in this verse the necessity of believing in Jesus Christ.

Returning to my opening story, this is why there is something deeply unsatisfactory about my driver’s answer. Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. His default confidence was not in Jesus Christ, even though he believed in him.

God’s way and our way

God’s way: We find acceptance with him only through faith in Jesus Christ.

Our way: We rely on our own efforts to be good and religious to make us acceptable to God. We try to accumulate merit in God’s sight. We want some other way than to rely fully on Jesus Christ as our only way to find approval with God.

Next week: More on the crucial role of Jesus Christ for those who want to know God.