Jesus told His followers, “No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 – Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me). Other religions and people have taught that there are other ways to God, and our culture continues to accept many different theories about reaching God. So then why did Jesus make such an exclusive claim?
For Jesus to make such a claim, we must first understand that we are all separated from God because of sin. None of us are capable of living a perfect life because all have sinned (Romans 3:23). There is only one thing that results from sin, and that is death (Romans 6:23). Our sins can’t be erased by good morals (I’m a good person), good works (I’ve never killed anyone), or by religious living (I read my Bible and pray every day). Don’t get me wrong, praying and reading the Bible every day are great things, but they are not the reasons we are forgiven. We are only forgiven because of Jesus.
God came to earth as a human being in the form of the man we call Jesus. Christ was more than just a good teacher and an example of showing us how to live. He also came to rescue us from the penalty for our sins. God is Holy and set apart from sin. Since Jesus was human and never sinned, He was the perfect sacrifice that was necessary to destroy the penalty for all our sins. Jesus sacrificed His life for us. The only reason we can be forgiven from the penalty of our sins is because of His blood and His sacrifice. It was pure enough to remove the penalty that we deserve, which is death. No other person or religion offers this sacrifice. In fact, they all teach the opposite and tell you that you can earn your salvation if you _______(just fill in the blank).
Jesus’ last words before He died were “It is finished” (John 19:30). He wasn’t proclaiming the end of His life on earth, but rather was proclaiming that sin is no more for the follower of Christ. Jesus made a way back to God for a sinful and broken people (like we all are), for those who choose to repent and follow Him. Some say He died because He was weak or unable to save Himself, but I would argue that it took great strength and sacrifice for Jesus to do what He did. It’s a fact and we all have to decide to either believe in Him or not. As each day continues to go on and we don’t decide to follow Jesus, by our actions we are proclaiming we don’t believe in Him.
If everything ended with the death of Jesus, then we would all be in bad shape knowing that death will be the final place for us. Thankfully, on the third day, Jesus overcame death by coming back to life and rising from the grave. This is when He defeated sin once and for all (Hebrews 9:26). Now, for anyone who chooses to follow Christ, sin can no longer separate us from God. We must remind ourselves of this daily because once we take our eyes off of Jesus, we are saying what He did on the Cross for us was not enough. Jesus made a way for us to God, and is the only way.
Here are other Frequently Asked Questions and how the Bible answers them.
Dear Friends, As an agnostic, humanist, and naturalist, I am sure that you view me as the enemy. But I am actually a friend; a friend trying to rescue you; a friend trying to rescue you from a false belief system; a friend trying to rescue you from a cult. Imagine that I am a friend or family member and imagine that I have joined a new belief system, a belief system that believes in black magic, witches, wizards, and evil goblins that have the power to control one’s brain. In this belief system I am taught that “the movement”… Read more »
Praise the Lord!! “We are only forgiven because of Jesus.” YES and AMEN!! Jesus is the only way!
Agreed Qarau! Thanks so much for the comment!
I love it, love it, love it! Amen to this artical. Our Lord Jesus is the only way to God. “Neither is there salvation in any other…” (Acts 4:12) I have been studying the Tabernacle in Exodus 25-30, and when we come to Exodus 26:31-35, we see that within the tabernacle there is a vail between the holy place and most holy. The vail speaks of Christ’s body. When the Lord Jesus died on the cross we read in Matthew 27:51 that the veil in the temple was torn from the top to the bottom. The veil speaks of Christ’s… Read more »
Thanks Steven for commenting!