Is Jesus The Only Way To Heaven?

By John Stallings


To answer yes to that question, to say-“YES, Jesus is the only way to heaven”- is considered by many people, even some Christians, to be the most narrow- minded, bigoted, arrogant, mean-spirited, intolerant and hateful statement that could ever be made!

Does that surprise you?

It’s incredible to me that the most fundamental doctrine of the Christian faith, i.e. The Deity and Lordship of Jesus Christ, is being called into question or debated among people who call themselves Christians. But this is precisely what’s taking place. In some quarters there’s a questioning of whether a personal relationship with Jesus Christ should be preached as a prerequisite for salvation.

Recently a poll was taken and it showed 57% of evangelical church goers said they believed many religions can lead to eternal life. Apparently in our culture, the number one atrocity isn’t rape, or murder, but rather its intolerance. A scant 12% of Americans claim their religion is the only true faith.

When asked;- “Do you believe Jesus is the only way to heaven” even some prominent Christian leaders have been heard to say - “We’ll I’m not God and I’m going to leave it to Him to decide who’ll end up saved and allowed entrance into heaven.”

A prominent Baptist preacher/educator was recently asked by a reporter of the Edmonton Journal, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; - “Do you believe non-Christians can go to heaven?” He answered;-“That’s a good question to ask because the way we stand is we contend that trusting Jesus is the way to heaven. However, we do not know who Jesus will bring into the kingdom and who He will not. We are very careful about pronouncing judgment on anybody. We leave judgment in the hands of God and we are saying Jesus is the way. We preach Jesus but we have no way of knowing to whom the grace of God is extended.” So this educator and ordained Baptist minister is in the misty fog here. It’s just a big mystery.

One of the most famous pastor/T.V evangelists recently “fence-straddled” when Larry King asked him if he believed atheists would go to heaven. He said-“I am going to let God be the judge of who goes to heaven and hell.” When Larry asked him if Jews or Muslims could go to heaven without trusting Christ he replied;-“I’m very careful about saying who would go and wouldn’t go to heaven. I don’t know.” According to him too, the actual qualifications for heaven are a mystery.

This world famous Christian minister chose to skate around the issue for fear, I suppose, that someone would be offended or put-off if he made any kind of absolute statement about his faith. That would be considered…well…intolerant.

A scripture comes to mind here. Jesus said; But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I deny before my Father which is in heaven. Matt.10:33

So at least as far as these two powerful Christian leaders are concerned, there’s a mystery connected with the requirements for eternal life in heaven. If some are coming through that way it must be a “Mystery door.” According to scripture, Jesus is “The Door of Heaven.” If it’s true as the aforementioned ministers’ in essence imply, that there’s another big door …. “The Mystery Door” and we can’t and won’t know until judgment day whom He’ll let into heaven, then instead of the plan of salvation being simple, it’s not really as plainly marked as we’ve believed it to be. If this were true [it’s not,] then the “mystery door” is as much a part of getting folk to heaven as faith in the finished work of the cross upon which Jesus shed His blood.

As we watched not long ago the brouhaha unfolding  concerning the plausibility and feasibility of a Muslim Mosque being built within a stones throw of Ground Zero in Manhattan, we’ve been reminded that we don’t inhabit the same world that we did just a few short years ago. It’s my personal opinion that president Obama did what he does best and “clod-hopped” into the fray, but the one thing he did was to show an obvious bias for Muslims. This isn’t a surprise to most Americans. We understand that if it were a nativity scene in question, or even people singing The National Anthem on the sidewalk anywhere near the site it would immediately be squelched.

The good news is it allowed the president to do something I’d never heard him do before and that’s to stand up for the Constitution as well as our Founders and freedom of religion. I suspect that was an “unintended consequence.”

Paul warned us  when he wrote;-

For the time will come when they {church folk} will not endure [tolerate] sound doctrine; but after their own lusts they shall heap to themselves teachers having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned unto fables.”-2 Timothy 4:3-4.

Paul had no tolerance for those who would not preach the gospel. In Galatians 1:8 he said;

But though we, or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

Far too many preachers stand in pulpits and feed tasty doctrine whipped into a creamy filling suitable for topping canapes. That’s a palatable but not very sustaining spiritual food. People go looking for syrupy homilies that will bolster their self-esteem, wanting to hear anecdotes and vivid vignettes to help them find fulfillment or entertaining monologues that will brighten their lives.

We need not only expository preaching, we need expository listening from people who don’t have “itching ears” but will demand and ingest “the sincere meat of the Word.”

Let’s contrast the aforementioned minister’s words to the words recently spoken by Franklin Graham. You will remember that Franklin, the son of Billy Graham was removed as speaker for the National Day of Prayer service at the Pentagon some time back. Things Mr. Graham said that “disqualified” him for speaking was as follows; in a USA Today interview Graham said referring to one of the five Hindu deities, “None of their 9,000 gods is going to lead me to salvation. We are fooling ourselves if we think we can have some big Kumbya service and all hold hands and it’s going to get better in this world. It’s not going to get better.” Another Graham “offense” was saying-Islam is evil, and Muslims and Hindus don’t pray to the same God he does.

Graham didn’t back down from anything he said earlier and in a Newsweek Web Exclusive he restated his position;-“I am who I am. I don’t believe that you can get to heaven through being a Buddhist or Hindu. I think Muhammad only leads to the grave. Now that’s what I believe and I don’t apologize for my faith. And if it’s divisive, I’m sorry.”

In my view, Mr. Graham hit the ball out of the park.

If a major research establishment, say The Mayo Clinic discovered a treatment that would cure all kinds of cancer, the treatment is 100% effective, and they said-“This is the only treatment you’ll ever need,” would it be narrow-minded or arrogant for them to say that?

Moreover, in this day when people want to keep tolerance in everything and resent radical statements about absolutes, do you think a parent with a child stricken with terminal cancer upon hearing this would complain and say, “You know, even though this involves my child’s health, I don’t think it appropriate for you to make such rash claims. What about the other potential cures?”

When it comes to cures for potentially deadly diseases, most folk are looking for a “Silver Bullet Solution.”

IN EVERYTHING EXCEPT RELIGION PEOPLE LOVE ABSOLUTES.

Let’s take it a step farther. What if a parent took their sick child to a doctor and after the diagnosis, the doctor said, “There are hundreds of potential cures for your child’s condition. I have studied them all and I recommend all of them for your child’s treatment. I won’t however recommend a specific path of treatment for your child because that would be arrogant and intolerant. There are plenty of medical journals that perhaps would dispute my recommendation and my advice would in all likelihood offend some of my colleagues. So you’ll have to come to your own conclusion because in the end, any medical treatment is going to lead to your child’s healing.”

The same parent who might be offended at someone making absolute statements about religion would get in that doctors face and say, “What are you talking about? This is nonsense! You’re supposed to help me. Stop this ridiculous pluralistic and relativistic mumbo-jumbo and help me see my child get well.” At the end of the day when push comes to shove, we all hold to absolutes!

When it comes to the disease of sin, which is terminal beyond doubt, truth demands that we share with the world the good news that Christianity can provide both the diagnosis and the remedy.

What if I were hiking high in the mountains, and was standing 50 feet away from the edge of a cliff, and to fall off that cliff would mean an 1800 feet drop into the jagged rocks on the canyon floor. If I spotted an elderly man walking dangerously close to the edge, and I realize he’s blind and has no idea of the danger he’s in, which of the following things would I be correct in saying; - “Hey my Brother, you’re walking straight toward a pretty bad drop-off and you need to get away from there. You can go any way you like, just do it quickly and you’ll be O.K!” –Or-“Hey my Brother- don’t take another step. You’re in mortal danger. I’m coming to get you.” And then I went to him, took him by the hand and led him to safety. Which approach would be considered right? I think we can all agree that love would constrain me to do what I could to save his life.

Just to clarify, I don’t think God is more interested in “getting us to heaven” than he is seeing us conform to image of His dear Son while we’re moving through this ‘mortal coil.” But since the question has already been cast around the paradigm of attaining heaven, that’s where I’ll pitch my mental tent.

FIRST- WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY REGARDING JESUS BEING THE ONLY WAY TO HEAVEN?

Consider the words of Jesus in John 14:6. “I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me.

This is an utterly exclusive claim by our Lord that without Him and apart from Him there’s no way to The Father in heaven. There’s not a plan-B if you decide against Jesus.

Note that Jesus doesn’t say-I am a way, a truth, and a life. He insists He’s “The way, the truth and the life.” It’s important to remember who’s making this statement. Jesus isn’t just a good man or a great prophet, Jesus is God in human flesh.

Jesus says He’s the only way you can get to heaven. You can’t get there by being good. You can’t get there by being religious. You can’t get there by ceremony or knowledge or pedigree. Jesus doesn’t just point out the way He is the Way. He doesn’t just teach the truth, He is the Truth. He doesn’t represent one avenue to life or one possibility in life, He is the Life. Mankind’s quest for truth ends in Jesus Christ. Having said this, in some people’s minds I now join the ranks of the “narrow-minded, intolerant bigots.”

In 1 Corinthians 3:11 Paul says;-For no man can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.

1 Timothy 2:5 says;-There is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.

Paul says in Romans 10:9—If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord” and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead you will be saved.

Listen to Peter’s words—Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. -Acts 4:12.

NO OTHER WAY -NO OTHER NAME- NO OTHER FOUNDATION

The only way we can say there are other ways to heaven besides faith in Christ is to completely discount everything the Bible teaches on the subject.

The whole gospel boils down to this one universal truth; because our sins have separated us from God we need a mediator to bring us back to Him. Because the “sin-gap’ is so wide, we need someone from heaven who is Himself eternal to bridge the gap for us. Jesus is the only one who could bridge that gap. By His death He paid for our sins and bridged the gap that separates us from God. By His resurrection He proved He is the Son of God. The remains of all the other historical religious leaders are still in their graves.

No other mediator is necessary—no other mediator is possible.

IS THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST TOO NARROW AND ABSOLUTE?

I'm sure you've noticed that the world we live in is rather narrow. Certainly the law of gravity and the temperature at which water freezes and boils have a stubborn uniformity. If you enter a phone booth, you can’t dial any combination of numbers and get your home. Every business and residence has its own set of numbers that must be dialed to reach that location. If you set out to drive to California you can’t take any old road and expect to get there. If you have a headache, you don’t go to your cabinet and blindly pick out any bottle and expect relief. When I’m on an airliner, I expect the pilot to land on a runway not beside a runway, and not upside down.

Suppose a teacher put on an exam the question,- what’s the capitol of New York? When the test papers were returned she’d marked wrong any answer but the right one, Albany. One student had written the answer, New York City and the teacher had marked it wrong. Let’s say the young man who answered New York City wasn’t happy with the results and he turned to the other students and asked, “How many of you thought the capitol of New York was New York City? Let’s say half the students agreed with the young man and thought the capitol was New York City. The student then turns to the teacher and says, “So what makes you think your opinion is more valid than ours?” It’s obvious that there is only one correct answer to that question in spite of differing opinions.

Some people place spiritual truth into the area of opinion and anyone who tries to shift answers back from the realm of opinion to God’s authority is looked on as an intolerant person.

The other night Juda and I watched a Denzel Washington Lifetime Movie called The Great Debaters. It told the story of a Negro debate team from Texas, who back in the thirties won top national awards for debating. It was interesting to see how, before personal computers the students had to research their subjects. When they were traveling, they’d be in their motel rooms with books lying all over the beds to the point that they almost slept with books.

The point was, they had to be right in what they were saying during their debates. The researcher was as much an important part of the debates as the speakers. One of the comforts we as Christians can take is the fact that the claims of Jesus Christ have been more researched than any other group of facts man has ever known.

Let’s say for the sake of argument we accept that other religions will go to heaven. But the kicker is…none of these other religions—not Buddhists…..not the followers of Confucius…..not Taoist….not Hindus, none of those faiths have as their ultimate goal the kind of heaven most westerners have in mind. In most cases, these religions don’t even want to go to heaven.

The Buddhist doctrine is that all life is suffering and the goal is to end all suffering. Their big deal is something called Nirvana, a state of being absorbed, if you will into the great nothingness of the cosmos. You no longer have an individual existence or awareness of yourself. The Buddhists and Hindus see a cycle of reincarnation where life looks like a giant wheel. It goes around and around every time you die and are reincarnated.

It’s only people who’re raised in some sort of Christian culture who seem embarrassed by the exclusiveness of claims of Christ. Oddly enough most of the other religions try to incorporate this exclusive Jesus into their faith in some way. Muslims call Him an honored prophet. Buddhists refer to Him as a Bodhisattva, or an enlightened one who shows the path to others. Hindus think of Him as an incarnation of Vishnu, one of their highest Gods. I wonder if somehow deep in the collective heart of all humanity there isn’t that general revelation from God that points to Jesus as in fact, The Way, The Truth, and The Life.

Somehow the thought has taken hold that sincerity, not the truth is the higher of the two virtues. But in religious matters sincerity is never enough. We’re not talking here about our emotions or our preferences. The issue is truth. I don’t doubt the sincerity of the people of Islam or Hinduism. But sincerity only matters when applied to the proper object. You can be sincerely wrong and still be wrong. Believing the wrong things doesn’t make it right.

HOW DO WE COMMUNICATE OUR CHRISTIAN FAITH TO OTHERS?

Today our world grows smaller and smaller and we find ourselves rubbing shoulders with people from different religious backgrounds. This is a relatively new phenomenon…growing more intense. Let’s face it. It looks like in the future we’re going to have Muslims and people of other religious beliefs living all around us and our children will go to school with them. This is already happening.

How do we best explain what we believe to those of other religions? That’s an important question! Our challenge going forward isn’t just going to be to believe in the facts we’ve tried to present here about Christ, but rather to articulate this message in a culture that rejects our views. We must concern ourselves with boldly yet respectively sharing Christ with unbelieving classmates, friends and family.

The important thing is not to be afraid.

Don’t be afraid of someone who doesn’t share your point of view.

Don’t be afraid of your Muslim co-worker or your Hindu neighbor.

Don’t be afraid to strike up a conversation with a student who has no religious beliefs whatsoever.

If we’re afraid we become defensive and that can make us all mouth with no ears. In the west they call it “All hat and no cattle.” It’s not a sin or a mistake to let someone else explain what they believe and how they view the world. But pray as you listen to others so that you can get better understanding of who they are and what they believe. If you and I show ourselves friendly, God will open doors that we could have never opened on our own. I also believe that one of our greatest challenges is to know what we believe and why we believe it. Knowledge is strong medicine.

WHAT IF PEOPLE REACT NEGATIVELY?

Remember you can’t argue a person into the Kingdom of God. Neither can you insult them into belief in Christ. It seems also evident but swearing at folk doesn’t make them want to run to the cross. As we’ve said, it helps to remember that people without Christ are spiritually blind. 2 Cor. 4:4.

Until their blindness is removed by the Holy Spirit they will never “See” the truth. You might as well get angry at a blind person for not seeing the color green. Our strategy must be based on kindness and Christ-centeredness.”

Listen to 2 Timothy 2:24-25;

And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel: instead be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth.

For most of my life I’ve endeavored to focus my ministry on the supremacy of Jesus. If I fail to boldly lift Him up my efforts become irrelevant. No church group or denomination can get someone to heaven but Jesus can.

This is all that matters! Life’s biggest decision is what we do with Jesus and how we proclaim Him to a dying world.

We can’t let fear of being called intolerant Christians cause us to be weak-kneed when the world’s most important question is asked; “Is Jesus the only way to heaven?”


The answer is, YES!


Blessings,


John


SCRIPTURE REFERENCES

John 14:6

John 3:31-36

John 11:25-27

Matthew 7:13-14

Acts 4:12, 10;42-43, 17:30

1 Timothy 2:5-6

1John 5”12