One Way To Heaven?

The Narrow Gate

Jesus made it very clear to the world, precisely what God requires for heaven; come through the one gate that He has opened to us by His death and resurrection.

Enter through the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in this way: Because small is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads to life, and few there are who find it.  —Matthew 7:13-14

It is natural that people would not understand how there could only be one way. We live in a world where people are given many choices. The idea that God would present one absolute choice and no others is a little hard to accept. What we don’t understand is how hard salvation was to accomplish. How could one man give His life for the whole world? The basic concept of Christianity sounds quite impossible.

This is until we read the four gospels and discover the character and nature of Jesus. We see that He is unlike any person who has ever lived on the earth.

Why Jesus Is The Only Way

  • He is God, living in the body of a man.
  • He is perfect, without sin.
  • He is the Creator of all that exists.
  • He has power over all the physical laws of the universe.
  • He has power to heal any sickness or disease.
  • He has power to forgive all sins.
  • He has power to raise the dead.
  • He has power to banish evil from the earth.
  • He is the absolute and final judge of all human beings.
  • He was called to be the Savior of the world, before He created the universe.

The Old Testament establishes the principle of an innocent life for the guilty. It gives us the method whereby sins are forgiven: by the blood of an innocent lamb. Jesus comes to earth to complete one perfect sacrifice and is called “The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” It is the blood that Jesus shed on the cross that removes every sin of every person and makes us perfect before God.

No man, who is himself a sinner, could die for any other man. In order for salvation to be possible for man, there must be a perfect man who is without sin. He must live his entire life and never sin. More important, he cannot be born with a sin nature as all men are. For this reason, the Savior must be born without the aide of a human father—from where sin originates. For this reason, the Savior must be born of a virgin. Precisely what Isaiah predicted of the Messiah. Precisely the testimony that we read of Jesus in the New Testament. Finally, this sinless man must contain enough value in His one life—to pay for the lives of every person on the earth. Jesus was able to accomplish this for us because He is God, living in the body of a man, giving His physical body as a man for us. The life of Jesus Christ as God is infinite and more than sufficient to pay for the lives of all people who will be born on the earth.

From this one paragraph we gain some insight on why Jesus is the only way to salvation.

Only Jesus was able to meet all of the strict requirements for a Savior who would have the power and right to redeem all human beings.

How can we test the reliability of claims that are made about eternal matters? How can we know for certain what is acceptable to God? How do we know that what is taught in churches and synagogues is the truth?

If we understand that truth is absolute and always very narrow—by definition, then we understand that the truth about what God requires will also be very narrow. The Bible declares that there is One God, One Church,[2] and just one way to heaven. Jesus claimed that He is that way.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” —John 14:6

Jesus provided evidence for His claim that He is the only way to heaven by raising Himself from the dead after He was brutally crucified. Any church, religious organization, or person can claim that they are the only way; Jesus said that He could prove His claim by raising Himself from the dead. No other person in the history of the world has ever claimed to die for the sins of the world and then proven their authority by raising themselves to life; never to die again.[⁠1]

God has expressed His eternal love to each one of us. He sent His Son to die for our sins and He has brought Him to the earth so that we might see what God is truly like. He also made it abundantly clear that He has chosen only one way that He might be able to save us. It is a plan that He formulated before time existed. He chose to save the descendants of Adam, by a work of salvation that He alone would accomplish. He did this so that none of us could ever boast, or take credit for what God has done.

Salvation is a free gift that God has offered to every person who will simply believe what He has said. If we think that we can make a way of our own that will bring us to God, we are wrong. There is only one, perfect, and complete plan of salvation in which all people of the earth can find and know the One True and Living God.

Isaiah writes that the Messiah will be the only Savior available to all mankind.

“I, even I, am the LORD, And besides Me there is no savior.”
New Testament Fulfillment:  —Isaiah 43:11

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”  —John 14:6

“let it be known to you all, 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 stands here before you whole. This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”   —Acts 4:10-12

For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.  —1 Timothy 2:5

Confident Salvation

How can a person know for certain, the correct path to God? There are hundreds of religions, churches, and public speakers who claim to be the only bridge between God and man.

First, we must ask: Are there really many paths to God, or is there a single method by which God requires human beings to travel? When this question is answered by those who are uniformed and have no real knowledge of these matters, almost universally, the answer is: “All paths lead to God.” When we take the time to study the various religions of the world, we find that there is only one which stands apart from all others as logical, practical, universal, and cosmologically viable.

The God of the Hebrews revealed Himself in a way that compels the reasonable person to conclude; He must be the One true God.

Let is imagine for a moment, a God who has existed forever. He has no beginning, nor will He have an end. He is unlimited in all capacities and possesses infinite wisdom and knowledge. His power is without boundaries and there is nothing which is impossible for Him. This is the God which the Bible presents to mankind. Why should we trust the God reveled by the Hebrew scriptures over the many other God’s of history? Simple.

Only the God of the Bible has proven His unique qualifications as God, by presenting to us: knowledge of future events, knowledge of human nature, and knowledge of the universe, during a time when man had no ability to know these facts. The God of the Bible presents these scientific facts of the universe to us—precisely as they have existed since the beginning of the Cosmos.

The entire purpose of Jesus’ presence here on earth, was for our salvation. Jesus was born to die. He came to offer up His life for ours and make one perfect way in which we could all be saved. The prophet Joel, expresses this fact with great certainly, in his prophecy of chapter 2:32

And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved.  —Joel 2:32

New Testament Fulfillment:

…that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”  —Romans 10:9-13

The Way

It is clear from the text above, from Romans Chapter 10:9-13, that Paul believed that this prophecy from Joel, was fulfilled by Jesus Christ as the Messiah. Romans 10:13 recites a direct quote from Joel Chapter 2:32: “Whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”

It is not a great mystery nor is it too difficult; to find the forgiveness of our sins and obtain eternal life. God desires that all people are saved. He has made this possible with only one requirement: “Will you believe what He has said concerning His Son Jesus Christ? “

Jesus did not come as a way to heaven. He came as the only way to heaven. God made salvation very simple and easy to understand. Romans Chapter 10:9-13 explains it quite well.

  1. Confess that Jesus Christ died for your sins and was raised from the dead for your justification.
  2. Believe this truth in your heart, not just your mind.
  3. Call on the name of Jesus, and be saved.
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus…  —1 Timothy 2:5

Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.  —Acts 4:12

God has given us the privilege and the choice to either believe what He said concerning Jesus, or to not believe. If we regard His word as truth and respond accordingly; He will forgive all of our sins—based on what Jesus has done on the Cross, and grant us eternal life with Him, in heaven.

The choice is ours. If we don’t like the choices; if we refuse to believe; if we think God—unfair in giving us only one choice, then we can say no and be lost forever. If we reject what God has required for our salvation, then we have rejected the only way that we can be saved. Those who will not believe, have only themselves to blame in the end. God has done everything that could be done to save us—the choice is ours.

 

NOTES:
[1] Although there are some persons from history who are alleged to have been raised from the dead, their claims cannot be confirmed by empirical evidence, as in the case of Jesus of Nazareth. In these cases where an alleged resurrection is said to have taken place, these persons have died again. Once Jesus was raised from the dead, He never died again.
[2] Jesus church is comprised of those who believe upon Him for their salvation. It matters not whether a person calls themselves by a certain label, such as Catholic, Baptist, Protestant, or any other denomination. What is important is whether or not they follow Jesus as their Savior; this is what defines the member of Jesus church. This true church was defined by Jesus as “My Church,” in: Matthew 16:18 (NKJV) 18 And I also say to you… I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.