People from other religions are offended by the truth claim of Christians that Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation. They say that we are being narrow minded, unloving, intolerant, and politically incorrect. But the reason we make this claim is because Christ made it of Himsef, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). We simply state what He said.
In one sense we are being narrow minded because Christ taught us that the enterance to the way which leads to life is a narrow gate (Matt. 7:13, 14). And this life is found only in the Son, “And this is the testimony; that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:11, 12).
Many claim to have God. Judaism and Islam both even claim to worship the same God as Christians but if they don’t have the Son then they don’t have the Father, “Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also” (1 John 2:23).
Right before His death, Jesus prayed, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done” (Matt. 26:42). Christ was acknowledging that there was no other way to save sinful mankind than for Him to go to the cross. If there had been some other way then God wouldn’t have needed to send His Son, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
Christians aren’t being unloving in their exclusivity. On the contrary, the most loving thing we can do is share the truth to our own hurt. We are willing to suffer and even die for our faith in order to bring others to Christ. The unloving but easy way is to be tolerant of other religions and have harmony with them. But we must stand for the truth and be exclusive, “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).
How do we know for a fact that Christ is the only way to God? We know because of His resurrection from the dead. Only God has power over death and Jesus Christ proved His divinity by doing what no man has ever done; gaining the victory over it. The empty tomb and eyewitness appearances are enough evidence to establish it as an historical event. It’s not just a story or legend it’s the grandest chapter in world history. By His resurrection we know He is the only way to God.
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