Is
Jesus the only way to God?
By Jake Kohl
In our
pluralist era today – many believe that Jesus is not the only way to God, but what’s even more striking is the fact
that many of those who have this ideology doesn’t seek after God in any other form of their lives – unless they
are bending and twisting their own lifestyle(s) and/or agenda to fit their path
to what they presume is the path to God.
We have
seen over our readings that Jesus’ account is both historically and authentically
correct, both from a biblical standpoint (mainly – Gospels) as well as
non-Christian sources; that the Jews of the first century believed that Jesus
was the Promised One, more so after His resurrection. Not only did Jesus claim
to be the One, but his actions took it directly home. When Christians believe
that a person can go to hell – pluralists take that to be unconscionable [1]
and therefore reject the particularism view of Christianity. Orthodox
Christians believe that Jesus is the unique Son of God in human flesh. However,
some unbelievers, who may or may not believe Jesus existed, do not believe that
Jesus was necessarily a wise or a particularly good man. Others, such as
Muslims, think that Jesus was a prophet, along
with other prophets. Hinduism depicts Christ as one among many great gurus. Liberal Christians and
many others hold Christ as a good human being and a great moral example.
Jesus was unique in that he alone, of all
who ever lived, was both God and man – supported by some of the most reliable
documents from the ancient world – the New Testament, as well as the early
church fathers. Jesus also lived a miracle-filled and supernaturally empowered
existence from his conception to his ascension in which all was foretold
centuries before his birth. Jesus is also separated from other “religions” by
His uniqueness not only in his conception, but His life, death, and
resurrection.
It is
thus; fair to make the claim that Jesus is the exclusive path to God –
regardless if the culture we live in has widely adopted a pluralistic approach.
This claim is based solely off of the fact that Jesus both the Son of God and
the Son of Man came and offered a ransom for our sins and took death upon
Himself to reconcile us back to the Father. He came to save us and rightfully
deserves all worship exclusively!
Acts 4:12 (NIV): “Salvation is
found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind
by which we must be saved.”
Reference:
Craig, William Lane. On Guard: Defending Your
Faith with Reason and Precision. Colorado Springs, Colo.: David C. Cook,
2010.
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