Q: My friend says there are other ways to get to heaven other than Christ … is this true?
Christ says ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can get to the Father through me.”
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
John 14:6
This has been the belief of the Church since it’s earliest formation under the Apostles—Christ is ultimately the only way to get to the Father. However, in modern times, the belief that there are other ways became popular. Through good works, meditation, spiritual awareness, or abiding by rituals seem to take precedence over believing in Christ.
I had this exact same question—and the answer provided to me was surprisingly different than what I’d intended to hear. Yeshua made it clear in Scripture that He IS the only way to the Father, but during my daily mediations, He said that there were other ways to get to heaven.
But, don’t close the web page down just yet…
I was confused at first by the response. Other ways to get to heaven? Christ preached that He IS the only way! A revelation like this might have me hopping and skipping—I really don’t *need* to believe in Christ to gain eternal life. Yet, this wasn’t exactly what He meant. You see, He gave me this scenario.
In a class, a teacher tells her students that in order for them to pass her math class, they’ll need to revise for upcoming tests. She gives them the topics that will be on the tests, and tells them, the only way to pass her class, they must revise these specific topics.
However, one can still pass her class without studying—they’ll need to be a genius. If a child was already born a genius, they won’t need to study, as they would’ve known it all.
Yet, if one wants to *be* a genius, they would have to spend countless hours studying and learning topics that aren’t even included on the test, and after all is said and done, the weariness of endless studying would’ve caused them to still fail their exam, when all they needed to do was study the topics the teacher said would’ve been on the test.
Likewise, it is the same with salvation.
Salvation was brought to the Jews first, then the Gentiles. The Jews inherited salvation through the promise God gave to Abraham; but they had to abide by the law given to Moses. Galatians says that all who rely on works of the law are under a curse. If one wanted to get to heaven without Christ, they would have to be born sinless and without blemish.
For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.”
Galatians 3:10
Yet, no one is born sinless, and those who strive to attain this sinless nature through works of the law will find that the very law would become a stumbling block to them.
The lesson I learned from this experience was that when someone tells me there are other ways to get the heaven, what they really mean is that there are other ways to attain a sinless nature without Christ. This is far from the truth. If we, being born in sin, were able to attain a sinless nature on our own, then there would’ve been no need for atonement.
The reason that Christ came and died was because we as mere humans could not undo the disobedience that was done by Adam. Imbedded in us is sin, and the Bible teaches that the heart of man is desperately wicked.
The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?10“I the Lord search the heart
and test the mind,
to give every man according to his ways,
according to the fruit of his deeds.”Jeremiah 17:9-10
So, what does Christ mean when He says no one can come to the Father except through Him?
The purpose of Christ was to become the mediator between God and man—the chord that was severed by Adam’s disobedience has now been restored by Christ’s sacrifice. We cannot enter into God’s presence in a sinful state, yet, because of Christ, we can stand before God.
Christ became the eternal priest who, on our behalf, enters into God’s presence and mediates on our behalf. When we put our trust in Christ, we are saying that we believe that His sinless nature, His role in the Godhead, and His oneness with the Father is more than enough to allow us direct communication and relationship with God.
The Bible tells us, that it isn’t our works, but our belief in Christ that is counted as righteousness before God.
Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5And to the one who does not work but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.
Romans 3:4-5
So, is there another way to heaven? If we consider all the fact that we can never be sinless without the redemptive work of Christ, the short answer is ‘no’, there is no other way to heaven. Now other religions teach differently, but other religions also require you to do various types of works, keep various types of laws, and observe special holidays and feasts, and even then, salvation or heaven is not guaranteed.
The Bible teaches us that our belief in Christ, our faith in Him and His work guarantees our salvation, and the seal of this guarantee is the Holy Spirit.
In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will, 12in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of His glory. 13And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
Ephesians 1:11-14
In the end, Christ being the only way to heaven is a blessing, as it ensures that as long as I trust Him, I will be guaranteed an inheritance with Him in this life and in the life to come.
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Jesus is the way, the truth and the light No way goes to the Father except through Him. That’s correct, like the maths lecturer said to pass his maths assignment you must study hard on the maths subject including the genus so if you must come to Jesus to get to God you must read the word of God studiously and obey His word in other to do what the Lord want from you to pass His marks. I like this write-up.
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Reblogged this on Becoming the Oil and the Wine.
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