Jesus Christ Is the Only Way - Why the Bible Offends So Many People
- Author Collin Trenery
In this day and age it is common for people to hold the view that there are multiple ways to get to heaven. Many people will say: "Whatever works for you is fine, and I'll stick to what works for me." It is no wonder that most of the world's religions coexist in harmony with one another. It is also no wonder that Christianity stands apart and is often attacked for being too offensive. Why is this? It is because true Christians will tell you that Jesus Christ is not simply "a way," but rather "the only way." And this is exactly what most people can not stand to hear.
If you are a person who claims to believe the Bible, then there is no getting around the fact that Jesus Christ is the only way. We start off with the most famous scripture of all for this subject, John 14:6. Jesus is speaking and says of Himself: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." How does a person go "through" Jesus and get to the Father? Jesus Christ died on the Cross for the sins of all who would believe on Him, and therefore to get to the Father you must believe in the Son.
As the famous verse John 3:16 states: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." You can not earn your way into heaven. Neither can you inherit heaven. Only through faith in Christ can you gain eternal life. Most religious groups today have a works based salvation, meaning that your ability to gain salvation or eternal life is based on the things you do in life. This is not what the Bible teaches.
As Ephesians chapter 2 says: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast." There is nothing in any one of us that can merit salvation or please God. We owe an infinite debt to God, as all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God according to Romans chapter 3. Therefore we all need an infinite savior, which is Jesus Christ, to redeem us and pay that debt to God. It is because of this that Jesus Christ is our only hope of salvation.
This truth is taught so plainly in Acts chapter 4 verse 12, which reads: "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." This is of course referring to the name of Jesus Christ. As we can see in the world today, Christianity is hated for taking this very position. It is because true Christians refuse to give in to the worldly idea that "everything goes," and instead hold firm to the position that Jesus Christ is the only way, and not simply an optional way. True Christians have no problem standing up for this truth.
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