Jesus said in John 14:6: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."
He didn't say that he was one of the ways to God. He said that he was the only way to God.
In a time where we have various faiths and belief systems proclaiming that their teachings are the true path to God, what do we do with this pronouncement by Jesus? It appears as if Jesus was drawing a line in the sand by saying he is the only way to obtain an eternal home in heaven.
This creates a conundrum for those religions who claim that Jesus was a prophet and a good man. How can one be good and claim to be something he is not? If Jesus is not the one and only way to the Father, then he was a liar.
Perhaps Jesus really believed all he said about himself. In John 8:58, Jesus said: "Before Abraham was, I AM." In these few words, Jesus proclaimed himself to be equal with Yahweh God. The Pharisees clearly understood what he meant because they picked up rocks to stone him.
If Jesus believed himself to be God and was not, then he was either delusional or an utter lunatic. If we conclude that Jesus either lied or was a lunatic, then we must stop proclaiming him to be a good person. We must either condemn him as a liar or pity him as being delusional.
If we are not comfortable with that, then the only remaining option is that Jesus is who he said he was and that he did what the Bible says he did. He is the son of God. He is the one and only way to God and all other religions are rendered invalid. Their prophets are false and their teachings lead their followers to hell.
Why, then, are Christians expected to be tolerant of false religions and false teachers? Jesus would not be. In Matthew 23:33, he called the scribes and Pharisees "Serpents, brood of vipers!" and asked, "How can you escape the condemnation of hell?"
This is a battle over the eternal souls of men, women, boys and girls. We who are followers of Jesus Christ have the only true message of salvation.
In Galatians 1:8, the Apostle Paul states, "But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed." To be accursed means to be condemned to hell.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is clearly given to us in 1 Corinthians 15:3-6: "For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once."
The line has been clearly drawn. Either we accept Jesus as our savior and Lord and gain heaven, or we reject him and suffer the eternal consequence of separation from God in hell.
Jeff Greer is founder of Place of Grace Ministries and has served local churches for over 35 years through Bible teaching, preaching and financial training. He and his wife, Laura, also have served as Dave Ramsey certified financial coaches for more than 10 years.