Christians claim to have a personal relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ. They take Jesus’ words literally when He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). This is a claim that puts Christianity in a class by itself. It reveals Jesus’ belief that He is the only way for a person to have any hope of going to heaven when they pass from this life. The question I would like to address in this blog is twofold: 1) what gives Jesus the authority to make such an assertion; and 2) where does this leave all the other major religions of the world?

First, what gives Jesus the authority to make the claim to be the only way of salvation? This is certainly a rather exclusive view toward attaining a relationship with God. So, are we to take Jesus seriously, or are we to understand, as many do, that Jesus is only one of many sources of attaining a relationship with God? It has become more popular in recent years to believe that there are many roads that lead to a relationship with God. So how are Christians to give a reasonable explanation for their belief in Jesus being the only means of salvation?

The short, simple answer is that Jesus is the only leader of a religious movement that arose victoriously from the dead after having been executed. All other religious leaders have lived, and died, and their remains are still buried where they were entombed. This, if for no other reason at all, would be enough to establish that Jesus is superior to all others. No other religious leader has so affected the world as has Jesus. History is actually divided by the date of His birth (even though those who developed the Roman calendar missed His birth date by a few years). No one person has had such a transforming affect on humanity as Jesus. Christianity stands firm even though it has been assaulted by so many in so many ways.

So what do other religions think about Jesus? Some, such as Islam, think of Jesus as a great prophet and miracle worker. They do not deny the historical existence of Jesus Christ – they, however, reject the idea that He is the Son of God. Other religions, such as Buddhist, think of Jesus as one of many emanations from God, but not the only begotten Son of God. Judaism, the one religion that should most readily recognize Jesus as their Messiah, reject Him because He did not fulfill their belief in what the Messiah would do when He came (even Jesus apostles did not understand until after His death, burial and resurrection). Jesus is such a world renowned and recognized figure that all other major religions have to explain Him, or, to be more precise, explain Him away, so that their religious thought systems will make sense.

So, now, back to Jesus. Who is He? Well, He claimed to be God. He claimed the name by which God identified Himself to Moses in the Old Testament. When Moses asked God whom he might say sent him to Egypt to deliver the people, God said simply, “Tell them ‘I AM’ has sent you.” Jesus then claimed that name for Himself time and again during His life.  His miracles proved beyond all doubt that He had supernatural powers, which no founder of any other religion has ever displayed. And His ultimate victory over death, hell and the grave is the crowning victory that sets Him apart from all others.

Thus, we are left with His claim to be the only way to attain salvation, and to enter into heaven upon departure from this life. All other religious leaders and founders died, and are still dead. Jesus is alive! Would you trust your eternal welfare to someone who could not conquer death himself, or would you trust the only  One who won the ultimate victory? The decision is yours – but there is only one reasonable choice.