**Read this article and/or go to the bottom and watch the 2 videos (PT 1 & 2)
Is there only one way to God? This probably the most toxic and volatile question in our age of pluralism and tolerance. What is said most of the time is that we must be more tolerant and “permit all ways to go to God” or at the very least say that there has to be more than one way to God. A very popular author, Lee Strobel, that as an atheist he disliked John 14:6 that states “no one comes to the Father except through me (Jesus)”. Lee Strobel felt it was way too intolerant to say there was only one way to God, but after pouring over the evidence for truthfulness of Christianity, he became a believer and is now a follower of Jesus Christ. In his three books, A Case for a Creator, A Case for Faith, and A Case for Jesus, Mr. Strobel admits and tells of his conversion. I own all three of these books.
There is a large group of people who shares Mr. Strobel’s previous thinking that it is too intolerant and not inclusive enough to talk against those who want many ways to God. There are many who not only talk against those who believe Jesus said- “there is only one way” but launch tirades, form organized groups to cause problems to Christians, or even harm some Christians for their views. Even way back in 1940 Walter Chaplinsky caused a real problem in Rochester, New Hampshire by consistently loudly denouncing organized religion as a racket and denouncing many Christian denominations by name. Since then, there are many that create real problems, violent situations, and attempts to harm those who just quote the Bible, like Steve McSwain a popular speaker and author in liberal circles and an ambassador to a Council for a Parliament of World’s Religions who does what he can to ridicule anyone who believes in John 14:6. Even Oprah Winfrey has been quoted as saying “One of the biggest mistakes humans make is to believe there is only one way.” She continues “actually, there are many diverse paths leading to what you call God”. While we are told not to judge, it sounds like Oprah needs to come to find a different position for her eternal benefit.
Popular Jewish rabbi and television host Shmuley Boteach shares a similar conviction and states “I am absolutely against any religion that says that one faith is superior to another”. He further states- “I don’t see how that is anything different than spiritual racism. It’s a way of saying that we are closer to God than you are, and that’s what leads to hatred”. We are seeing and hearing that there a group who says if anyone does not agree with their position against Christianity “that they are racist”. In Lee Strobel’s book A Case for Faith, he says- “Many people consider it arrogant, narrow-minded, and bigoted for Christians to contend that the only path to God must go through Jesus of Nazareth. In a day of religious pluralism and tolerance, this exclusivity claim is politically incorrect. A verbal slap in the face of other belief systems.” However, Lee Strobel has completely changed this type of incorrect position in all three of his books. He now firmly believes in the truth of John 14:6.
On the night of Jesus’ arrest, Jesus gathered His disciples around Him in an upper for what was called the Passover Supper. Jesus tells His disciples “Let not your heart be troubled, you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And I where I go you know, and the way you know.” Jesus was telling His disciples that the way to God was certain and knowable, Thomas responded with a question of perplexity. This was in keeping of what we know about Thomas’ personality. Thomas was always skeptical and saying: “Show me”, but once convinced, Thomas was dauntless and a true believer. On this occasion, Thomas said to Christ, “Lord, we do not know where you are going, and how can we know the way?” Thomas had missed our Lord’s point in the earlier verses. Jesus was talking about going to heaven to prepare for us. Thomas evidently thought Jesus was announcing that He was going to take a trip to a hidden location, perhaps a secure spot within the boundaries of Israel or somewhere in the eastern Mediterranean region. Whatever the case. I am glad that Thomas asked the question. Jesus’ simple response was what
recorded in John 14:6- that he was the only way to God.
In this simple answer, Jesus declared Himself to be the answer to the three greatest questions of the human heart.
How can I be saved? Jesus is the way.
How can I be sure? Jesus is the truth.
How can I be satisfied? Jesus is the life.
In order to understand what Jesus was saying, we need to take our minds all the way back to the Garden of Eden. Before Adam sinned, he enjoyed three very special privileges with God his Creator:
He communed with God intimately; we see him walking with God.
He knew God in reality; we see him believing what God said.
He possessed spiritual life fully; we see him living in paradise.
But when Adam fell in rebellion against God, he lost all three of his privileges with God. His communion was broken; he hid from God. His knowledge was corrupted; he believed Satan’s lies. His life was shattered, he was beginning to die. Of course, Adam did not die immediately but he, like everyone since, needed a way “back” to God. The truth found in John 14:6 reverses those three tragic realities.
Our present condition apart from God is a mirror of Adam and Eve’s condition after the Fall. We cannot comprehend God in reality. We are alienated from God. We don’t have fellowship with Him. We are ignorant of the truth of God. Everything that Adam lost is exactly the same state all humanity finds themselves without God. That is why we call the Gospel of Jesus the Good News. In Christ we can recover everything lost in the Fall. We can have fellowship with Jesus. Instead of alienation from God, we can know His truth. Instead of death, we can know life in Him. The early followers of Jesus were so convinced that Jesus was the only way to Heaven that they didn’t even call themselves Christians…they called themselves, “followers of the Way”.
The way, the truth, and the life! Jesus is communion restored. Jesus is truth recovered. Jesus is life regained- the full and permanent reversal of Genesis 3. That is the meaning of John 1:6. Now, let’s look at it phrase by phrase.
JESUS IS COMMUNION RESTORED
The first phrase in verse 6 says, “I am the way.” Apart from Christ, we cannot have communion with God because of the impenetrable barrier of sin, but Jesus came to remove that barrier. Apostle Paul said in 1 Timothy 2:5: “5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.” This is one of the most memorized, quoted, and useful verses in the Bible. Paul begins with the Old Testament truth that the God of the Bible is the only God who actually exists. This statement is the Shema, meaning “the saying,” the foundational saying of the Law: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:4–5).
The second phrase transitions to the concept of a mediator. A mediator is a person who serves as an intermediary between two people or parties. Jesus serves to bring people to God (John 14:6) and is the only way to God (Acts 4:12). Hebrews 9:15 mentions this same theme, saying, “Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant …” Similarly, Hebrews 12:24 uses the phrase, “Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant.”
Paul also highlights the humanity of Jesus, calling him “The man Christ Jesus.” He is God in human form, one hundred percent God and one hundred percent man (John 1:1–14). This verse not only speaks to the reality of the Christian God, but also that Jesus Christ is the only way to be reconciled to God. No other being, spiritual or human, is needed as a go-between for us and God. The symbolism of the torn temple veil (Matthew 27:51) applies here: Jesus is the way we communicate with God, period. There is no additional step, and there is no other channel. Jesus is certainly the teacher of the way. He is the guide along the way and the provider of the way, but He is more than that. He is the way. He is the way to restored communion with the heavenly Father. (Relate my directions story in Phoenix.)
JESUS IS THE TRUTH RECOVERED
The next phrase in John 14:6 says, I am…the truth”. Jesus is utterly dependable and trustworthy. We can take Him at His word. When we meet Him, we move from the false to the truth, from deception to reality, from relative confusion to absolute knowledge, Throughout his gospel, the apostle John stressed Jesus as the truth. Here are three of John’s scriptures that tell of Jesus’ truth: John 1:14: 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. -The reality of the moral power and change wrought in those that believed recalls and is itself evidence of the reality of that in which they believed. Man came to be a son of God, because the Son of God became man.
John 1:17,“ 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” This explains an important difference between the ministries of Moses and Jesus. Moses’ ministry brought knowledge of the law. But the law could only show us how sinful and broken we were (Romans 3:20). Rather than just bringing us truth, Jesus also brought us grace. Instead of simply telling us that we were broken, Christ gave us a way to fix what was wrong. John 8:32, 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Here the, truth and holiness are spoken of as correlative. The light of truth dispels the darkness in which lies the stronghold of evil. Sin is the bondage of the powers of the soul, and this bondage is willed because the soul does not see its fearful evil. When it perceives the truth, there comes to it a power which rouses it from its stupor, and strengthens it to break the fetters by which it has been bound.
There are several other verses that convey the truth of Jesus and His power. Here are just three others listed John 8:46, John 17:17, and John 18:37.
JESUS IS LIFE REGAINED
Jesus is also the life. He is life incarnate, the opposite of death and darkness. Life is another of the great words that run like a golden chain through the Gospel of John. It’s a word that occurs more than forty times in this fourth Gospel, and it’s often modified by the adjective everlasting. Here are three of John’s scriptures that tell of Jesus’ life. John 1:4 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. This verse proclaims Christ’s role as the giver of eternal life. John will spend much more time later in his gospel explaining Jesus’ role in bringing life to mankind. This verse also refers to Jesus using the second of John’s seven names for Jesus: “The Light.” To a Hebrew, “light” was the ultimate value. All good things were said to be “light,” and evil was “darkness.” Light implies a revealing. John 3:16, “16 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.” John 3:16 is a widely quoted Bible verse that summarizes the cornerstone Christian belief that their God sacrificed his son for the salvation of humanity. This verse teaches us that anyone who believes in Jesus Christ, God’s Son, will be saved. John 3:16 gives us the glorious hope of eternal life. No other verse in the Bible so succinctly summarizes God’s relationship with humanity and the way of salvation. Some consider John 3:16 as the “theme verse” for the entire Bible. John 3:16 tells us of the love God has for us and the extent of that love—so great that He sacrificed His only Son on our behalf. John 4:14 , “Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” Jesus’ comments here present some interesting facts about the nature of salvation. In order to get literal water from a well, a person has to lower a bucket, then haul up the full container. This has to be repeated as often as required in order to get more water. The water Jesus promises will become a permanent spring within the person. In fairly direct terms, Jesus is pointing out that salvation is neither obtained nor kept through works. In fact, Jesus is contrasting the nature of salvation with the nature of human efforts. One is temporary and requires work. The other is eternal and is obtained only as a gift.
Three other outstanding verses about life are John 5:21, John 5:40, and John 6:35. The temptation is to list all forty-one references to “life” in John’s Gospel, but these more than gets the point across. There is only one name by which we must be saved, and it’s the name Jesus, a name that literally means “Jehovah Saves”. He forged the way. He is our way, our truth and our life. John 14:6 is one of the central passages in the Word of God, and it gives us the answer to the question: Is there only one way to God. The answer is YES!!!His name is Jesus Christ, and I recommend Him to you.