Jesus Is The Only Way

 For no one can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:11 (NASB)

Over the years on TV shows, talk shows, and in various places, there has been the suggestion, if not the outright statement, that there are many roads and many ways to heaven.

Yet there is only one road and only one way to heaven. Through and by the Person Jesus Christ.

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 (NASB)

You could be the best man or woman on earth. Your days and nights could be spent doing wonderful charity work, even risking your own life to accomplish that work, but in the end, without Jesus–all your efforts are meaningless.

All of us have become like one who is unclean,

    and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;

we all shrivel up like a leaf,

    and like the wind our sins sweep us away. Isaiah 64:6 (NIV)

Without a proper understanding of who Jesus is and how important, even pivotal, He is to making us right with God and clearing the path to heaven for us, we can make no progress toward heaven. Our feeble efforts and attempts at goodness leave us spiritually bankrupt when our time on earth is through. No leader, not even the best preacher in the world, can save us. And there are many “false saviors” promising heaven on earth if we just follow them, give them our money, and serve at their altar. We live in a foolish world where many claim to be the path to God either through gimmicks, false religion, cults, or atheism which itself leads to an empty life of serving the god of Self.

Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. John 10:7-9

So how do we enter this gate, follow this one true path? It is so ridiculously simple that the very idea is scoffed at, even by some religious people. Here is a truth you should hold onto forever: Jesus Plus anything else is not Christianity. Any time someone tells you that Jesus is not enough, you are in false religion territory. Every Christian cult on this planet will present you with a Jesus+ formula to get to heaven, as if Jesus is not enough to save you.

“The Sinner's Prayer” is presented with variations in Christian churches. But it is essentially this: Jesus, I confess I am a sinner in need of Salvation. Please forgive my sins and come into my heart so I can be Yours forever. Amen.

The Bible puts it this way:

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Romans 3:23 (NASB)

For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 (NASB)

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:28 (NASB)

that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. Romans 10:9-10 (NASB)

Once you have prayed the Sinner's Prayer and become Born Again, then what?

Ideally you find a church, start reading your Bible, begin praying (talking) to God. You grow as a Christian and your life will bear fruit, will show the changes within you by the actions on the outside. But you must keep in mind it is not right actions, or as the Bible says it “good works” that either save you or keep you saved, that was already accomplished by the finished works of Jesus on the Cross when He died for your and my sins. What right actions do is please God and can show to others that you are now different, your life has changed for the better. Good actions can be a witness to others about how God changed you.

Nevertheless, sin can still be a problem, though hopefully less so for you. Any Christian who says they have never sinned after being saved is a liar. We still live in a world of sin, and in a body prone to the effects of sin. We don’t need to continue to be saved over and over again, but we do need to confess our sins to God when they happen. And with the help of the Holy Spirit who entered us when we became born again we can change our bad behavior with God’s help. Thankfully we have a God who is merciful and patient with us.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 (NASB)

When you are saved, born again, your position in heaven has been secured by Jesus. Sin will be a problem until we get to heaven, but by placing your faith, trust, in Jesus you have been giving a new life and a way to find forgiveness and help on the path Jesus paved for us as we walk toward heaven, to our eternal home.

So don’t be misled by fine sounding religious platitudes. Never accept the lie that there are lots of ways to heaven. While it is true that we each find Jesus in different ways, some at church, some at revivals or other religious meetings, and some even in bars or within prison walls, Jesus is still and will always be the only way anyone enters heaven’s gates.