Sometimes people ask: Is there any other way, any other religion or method that will save a person besides coming to faith in Jesus Christ to receive the forgiveness available through His shed blood on the cross?

We find the answer in the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus prayed in anguish over the coming torturous death that He knew was ahead. He cried out:

“My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:39)

God’s answer was that this was the only way. Jesus had to die and shed His blood for the remission of our sins. It was the only way to save mankind. There was no other way. In John Chapter 10 Jesus talked about “other ways.” He said this:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber…Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved…I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (John 10:1,7-9,11)

Jesus made it clear that He was the only way of salvation. The Apostle Peter, speaking of Jesus, declared:

“There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

Jesus said there were many who come declaring another way of salvation rather than through Him. Jesus likened them to thieves and robbers. There have been many down through the years that some people have looked to for salvation: Buddha, Muhammed, Confucius, Joseph Smith, Rose Jones Aluli, and the list goes on.

Any church that emphasizes a person other than Jesus Christ, that teaches any way of salvation other than as a free gift through faith in Christ, is teaching another gospel. The Apostle Paul wrote: “If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:9)

To say that there is another way of salvation is to say that God was wrong. It is to say that Jesus didn’t need to die to save us from our sins. To say there is another way other than Christ’s death is to say that God Almighty was wrong and that He let Jesus die needlessly.

How do we know that Jesus is THE  way and that it is not through someone else? Here is how we know. There is one big difference between Jesus and those other religious leaders. All of them are dead and buried, except for Jesus Christ. On that first Easter Sunday Jesus rose from the dead and is alive forevermore. His tomb, and only his tomb, is empty. All those other religious leaders are dead and gone. That sets Jesus apart, proving that there is only one way of salvation – The Risen Lord!

 

 

Author: Mark Swarbrick

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