John 14: Is Jesus Really the Only Way to God?

Introduction

In church, the question seems simple. We sing that the name of Jesus is above every name, we hear sermons about him, we say "amen" and we go home. But what happens when a Muslim, a Buddhist, a Hindu or an atheist calls your faith into question?

That Sunday at Hope Church Perth, in Australia, Ervin is not preaching as part of a series. He asked the Lord what topic to share, and he settled on a question you rarely hear: Is Jesus Christ the only way to God?

He observes that when they run out of arguments, many Christians fall back on a formula: "We worship the same God, there's no point debating it." We keep being told that all roads lead to God and that everyone can believe what they want, as long as they don't claim their belief is the only true one. This is what he calls "the scandal of the one way."

Outline of the message

1. "I am the way," not "a way"

The answer has to begin with Jesus himself: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me" (John 14:6).
Jesus does not say, "I am one way among others." He says, "I am the way." The definite article leaves no room for any other path.
Why Jesus and not another guru, another master or another avatar? Why should the world believe in a Jewish Messiah? Is it an arrogant claim? To answer, the preacher starts with the Jesus of history.

2. Is Jesus a copy of the pagan gods?

A widespread objection: long before Christianity, Greek mythology already had gods born of a virgin, gods who die and rise again, savior gods who perform miracles. Since the New Testament was written in Greek, the Gospel writers supposedly just copied these stories.
Ervin answers that Greek was the common language of the time, not the source of the message. The theological roots of Christianity are Jewish, not pagan: Jesus and his apostles are Jews, and the message is rooted in the Hebrew Scriptures, their promises, their prophecies, the covenant and the Messiah.
His illustration: "If I preach the Gospel in English, does that make Christianity an Australian invention?" Of course not.

3. Did Jesus go to India to learn?

As a young convert, the preacher heard a roommate tell him he did not believe in Jesus, because Jesus had supposedly gone to India to learn from the gurus. Since the teacher is greater than the student, Hinduism would be better than Christianity.
There is no credible ancient historical evidence of Jesus traveling to India, Tibet or any other distant country. These are only conjectures. The preacher adds that he sees no resemblance between Christianity and Hinduism or Buddhism.
The Bible does not tell in detail the life of Jesus between the ages of 12 and 30. At 12, Joseph and Mary take him to Jerusalem for the Passover. They search for him for three days and find him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. He then goes back to Nazareth and remains subject to them (Luke 2:41-52).
He was most likely a carpenter: Mark 6:3 calls him "the carpenter" and Matthew 13:55 "the carpenter's son." He probably learned the trade from Joseph.

4. Is an exclusive claim necessarily arrogant?

Every truth claim is, by nature, exclusive. All worldviews are: Islam claims that Muhammad is the last prophet, Christianity that Jesus is God and the only Savior of humanity, Buddhism denies the existence of a creator God. The preacher also points out that Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, came from Hinduism and founded his own religion.
You have to distinguish between the claim and the attitude of the person making it. Imagine a doctor who tells you, "This treatment is the only one that cures this disease." Would you accuse him of arrogance? The only question is whether he is telling the truth.
Christianity does not claim that Christians are morally superior to others. "We too are sinners who need the grace of God to be saved."
Jesus did not present himself as one teacher among others. Peter confirms it: "There is salvation in no one else" (Acts 4:12). Paul writes to Timothy: "There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5). According to the preacher, no founder of a religion has claimed that title, neither the Buddha nor Muhammad.
Imagine you have fallen to the bottom of a well. The first person gives you a lesson on climbing techniques, the second gives you a book on the history of wells, the third explains how to stay safe at the bottom. The fourth takes a ladder and helps you climb back up to safety. That is what Jesus did: he is not just a good teacher, he is the bridge, the one who opened the way so that we could be saved.

5. Do all religions say the same thing?

You often hear: "All religions teach people to be good, they simply give different names to God: Yahweh, Allah, Brahman, Shiva, Vishnu."
The preacher admits it: most religions have similar teachings on moral responsibility, spiritual discipline or prayer. They do not teach people to kill. But their central claims are different.
Christianity affirms that God is personal and that salvation is found in Christ alone. Islam rejects the divine sonship of Jesus and the Trinity. Hindu and Buddhist traditions have a different understanding of God and of ultimate reality.
When someone tells you that all religions are equally valid, you can gently ask a question: "Do you believe Jesus is God, or only a prophet?" Christianity and Islam do not answer it the same way.

6. What about those who have never heard of Jesus?

The preacher addresses a question he himself describes as emotionally difficult: what happens to infants who die shortly after birth, to people with a mental disability who cannot understand, to those who live deep in the Amazon or in mountains never reached by missionaries? And what about the Muslim who prays faithfully, the Hindu who is generous to the poor, the compassionate Buddhist, the honest atheist?
He first answers that sincerity and truth are not the same thing. You can be sincere and sincerely wrong: "There is a way which seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death" (Proverbs 14:12).
The Bible does not give a precise answer, but it gives principles. God has given sufficient evidence of his existence through creation, "that they may be without excuse" (Romans 1:20). And Romans 2 speaks of the law written on the heart and of the conscience: even in the depths of the jungle, human beings know what is right and what is wrong.
He adds: "We are not God." We do not know a person's eternal destiny, and we must not set ourselves up as judges of souls. "Shouldn't the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Genesis 18:25). God knows the circumstances, the motives and every hidden detail of the heart.

7. The resurrection, then the invitation

The resurrection is the foundation of the Christian faith: "If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and your faith also is in vain" (1 Corinthians 15:14), "you are still in your sins" (verse 17).
Without the resurrection, Jesus would be no different from the other founders of religions. But if he rose on the third day, his words "I am the way, the truth, and the life" cannot be ignored.
And what if someone replies, "Only your Bible says that"? The preacher cites outside sources: the historians Tacitus, Flavius Josephus and Suetonius, and Pliny the Younger, a Roman governor. He does not go into their texts, but according to him, they all confirm that Jesus really existed.
Christianity is the story of God coming down to save humanity. Many want to reach God by their own merits: "I'll go to heaven because I'm a good person." But it is God who comes to us: he became a man in Jesus, he lived, he died and he rose again.
This invitation is not reserved for one race, one nation or one social class. It is offered to everyone, everywhere. That is why Jesus sends his disciples to all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, promising to be with them to the end of the age (Matthew 28:19-20).
Proclaiming with courage does not mean quarreling. You can reason with everyone without arguing, defend your faith with sound reasons and live with humility. The Jesus who declared himself the only way also commanded his disciples to love their neighbor. The Gospel is not about our goodness, but about God's grace toward us in Jesus.
"But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). "I have loved you with an everlasting love" (Jeremiah 31:3).

Key takeaways

Jesus does not present himself as one way among others: he says, "I am the way" (John 14:6).
Christianity is rooted in the Hebrew Scriptures, not in Greek mythology, and no credible ancient source attests to a journey of Jesus to India.
Every worldview is exclusive. The question is not whether a claim is exclusive, but whether it is true.
You can be sincere and sincerely wrong. God alone judges, and he will judge with justice.
The resurrection sets Jesus apart from all the founders of religions. It is God who comes down to us, and his invitation is for everyone.

Personal application

When your faith is called into question, do you hide behind "we all worship the same God" to avoid the conversation?
Which of the objections in this message have you already heard? How would you answer it today, with gentleness?
Are you counting, even a little, on being "a good person" to be accepted by God?
Who in your family, your neighborhood or your workplace has never really heard the Gospel? How could you share it with them this week, without quarreling and with humility?
What part of your life shows others the grace you have received, rather than your own merits?

Verses cited

Frequently asked questions

Is it arrogant to say that Jesus is the only way to God?

For Ervin, every truth claim is exclusive: Islam, Buddhism and Christianity affirm different things. The real question is not whether a claim is exclusive, but whether it is true. Christians do not claim to be morally superior: they are sinners who need the grace of God.

What happens to someone who has never heard of Jesus?

The preacher acknowledges that the Bible does not give a precise answer, but it gives principles: God makes himself known through creation (Romans 1:20) and through the conscience (Romans 2). We are not the judges of souls. The Judge of all the earth will do right (Genesis 18:25).

Why is the resurrection decisive for the Christian faith?

Because, according to 1 Corinthians 15:14-17, if Christ has not been raised, our faith is in vain. Without the resurrection, Jesus would be just one founder of a religion among others. If he rose again, his words "I am the way, the truth, and the life" cannot be ignored.