I truly believe Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation. Jesus made the following statement in John 14:6, I am the way the , the truth and the life: No man comes to the father, but by me.
There are three interesting verses found in proverbs that add some emphasis on this statement made by Jesus.
Proverb 14:12 There is a way which seems right to a man but in the end thereof (man's way), are the ways of death.
Proverbs 14:14 states: The backslider in his heart shall be filled with his own ways and a good man shall be satisfied from himself.
Proverbs 16: 2 states: All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the spirits.
The key word to this question is WAY. In this season of post modernism and secular humanistic philosophy the importance of Jesus Christs purpose on Earth has been challenged. It has been desecrated with intellectual minimization of absolutes. There are moral and truths that are absolutes. I believe that Jesus Christ is the lynch pin that holds the keys to our spiritual identity and destiny. Consequently, he is the way to salvation.
The rejection of Jesus Christ is an indication of our pride, selfishness and need for salvation. There are biblical, acceptance across different religions and historical evidence of the existence of Jesus Christ. However only the believer accepts his divinity as the only begotten son of God. It is interesting that the majority of the major religions, historians confirm the good works that Jesus did. He was a righteous man that did miracles and made statements that proved he was the anticipated Messiah.
How is the work Jesus proclaimed to do rejected? If his work as the Saviour of the world is not good enough for us, Is it possible for our good work to be acceptable for salvation? Can we save ourselves? Are we sinless? I believe Jesus Christ was the only man to live a sinless life and live a life of complete submission to the will of the Father. Therefore his life is the only acceptable sacrifice for our salvation.
The big controversy is all the people who have never heard of Jesus Christ. However in order to be saved or to recieve salvation we must believe in our heart and confess with our mouth that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. We must believe he died for our sins and rose from the dead to free us from sin. We must accept the fact that we are a sinner and repent for forgiveness. I think the more important question is not those who have not heard but those who have heard and refuse to believe.
The holy bible speaks of believers and Non believers. In order to fall in either category you must have heard the message of Jesus Christ. I know we have a loving GOD and I believe he provided a way not many ways to salvation. God is the only righteous judge and we must trust that will judge all people righteously.
Our personal God complex and our sinfulness causes us to reject things we don't fully understand and fail to repent of our own evil ways. Many reject Jesus as God but we conduct ourselves as gods by our pride, partial judgements and experiences. Our God complex tell us our way is right, we can fix ourselves, we are righteous people, we don't need a saviour because we have our own truth to live by.
One of the big mistakes we make is seeing the acceptance of Jesus as a religion or being a christian. There are many people who claim to be christians that are not saved because they have not accepted Jesus. We must have a relationship not a religion. A religion can not lead you to salvation. Only a relationship with Christ can.
Religion is a way. It is nothing more than a form of social control. It is man's system or understanding of how to relate to God and conduct himself on Earth. Jesus was not a religious man he was a spiritual man. He left an example for us to follow and a life we could receive in our heart through him.
Any rational person knows there is good and evil influences operating in our world. All of us have done evil things. Sadly we think if our good outweighs our bad we will obtain salvation. This is religion in a nutshell, if I do certain good acts I will become a good person. I am worthy of salvation. Men hide behind religion whether formal or informal but the real you is in your heart. Jesus is the only way to salvation. No man can hide behind him because his light exposes our sin and reveals God's Love for us.