This post is written by Shaq Hardy as a companion for Unit 25, Session 5 of The Gospel Project for Adults, Volume 9: From Death to Resurrection (Fall 2023).
In John 14, Jesus told His disciples that He was going to go away to prepare a place for His disciples. Thomas responded by saying/asking: “We don’t know where you’re going. How can we know the way?” Thomas’s question came from a genuine desire to be with Jesus. He and the other disciples didn’t fully understand that Jesus had come to die and rise from the dead to save the world from sin.
Jesus responds in John 14:6-7 by saying: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” Verse 6 is one of the most quoted verses in all of John’s gospel. Jesus’s statement is an emphatic and authoritative statement that there is no other way to the Father except through Him.
Many people believe that all religions lead to the same place, thus claiming that there is no such thing as absolute truth. For something to be absolutely true, it must be true at all times in all places. Many people say that absolute truth doesn’t exist when it comes to God because they believe that all religions lead to the same God. There are primarily two problems with that line of thinking. One, the statement refutes itself. To claim that there is no absolute truth is a statement of absolute truth. Two, every religion claims their way to be the way to God, and they all contradict each other. If Jesus says He is the way and Buddha says that nirvana is the way, they can’t both be right.
Jesus’s claim to be the only way to get to God differs from all other religions because every other religion essentially says that you must do something in hopes that what you do is good enough to get to heaven. Jesus, on the other hand, says that you’re a sinner who can’t be good enough, but you can be justified through His work if you place your faith in Him.
There is only one way to get to God and that is through Jesus. The offensive nature of that statement is also the reason why it’s so encouraging for those who believe because Jesus, the only way, made it possible for humanity to be reconciled to God. Through His life, death, burial, and resurrection, Jesus made salvation possible. We are justified, or made right with God, through faith in Jesus. We can’t save ourselves. We can’t work hard enough to get to Jesus. We can’t be good enough to earn the love and acceptance of the Father. But the good news of the gospel is that Jesus fulfilled the necessary requirements for our salvation in our place. There are many paths that have made the claim to be the way to God. Jesus is the only way to get to the one true God. All other religions do lead to the same place—hell apart from God and His beloved Son, our Savior.
Shaq Hardy is the president of the Orphan No More Foundation and has dedicated himself to working toward helping kids without families become orphans no more. Shaq has served as an itinerant preacher for the past ten years and served as a full-time student pastor for six years.
