Is Christianity the only way to God & Heaven?  To begin with there are many scriptures to consider:

·     “Hear oh, Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.” (Deuteronomy 6:4)

·     “’You are My witnesses,’ says the Lord, ‘and My servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He.  Before Me there was no God formed, nor shall there be after Me. I, even I, am the Lord, and besides Me there is no Saviour.” (Isaiah 43: 10-11)

·     “Jesus said, ‘I am the way, the truth and the life, no man cometh unto the Father except by me.’” (John 14:6)

·     “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30)

·     “Jesus said, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber… I am the door. If anyone enters by Me he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.’” (John 10: 1, 9)

·     “Jesus replied, ‘before Abraham was, I am.’” (John 8:58)

·     “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His gory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”  (John 1:1, 14)

·     “’I am the Alpha & Omega, the Beginning and the End,’ sayeth the Lord, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelations 1:8)

Jesus plainly taught that the only way to God and to Heaven was to believe in Jesus, Himself… there was no other way.  In fact, Jesus said that anyone who denied Jesus Christ would have no part in the kingdom of God that in fact, if a person denied Jesus then God the Father would deny that person.  (Luke 12: 8-9, Matthew 10:32-33)The only way to heaven and to be a child of God, is to believe in Jesus Christ as the only begotten Son and Word of the Father.  Jesus said unless a man be born again, he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.  (John 3:5) Therefore, only in Christianity is salvation found… scripture says again, “there is no other name by which men can be saved, but only in the name of Jesus Christ.” (Acts 4:12)

Not all faiths that claim to be “Christian” are truly Christian.  There are many false doctrines and heresies that have been around since the very beginning of the Church.  The Church has faithfully for 2,000 years proclaimed the Divinity and the Humanity of Jesus Christ and the doctrine of the Trinity, one in essence and undivided: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

There are a number of false “Christian” faiths in our American culture.  Jesus said that we needed to be wise as serpents and gentle as doves.  He warned that there would be wolves in sheep’s clothing and there would be false prophets, false teachers, false shepherds and “anti-christ’s” tools of the devil to try and deceive people and lead them astray.  (Matthew 7:15, 22-23; Mark 13:21-23; 2 Peter 2:1,10-22; 1 John 2:18-19, 22-23 4:1-3) Two false “faiths” are the Jehovah’s Witness and Mormonism.  The Jehovah’s Witness Church teaches false doctrine and heresies.  They deny the “deity” of Christ, deny that Jesus was “the only begotten Son of God”… they changed the Holy Scriptures and say that Jesus was “a” god, one of many gods.  Mormonism also teaches false doctrine and heresies.  They deny some of the same things related to Christ’s deity and humanity and His uniqueness as the only begotten Son of God, they have added to scriptures, they deny the Trinity, they believe in many gods and that someday we will become gods and create our own worlds and have spiritual children of our own.

Our response to those who do not hold to the teachings of the Bible, the Apostles, and the Traditions of Historic Church is by following the commandment to love people, because each is made in the image of God and God desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.   Clearly Christ teaches us to love others and by our example and our faithfulness to the Word of God, be light and salt in this world.  We are also told to hold fast and firm to the teachings of the Apostles and the Word of God and to proclaim it boldly.

If someone is of another faith, is this person going to hell?  Christ tells us it is not up to us to judge another person.  We are to judge right from wrong, truth from lies, wrongful actions are to be condemned and consequences given out for the wrongs committed.  Someone recently said to me, it is not for us to judge whether a snake is good or evil, but rather is it poisonous or not and to be discerning so that deadly venom does not enter into our hearts and cause death.  We are in no place to judge another person’s heart.  Only God sees the heart of each individual.  There are many people that are in the “wrong” religion however, only God knows their heart and we cannot be a judge, only God is the judge.  Jesus does command us to go and “preach the gospel” to everyone so that they may come into the truth and have Christ enter into their hearts, to worship Him not only in spirit, but in Truth and enter into relationship with Him that He might transform our lives for His glory and we can eternally worship and be with God in heaven.

Ultimately, truth is not only scriptures, teachings, or doctrines, but Truth is a Person, that Person being Jesus Christ the Son of God.  If one wants to find Truth, that person must turn to Jesus, who was fully God and fully man, a part of the Holy Trinity.  If one denies Jesus, they deny truth and are deceived and in bondage to a lie.  If one is deceived and in bondage, that is one who should not be condemned, but prayed for and helped until brought into truth and freedom.  It is appropriate then to pray for and be kind to those of other faiths, and at the same time, to hold firmly to the “True” church and the “True” Christian faith, and pray for the opportunity to lead others into that Truth.