We live today in a pluralistic society; in cities we interact with people from every conceivable background and belief. This is also a society that holds freedom of conscience as an ideal: the government does not have the authority to compel its citizens to believe one thing or another. In the last century, more than ever before, Christian missionaries have been engaging cultures around the world that have had their own established religion, and their own way of thinking, for hundreds or thousands of years. It is in this context that many Christians have begun to wonder if theirs is the only "right" way to heaven.
I won't seek here to prove Christianity over against other forms of belief, or to demonstrate the objectivity of truth. (I may do so in later articles.) In this essay, I want briefly to establish that if one accepts as true what the Bible says about reality, it necessarily follows that there is only one way to heaven. For this reason, I will make my case only on beliefs which are common to evangelical Christians. I've placed supporting verses in a separate paragraph for easier reading, but I encourage you to search these Scriptures to see if these things are true.
The first key is understanding certain things about God. The Bible teaches that there is only one God, and His name is Yahweh (a name we often render Jehovah or LORD in English). This one God does not accept worship of other gods as worship of Himself, and they are in fact not gods at all. Yahweh is the Creator and Ruler of all the universe, and of all people, giving Him rightful authority over His creatures. While God acts with complete freedom, doing what He wishes, He is a God of order and purpose, not arbitrary, and He always acts in accord with His character. Yahweh is a God of righteousness, and everything He does is just. God's justice requires that He punish sin, and He will not leave the guilty unpunished. He cannot simply pardon sins unless a penalty is exacted. Further, if God is just in punishing sin, then He is under no obligation to offer pardon to anyone.
The second key is understanding certain things about humanity. Every person is created by God with the ability to make decisions for which he or she is morally accountable to God. The first humans, Adam and Eve, were created in a state of innocence, but when they sinned, a horrible judgment took place: they and their descendants inherited condemnation and bondage to sin. As a result, we are sinful by nature. Every person has sinned and thus deserves God's wrath, not His blessing. The Bible reveals that our sinfulness against God is so severe that it merits eternal punishment. Since our deserved destiny is hell, we need salvation to be provided for us to enter heaven. Heaven is not the default destination of humanity.
The third key is understanding what Christians mean by salvation. Since our sin requires such a great penalty to be paid, salvation from hell must involve a payment of that penalty. Yahweh has provided that the penalty for sin can be paid by a substitute. That substitute was Jesus Christ, who voluntarily offered Himself as a sacrifice to take away sins. God's wrath concerning those sins is pacified, so that those whose sins are thus forgiven can stand guiltless before God, fully reconciled. For God to provide salvation in this manner, offering His own perfect Son to save sinners in violent rebellion against Him, demonstrates extraordinary love and grace. This was certainly not something we deserve, nor is everyone saved by this act. God has declared that this is the only way to be saved. We call this message the gospel.
We are then ready to deal with the question, who is saved this way? At what point do I know that I am saved, or what must I do to experience the benefits of this salvation? The Bible speaks of three elements that are always present in a saved person. It is important to remember that, as explained above, nothing we can do saves us. We are saved by the gracious sacrifice of Christ, and these benefits are bestowed on us by God. One element is regeneration (also called rebirth, or being born again). This is an act of God giving the person a new heart, one that desires to do what is right. This is pictured as resurrection from spiritual death. A second is faith, which involves acceptance of and reliance on Christ as He is revealed in the apostles' testimony (i.e., the Bible today). Faith is both a gift from God and an act of our trusting in Him. The third is repentance, a turning from sin to pursue love and obedience. While this is also something we must choose to do, the Bible also speaks of it as a gift from God. Theologians debate just how these relate to one another and how they can be both acts of God and acts of men, but at least these two things are clear: it is the responsibility of every person on earth to believe in Christ and live a life of repentance; and everyone who does so has heaven to look forward to.
One objection that is often raised is that those who have never heard the gospel have no opportunity to receive it through faith and repentance. A second is that many people who live moral lives simply do not believe what Christianity teaches. They are devout Jews, Muslims, Hindus, or some other worldview. What is important to remember is that all deserve hell; none are without excuse (Rom. 1-2), and that God is not under obligation to bestow the grace of salvation equally to everyone (Matt. 20). People are not sent to hell for failing to hear the gospel, or for rejecting it; they are sent to hell because they are sinners. The only ultimate difference between me and the one who faces judgment is God's grace; it is not because I am somehow superior. Recognize, secondly, that God bestows grace on all, even those who are not saved (Matt. 5:45). God allows many sinners to live lengthy, prosperous lives on this earth before bringing them to judgment; and He often gives them many opportunities to repent.
Finally, let us remember that salvation is not just a ticket to heaven. Involved in salvation are a changed heart, belief in God's truth, obedience to His laws–which is so blessed a thing in itself that the longest chapter in the Bible is a poem praising it (Psa. 119), fellowship with God, prayer, entrance into the community of believers, sanctification, and the comforting and enabling presence of the Holy Spirit. Without all this we are still in bondage to sin and spiritually dead, separated from God. Is it really conceivable that God would be so gracious as to grant an unrepentant sinner eternal life and not give access to these blessings as well? These blessings are promised to all who are saved, so if God were to save someone isolated from the gospel, we would expect the person to manifest the same evidences of salvation as the rest: faith in Christ as the Son of God, and repentance from sin, with a life consciously lived for the glory of Yahweh and an affection for the church.
The exclusive nature of Christianity should not produce pride in us Christians as an elect elite. Rather, it should engender a real urgency to preach the gospel across the world, especially among those peoples it has not yet reached, regardless of geographical, cultural, or legal barriers. These people will not be saved without our aggressive witness (Rom 10:14-15).
For a concise statement of my beliefs about salvation, see my Declaration of Faith.
