Most Christians think Jesus was a liar. Jesus is described in many ways. Wonderful Counselor, Savior, Son of Man, Son of God, Wise Teacher, The Messiah, and dozens of other titles. But there is one title not normally associated with Jesus, and that is “Liar”.
But that is apparently what most Christians think. Now, if you asked them outright if Jesus was a liar, they would probably say emphatically “NO!”. So why would I make such a bold statement?
Recent Study Finds 70% Of Christians Think This
A recent study found that 70% of professing Christians believe that other religions can lead you to heaven. That is a solid majority. And it’s not terribly surprising considering our culture’s widespread demand for tolerance. And yes, this sounds very tolerant and accepting. There is just one problem. This isn’t what Jesus believed.
While we tend to focus on Jesus as a “nice guy”, we do this at the risk of not getting a complete picture of who Jesus was. Yes, He was kind and forgiving. But He also hated sin. Things angered Him. And he had very firm ideas on salvation.
What Did Jesus Believe About Salvation?
Jesus was very clear on what He believed about salvation. I am going to list some verses below that show His opinion on the subject. I will give you some spoilers though. He doesn’t say that He is one of many ways to heaven. He doesn’t say the path is wide that leads to salvation, and he doesn’t preach tolerance on the subject. Here are just a few verses that show what Jesus thought about salvation:
John 14:6 (NKJV)
6 Jesus said to him, “I am fthe way, gthe truth, and hthe life. iNo one comes to the Father jexcept through Me.[1]
Matthew 7:13–14 (NKJV)
13 k“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 3Because narrow is the gate and 4difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.[2]
Luke 6:46
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, r‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who sdoes the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we tnot prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And uthen I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; vdepart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’[3]
John 15:6 (NKJV)
6 If anyone does not abide in Me, ghe is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. [4]
But Is Jesus Right?
Ok, so Jesus said these things. He clearly thought he was the only way to heaven. But was he right? Why should we believe His claims anyway? Wasn’t He just one of many ancient wise teachers?
The problem with this line of thinking is that Jesus doesn’t leave that option open to us. He makes very explicit claims. He claims to be God. And there are only 3 possibilities when we see Jesus claim to be God.
He is who He said He was, which is God incarnate. The second option, as C.S. Lewis says in his “Lord, Liar Lunatic” argument is He was a “Lunatic on the same level as a man who claims he is a poached egg”. The final option is that He knew he wasn’t God, but claimed it anyway, in which case He was a liar. And this is why I made the connection in the opening of this post.
What Do You Think?
I understand the desire Christians have to be liked. It’s natural. But it is not our calling as Christians to be liked. Our calling is to bear witness to the truth. And sometimes telling the truth can be hard.
The interesting part of this is that Christians seem to be under the impression that only Christianity teaches exclusivism. This is not true. The majority of major religions throughout the world teach that they hold the correct beliefs on salvation or enlightenment and that we as Christians are wrong in our beliefs.
If you want to believe religions other than Christianity will get you to heaven, that is your right. But to do that, you have to not only ignore the teachings of Jesus but also have to believe He flat out lied. And that is an assertion that should make any Christian stop and think about what they are saying.
Discuss your thoughts on this post on our Facebook Group here.
f [John 10:9; Rom. 5:2; Eph. 2:18; Heb. 9:8; 10:19, 20]
g [John 1:14, 17; 8:32; 18:37]
h [John 11:25]
i 1 Tim. 2:5
j [John 10:7–9; Acts 4:12]
[1] The New King James Version. (1982). (Jn 14:6). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
k Luke 13:24
3 NU, M How narrow …!
4 confined
[2] The New King James Version. (1982). (Mt 7:13–14). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
r Hos. 8:2; Matt. 25:11; Luke 6:46; Acts 19:13
s Rom. 2:13; James 1:22
t Num. 24:4
u Matt. 25:12; Luke 13:25; [2 Tim. 2:19]
v Ps. 5:5; 6:8; [Matt. 25:41]; Luke 13:27
[3] The New King James Version. (1982). (Mt 7:21–23). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
g Matt. 3:10
[4] The New King James Version. (1982). (Jn 15:6). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
