Is Jesus the only Savior? Are there many paths to God and to salvation?

These questions raise the issue of religious pluralism — the idea that all religions, at least the ethical ones, lead to God and salvation. Often the claim is that all religions essentially teach the same truth. In a day characterized by tolerance and religious subjectivism, pluralism is quite appealing. Philosopher Ronald Nash has warned that pluralism “is one of the three or four most serious threats to the integrity of the Christian faith.”

To avoid confusion, one must distinguish between social pluralism and religious pluralism. Failure to do so often leads to religious pluralism being seriously misunderstood. Social pluralism means that a culture is diverse, consisting of adherents to various religions. In the United States, the Bill of Rights guarantees citizens the right to free exercise of religion. Christians, therefore, do not object to religious tolerance. Indeed, we believe that we are, as much as is possible, to live at peace with all people (Hebrews 12:14).

Unfortunately, many people unwittingly assume that equal toleration of religious expression implies that all religions are equally true. But the acceptance of social pluralism (tolerance of diverse religious expression), does not logically imply the truth of religious pluralism — that all religious truth claims are equally true.

Missiologist Harold A. Netland writes: “Careful examination of the basic tenets of the various religious traditions demonstrates that, far from teaching the same thing, the major religions have radically different perspectives concerning ultimate reality.”

Ravi Zacharias has rightly noted: “Anyone who claims that all religions essentially are the same betrays not only an ignorance of all religions but also a caricatured view of even the best-known ones.”

One might add that the claim that all religions essentially are the same is equally offensive to people of all religions, since attempts to reduce all religions to their lowest common denominator usually succeed only in distorting those religions.

Christianity is unique in its teaching that mankind’s ultimate problem is sin — willful rebellion against a personal, holy God. Equally unique is Christianity’s claim that forgiveness of sin and reconciliation to God comes only through genuine repentance of sin and faith in the loving, redemptive sacrifice of the God-man, Jesus Christ. Once one denies that Jesus is the only Savior, one is at a loss to explain why God became man and why the Father allowed the horrible death of His Son.

The early church clearly rejected religious pluralism, affirming that it is impossible to receive eternal life apart from belief in Jesus Christ. Before the rulers and elders in Jerusalem, Peter unabashedly proclaimed: “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

These early disciples derived their belief in Jesus as the exclusive means of eternal salvation from the Master Himself. In one of Jesus’ final conversations with His disciples, He revealed that He was departing to prepare a place for them. In that context He then made a significant claim about Himself: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). The word “I” in the original language is given great emphasis, meaning “I myself am the way, the truth and the life.” Jesus’ use of the definite article (the) in each instance underscores the exceptional nature of His role in God’s plan.

In the eyes of many people who otherwise have deep appreciation of Jesus, the Christian’s claim that salvation is only through Jesus is the height of arrogance. Yet it was not Christians but Jesus Himself who was so “narrow and intolerant.” Jesus Himself claimed to be the exclusive means of salvation.

The church must be warned: To deny that Jesus is the exclusive means of salvation cuts the nerve of evangelism and missions. Few Christians would or should contribute sacrificially, or leave family, friends, and the comforts of home to proclaim a message of salvation that is merely one way among many. Rather, a powerful impetus to evangelism and missions is contemplating the haunting questions of Romans 10:14: “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?”

The biblical mandate to proclaim the Gospel is a reminder that while the Gospel is exclusive in that it excludes all alternate paths to salvation, the Gospel also is radically inclusive. Jesus said: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). He commanded that His disciples go into all the world and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). Even the inhabitants of heaven reveal the inclusive nature of the Gospel: “And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation’ ” (Revelation 5:9).

Netland has directed Christians to the proper way to live in a pluralistic society: “Part of what drives the agenda for religious pluralism in the West today is the widespread perception that any form of ‘religious exclusivism’ undermines harmonious religious coexistence. The church must take these perceptions seriously and show a skeptical world that Christians can be strongly committed to Jesus Christ while also working to promote peaceful relations among religions. Christians must take the lead and demonstrate through concrete actions that we do accept in appropriate ways the ethnic, cultural, and religious diversity in the West. But at the same time, we cannot abandon our commitment to Jesus Christ as the one Lord and Savior for all peoples. So even as we accept Buddhists and Muslims as fellow human beings created in God’s image, we must also urge them to be reconciled to God by acknowledging Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.”

— Walter Johnson is dean of the College of Christian Studies at North Greenville University.