The Only Road to Glory

What would you give up to spend eternity with Jesus? What would you be willing to lose for His sake here on earth? What do you think the cost of entering heaven really is? Pause to think about these questions for a moment.

Today, I want to give you a clear and concise answer to the question, “How do I get to heaven.” According to Wikipedia, there are anywhere between 4,000 and 10,000 distinct religions around the world. Most of the global population follows one of the “Big 4” religions: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Every single religion makes absolute claims about the nature of God, the nature of mankind, and how to live a good life. By an absolute claim, I mean that each religion claims to possess unique and authoritative truth. Most religions believe in some form of afterlife as well, though it can look radically different between faiths. Each person must commit in their mind and heart to what they believe regarding God, life, and death.

We experience life like a journey. Each one of us walks down the winding path of life, experiencing the valleys and the mountain top experiences. I firmly believe there is only one road that truly leads to glory in heaven. Christianity is the only true religion that explains who God is and how to enter heaven. Every other religion preaches some form of works-based salvation. This means that God is a being that must be appeased by the works or worship that we give him. Christianity doesn’t teach that we must do something for God, but rather it reveals what God has done for us.

Here’s my point: confident trust in the completed work of Jesus Christ is the only way to enter heaven. Jesus says this to one of His disciples the night before He was crucified: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 This absolute claim is radically different from any other truth claim religions make. It should shake us to our core when we understand what Jesus is truly saying here. In two sweeping statements, Jesus declares that all other religions are false, misleading, and destructive.

Jesus claims to be the only way, truth, and life. He is exclusively the only person who intercedes between God and Man perfectly. We can see the exclusive nature of God in the Old Testament as well. In the Old Testament, God designed a Tabernacle where His presence would dwell with Israel. Because God is Holy and Righteous, a curtain separated the place where the Ark of the Covenant sat and the rest of the sanctuary. Another example is Nadab and Abihu, sons of Aaron, tried to offer unauthorized incense before God. The Lord killed them instantly for their presumptions and practicing false worship. In Numbers 17:5, Aaron and his sons are picked by God as the only ones who can minister as priests. These three examples remind us of how exclusive God is. Jesus presents Himself as the only one who gives access to the Father.

What makes Jesus unique? Acts 4:11-12 says, “11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 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 4:11-12 Jesus is the only one who gives access to God, the Father. He came as a servant of all mankind, but we know that not all will receive Him or pursue Him. Apart from Jesus, there is no way to get to God. Jesus also fully reflects the truth of God in ways that no one else can. He reveals God’s heart behind the Law, and the Prophets. He taught the masses with incredible authority and proved through His miracles that He was the Messiah. Jesus reveals the truth about God in the way He treated others as well. Jesus is the truth of God made flesh. Jesus also offers eternal life with God through faith in Him. There is no spiritual life for mankind apart from what is given by Jesus.

Imagine that Heaven is like a foreign country. The only way to legally travel around the world is with a passport. It’s no different with Heaven. This passport tells the truth about where you came from, how old you are, and other important information about you. It gives solemn testimony to your identity as a citizen of that country. Life without a passport in a foreign country is incredibly dangerous, and hard to navigate. You can’t get a job, you can’t travel around inside the country, and you constantly fear getting caught and deported. Like a passport, Jesus is the only way, truth, and life for a believer. No one can enter heaven, except through faith in Him.

What makes Jesus so special? Why does He have exclusive claims to access to God? Paul answers this question by first revealing how sinful and corrupt we really are. In Ephesians 2:1-3, Paul reveals that by nature mankind is spiritually dead in sin. We are held captive by Satan to vain and false worship. As slaves to sin and wrath, we loved our sin and pursued it wholeheartedly. The Bible minces no words when it describes our hearts before God saved us. No one is exempt from these claims.

But then God reveals the most amazing truth imaginable. Despite all our sin God gives grace beyond grace to sinners. Ephesians 2:8-10 says, “8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10 This grace is God’s favor on those who have rebelled against His Law and sinned against Him. It is entirely a gift from God, undeserved and completely free. Faith is the confident trust and reliance on Jesus Christ, and it is the only means by which someone can be granted salvation. Both grace and faith are a gift from God. The word “this” clearly refers to grace and faith in the previous sentence. Saving faith is a gift from God, just as much as sanctifying grace is.

To understand God’s saving work in the life of believers, I want you to imagine a young, lonely orphan. He has been rejected by all until one day, a loving couple adopts him into their family. He didn’t apply to be in their family. He didn’t negotiate or set any terms with them. This orphan was simply chosen, welcomed, and loved. That’s what grace truly is. But once in the family, the orphan now begins to grow. He learns the family’s rules and tries to reflect his parents’ love. Salvation through grace and faith brings us into God’s Holy family, but we then must live out the good works that flow from being His children.

You cannot contribute to your salvation in any way, because then you would have grounds to boast in your own effort. Instead, God gives grace and faith sovereignly. It is God who fashions His children in Christlikeness. He does this by preparing many good and difficult things for His children to do.

God uses this work to shape Christians through trials, hardships, answered prayers, and blessings. Grace and faith are the root of all these good works. The good things Christians do are merely the fruit of the saving root. Jesus proves that He can accomplish these good works in His disciples through the most amazing miracle of all.

The Bible declares boldly that mankind is saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. God the Father can offer grace to sinners because of Jesus’ perfect and active obedience to Him. As a man, Jesus represented us in righteousness before God the Father. As God Himself, Jesus powerfully conquered sin and death for our sake. The reality of these glorious truths are clearly seen in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. The historical fact of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is the greatest proof that saving grace and faith are found in Jesus.

Paul says in Romans 10:9-10, “9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. Romans 10:9-10 In the context of these powerful verses, Paul proves that righteousness based on the law is futile. He boldly proclaims the gospel as the only means to enter heaven. You cannot work your way into heaven. No amount of philanthropy, no amount of charity, or effective leadership, or good deeds will ever pay for our sin before God. According to the Bible, the only steps necessary to enter heaven are to confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised His Son from the dead.

What does it really mean to confess Jesus as your Lord? First, it means that you recognize that you are not Lord over your own life. You cannot live as you please and you have to follow the rules of the kingdom. To confess that Jesus is Lord means you admit that you cannot say, think, or do whatever you want. Second, to confess Jesus is your Lord means that you publicly recognize your sin before others. You shine a light on the ugliness of your heart and submit to the Lordship of Jesus. In confessing Christ, our tongues agree with God about our sin, and our need for a Savior. We confess our need for Jesus and turn to Him as Lord, running into His open arms of love.

Finally, to confess Jesus as Lord means to be Kingdom focused. Your Lord commands you to expand His Kingdom by winning souls for Him. Every disciple is on a mission to evangelize the lost and direct them to their Lord. Jesus uses each one of His disciples in this powerful way, to see God’s Kingdom expand on earth.

Why does Paul say that disciples must believe that God raised Jesus from the dead? What is so important about the resurrection? The resurrection of Jesus is the single most important fact of Christianity. Without the resurrection there really is no point in being a Christian. Let’s talk about what the resurrection proves.

The resurrection proves that Jesus has the power to take away the penalty of sins. Jesus lived a sinless and perfect life before God the Father. The resurrection is the greatest proof that Jesus lived perfectly, because if He sinned even once, He couldn’t have been resurrected. The wages of sin is death. The resurrection proves that Jesus has the power to justify those who have faith in Him. Justification means that God declares a person righteous, cleansed from all their sins. Without the resurrection there is no hope that God forgives sinners.

The resurrection also proves that disciples of Jesus can change even now. Christians really do have power over sin and can grow in Christlikeness now. The fact that Jesus rose from the grave proves He has the power to change His disciples now. There is no sin too great, no enslavement to sin too powerful that the resurrection of Jesus cannot overcome. The power God used to raise Jesus from the dead is the same power He uses to change His children. The resurrection is the single greatest display of power in history, and Christians have access to that power in Jesus Christ.

Finally, the resurrection offers hope to Christians that God will raise us from the grave. True believers have hope through faith in Jesus’ resurrection that God will also raise us bodily from the grave. There is a new heaven and new earth that Christians will participate in. God will raise up His children from the grave, and the resurrection is our proof that this will take place. Without belief in the resurrection, a Christian’s faith is futile.

Paul boldly proclaims that to enter heaven, anyone simply has to confess with their mouth that Jesus is their Lord and believe in their heart that God raised Jesus from the dead. Notice that it doesn’t matter what country you are from, what your lineage is, what language you speak, or even the good deeds you do. Instead, salvation comes by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. I want to end this sermon with an appropriate warning.

The Bible is clear that not everyone will be saved. We must outright reject all universalist claims, that God will forgive all on the Day of Judgement. Jesus says in Matthew 7:13-14, 13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. Matthew 7:13-14 The only road to glory is through faith in Jesus Christ. All other religions are false roads that lead to destruction. All vain philosophies or world systems of thought will not lead you to heaven. It is only God’s grace through faith in Jesus that leads to life.

If you are trusting in Jesus, be encouraged! Keep striving to produce fruit for God’s Kingdom. The power you have to conquer sin in your life is the same power God used to raise Jesus from the dead.

If you are not believing on Jesus for eternal life, I call on you right now to repent and believe in Him. He will not cast out any who cry out to Him in faith. Submit to the Lord’s call today and experience the new life He offers.

Yours in Christ, Chris

A. Rice