Isn't there more than one way to God?
What Jesus said about Himself, and what Peter, John, and Paul said after Him.
The short answer Settled
No. Jesus said no one comes to the Father except through Him. His apostles said the same: whoever does not have the Son does not have life, no other name has been given by which anyone must be saved, and there is one Mediator between God and men.
In Jesus' own words
Jesus did not present Himself as one teacher among many. He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (). "No one" leaves no exception, and "except through Me" names the only way.
He said it more than once, and in more than one picture. "I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved" (). He also said what follows for those who refuse Him: "if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins" ().
What the apostles said
John wrote that God "has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son" (). Then he closed off every other source of it: "He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life" ().
Peter stood before the same council that had handed Jesus over, and named "Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead" (). Then he said, "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" ().
Paul put it in one line: "there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus" (). A mediator stands between two parties to bring them together. As there is one God, there is one Mediator.
The usual objection
Many people hold that God receives sincere people by more than one road. A good person of any faith who lives up to what he believes can reach God his own way. To say there is only one way sounds narrow, even unkind.
Scripture does not say sincerity is worthless. It says sincerity cannot make a second road where God has given one. A man can sincerely believe the bridge is still standing, but if the river took it in the night, his sincerity will not carry him across. Jesus did not call Himself the best way, but the way, and said that no one comes to the Father except through Him. And the one way is open to anyone: "If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved" ().
The words behind it
| Word | Where | Form | What it shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| οὐδεὶς … εἰ μὴ δι’ ἐμοῦ oudeis … ei mē di' emou, "No one … except through Me" (Strong's 3762, 1487, 3361, 1223) | Negative adjective; "except" with preposition and pronoun | No exception, and one way named. | |
| ὁ μὴ ἔχων τὸν υἱὸν … τὴν ζωὴν οὐκ ἔχει ho mē echōn ton huion … tēn zōēn ouk echei, "he who does not have the Son … does not have life" (2192, 5207, 2222) | Present participle and present indicative, both negated | Having life depends on having the Son. | |
| οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν ἄλλῳ οὐδενὶ ouk estin en allō oudeni, "Nor is there … in any other" (243, 3762) | Two negatives together | Salvation is in no one else at all. | |
| ὄνομα … ἕτερον τὸ δεδομένον onoma … heteron to dedomenon, "other name … given" (3686, 2087, 1325) | Noun; perfect passive participle | No other name has been given for it. | |
| εἷς … εἷς καὶ μεσίτης heis … heis kai mesitēs, "one … and one Mediator" (1520, 3316) | The word "one," twice | One God, and one go-between. |
No textual variants affect the conclusion.
This study checks the Greek Received Text against the Majority Text, and the written Hebrew against its traditional reading. If a difference could change a conclusion, this note explains it. Otherwise it says that none does.