Why Jesus Is The Only Way -- By: Edward P. Meadors

Journal: Journal for Baptist Theology & Ministry
Volume: JBTM 02:2 (Fall 2004)
Article: Why Jesus Is The Only Way
Author: Edward P. Meadors


Why Jesus Is The Only Way

Edward P. Meadors

Assistant Professor of New Testament
Taylor University
236 West Reade Avenue
Upland, Indiana 46989

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life;
no one comes to the Father, but through me.” (John 14:6)

“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven
that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

“For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all,
the testimony borne at the proper time.” (1 Timothy 2:5–6)

“He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have
the Son of God does not have the life.” (1 John 5:12)

These passages make crystal clear the Bible’s teaching that Jesus alone is the way of salvation. Yet, despite the Bible’s clarity, most Christians are tentative in handling this subject before secular audiences. With good intentions, we are careful not to offend people of different faiths. We resist association with those that secular culture caricatures as radical, fundamentalist, or extreme. We desire, by contrast, to appear open-minded, sensitive, loving, intelligent, “enlightened,” and respectful of different cultures and worldviews. We value common ground with other educated, open-minded people—whatever their religious affiliation. Desiring unity, brotherhood, and peace, many Christians find themselves attracted to the sentiment exemplified by this Egyptian Muslim quoted in Newsweek: “We all worship the same God. What does it

matter if we call him Allah, the Jews call him Jehovah, and you call him God?”1 And so, with this sort of countenance, most Christians gravitate toward safer, less offensive subjects in their conversations with the outside world.

A few years ago my colleague Dr. Larry Helyer and I were at a conference on Jewish/Christian relations in Indianapolis sponsored by the Jewish Community Relations Council and Christian Theological Seminary. The speaker that particular year was the brilliant Jewish Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS) scholar Lawrence Shiffmann. After Professor Shiffmann delivered his presentations on the DSS, the afternoon was set aside for group discussion on the subject of Jewish/Christian relations. In that discussion, one of Professor Shiffmann’s comments that I have...

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