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We have good historical evidence that Jesus rose from the dead. And the best explanation of the historical data is that Jesus rose from the dead ultimately to verify his claims (1. That He is the only way to God; 2. He is equal to God Himself; 3. He was able to forgive the sins of mankind; 4. He was worthy of receiving worship) So this verifies that He is the way the truth and the life – God in human flesh.
Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians that if He didn’t rise from the dead, then our faith is worthless. It’s in vain; should be thrown away; we should be pitied.
But if He did rise from the dead – that changes everything. And that is the ultimate verification for the claims of Jesus.
And that is how we go about making our case that Jesus is the only way.
But this still often leaves one last question: Why is Jesus the only way?
I mean, why couldn’t God simply open the doors of heaven and say, “Anyone who is a good, sincere person is allowed in!”
For the answer to this, we’ll start with the keys on my keyring. I’ve got a key for my house, a key for my car, a key for my office, a key for my bicycle, even a key for my shed. Why do we need all these keys? Do I have all these keys because everyone around me is basically good?
Or consider my credit card. It has 16 random numbers, and expiration date and a personal ID number. Why? To prevent people from stealing my credit card number and my money.
Each year millions of dollars are spent to create new technologies for a more secure driver’s license. Because not only do people want to steal your stuff and your money, but they also want to steal your identity.
Finally, pick up a newspaper practically any day of any week and what image of the world emerges? Is it one of peace, love and harmony? Actually, it’s one of wars, rumors of wars, violence, pain and suffering – a world that is broken down.
So, as we simply make these common sense observations about the world around us, we realize that actually, people are not basically good.
We discover what is probably the second most politically incorrect statement that the Bible has to teach: All human beings are sinners.
Romans 3:23 says:
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Part of God’s glory is moral perfection. He, Himself – God – is the standard of perfection.
John 3:19 says:
And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil.
You see, our fundamental problem is sin. And Jesus is the only cure to this problem. Why is Jesus the only way? Because He is the only one who solves the problem of sin.
Think of sin as a disease. If sin is a disease and we are all infected, Jesus is the only cure that works. You can’t just exercise a lot or go on a careful diet. You can’t practice other religions. If you have a disease, you need the right medicine. If you don’t get the right medicine, you die.
Muhammad didn’t take care of the sin problem. Neither did Buddha or Joseph Smith. That problem remains until we get Jesus. That is why He is the only way.