Whether you’re a Christian or not, I’m going to assume that you’ve most likely had a conversation with someone about the afterlife.  If you haven’t, I’m sure it’ll happen sooner or later.  That being said, the afterlife, specifically heaven and the new earth are real questions and concerns that people have, that you and I have.  Talking about heaven, talking about how we get to heaven can be an uncomfortable conversation.  Talking about whether or not heaven actually exists is hard enough… add in Jesus and the conversation gets a whole lot more uncomfortable.  

I grew up believing good works will get you to heaven.  I grew up thinking that if you’re a good person, if you care about others and love the people around you, why wouldn’t you go to heaven?  I mean, that sounds pretty legitimate, right?  Unfortunately, I grew up thinking a works-driven faith was all it took to get us to the next life, but in reality, Jesus made it even easier for us to get to heaven.  Jesus is the only way.  You can be the nicest person on earth, but if you haven’t accepted Christ in your heart, you’ve got a one way ticket to eternity with the enemy.  Paul tells us in Ephesians, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9  As hard as it is to wrap our heads around it, Jesus already did the work for us.  It is nothing that we have done, can do, or will do that will get us to heaven- it’s already been done.  Our part is to fully believe with our entire hearts that Jesus Christ paid the price for us.  While it may not make sense to us, this is the truth and you can’t try and distort the gospel to satisfy our fleshly desire to believe “good people” will go to heaven.  The problem with this claim is that each person’s moral code is different.  One person’s definition of a “good person” may not align with another’s definition of “good person”… so who’s good gets you to heaven?  Jesus is the Way.

In knowing the truth that Jesus is the only way to a future in heaven and standing firm in that, you’re bound to have some uncomfortable conversations.  In these conversations, you might feel like you’re being the “non-inclusive” party or the “non-loving” person, but it’s quite the opposite.  Your truth about heaven may set someone else free, your truth about heaven might be another person’s salvation.  It’s tempting to just let the moment pass and not share the real Gospel to avoid an awkward conversation, but again- what I think will be more awkward is having to explain yourself in front of Jesus one day as to “why didn’t you try and save that person when you had the chance to share?”.  

I’ll give you a couple examples of some uncomfortable conversations around Jesus being the only way.  One evening I was eating dinner with a family member and they brought up the idea of mediums.  I explained how mediums were not something we should involve ourselves with because Leviticus 9:31 says ““ ‘Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.” Not only that, but when we seek mediums, we are opening ourselves up to a spiritual realm that is not of God… this will give the enemy a foothold.  Insert uncomfortable conversation… now.  As a side note, I don’t enjoy trying to defend myself and more specifically the Gospel to anyone.  I have a tendency to stumble upon my words, emotions start to rise and I speak less eloquently and more emotionally.  As I felt the need to share the truth about visiting a medium, the conversation didn’t stop there.  We somehow moved on from mediums to ways to get to heaven.  My family member said “you can’t tell me that a buddhist who prays seven times a day isn’t going to go to heaven”.  (It would have been easier to just say, “yeah, you’re right, who knows”, but that isn’t God-honoring and that’s not honoring my family member, whom I love to let them truly believe that lie).  At that moment, I knew I had to share the truth… so I explained how just because you pray multiple times a day doesn’t mean you’ll go to heaven, you have to believe with your heart that Jesus Christ is your Savior.  Romans 10:9 says “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” No where in the Bible does it say that “if you are a committed buddhist, muslim, christian, and pray X amount of times in a day, will you be saved” or “if you are a devout X and do good works and help the poor, you will be saved.”  That’s a works-based faith.  

Jesus died for our sins, Jesus took our sins, bore our cross and defeated death on our behalf- that’s it.  It’s a hard concept to understand or accept because our fleshly thoughts and ways make us believe that it has to be harder than that.  We have to do X to get X… that’s how things work in this world, but not for God.  As you can imagine, the conversation started to get a little heated and my emotions wanted to take over.  I wanted to argue that they were wrong, but instead, had to follow the Spirit’s guidance in “slow to anger, slow to speak, quick to listen”… so that’s what I did.  I said the truth, but then needed to tame my tongue.  It was uncomfortable for all parties, but it was also God-honoring.  I needed to ensure that my family member understood that just because you are the best buddhist there is, doesn’t mean you’re going to heaven.  If they don’t believe Jesus Christ is their Savior, then they have no salvation.  At some point, sharing the truth with others will be more important to you than the comfort of silence in those moments.  

Another uncomfortable conversation around salvation was with one of my closest friends.  Are you starting to see a trend here? It’s almost like our closest circles are the ones we have to have the most uncomfortable conversations with… and that’s okay. My friend started to ask me a question I think many have wondered, “what if Christianity is just your way to get to heaven, but what if Allah is another person’s way or Buddhism is another person’s steps to get to life after death?  What if everyone is meant to take a different route?”  The most simple and basic answer to that question is “because the Bible tells me so”.  I know that may not be acceptable for all parties, but the Bible is God-breathed, alive, and active, sharper than a double-edged sword… the Bible is God’s living word.  This is how I can believe in Christianity, that the belief in Jesus is THE only way to heaven. I have experienced the truth of God’s Word being alive and active.  I have experienced His Word showing up for me in a way that no person could explain. I have seen the truth play out time and time again.  This is the most reliable book you’ll ever read.  Again- it would have been easier to dismiss the conversation and just say “Yeah, I’m not sure, you could be right” and just drop it, but that is simply a lie.  God has opened your eyes and ears to hear, so we must ensure that we are sharing the truth with those who have not accepted Jesus.  

I later heard a message from Pastor Jonathan Pokluda at the Passion 2024 Conference on “The Way, The Truth, and The Life” that talked about Jesus being the only way.  Long message short, Pastor JP explained that if you go to an airport and ask someone how to get to Dallas, they tell you “well, you can take any of these airplanes and they’ll get you to Dallas”… so that’s what you do. In doing so, you find out that not all airplanes actually were going to Dallas, one was going to a dangerous area, the next to somewhere across the country, another to somewhere completely different, but you believed that all planes led to one destination… it’s simply not true.  That is leading someone astray in letting them fully believe that multiple ways can get you to heaven.  

Saying there is any other way besides Jesus Christ to get to heaven makes me question anyone’s belief in Jesus himself.  You may believe in Jesus, but then you must not believe in the sacrifice Jesus made for you.  For if you believed in the sacrifice Jesus made for YOU on the cross, then you would know that there was no other way for you to be saved.  You’re inclined towards sin, I’m inclined towards sin, we all have a sin problem… and Jesus is the only solution to that.  Finished. It is done. Why am I so firm on this belief? I think the reason this gets me so frustrated is because I believed the lie that there were multiple ways for so long.  I believed that if in general you were good and did good, then that meant you’d live a great after life (if there was such a thing).  It’s simply not true.  Why is it not true?  Because Jesus himself tells us that “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6  “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.” John 10:9  If you believe in the sacrifice Jesus made for you on the cross, then you must believe that Jesus is the only way to heaven.  If you believe he bore that cross, then the belief that “all roads lead to heaven” needs to be crucified as well.  Saying that there is ANY other way to get to heaven other than your belief in Jesus Christ is one of the most disrespectful claims to Jesus himself. If we say there are any other ways/paths/roads that lead to heaven is saying that Jesus’ sacrifice for us wasn’t necessary.  Belief in Jesus to get to heaven is not a suggestion, but a requirement.  Jesus being the only way is not a cute thought, but the very necessity for your salvation. 

These types of conversations, especially with those closest to you, are conversations I’d prefer to avoid.  It’s natural to be worried that these conversations might affect your relationship, but what if these conversations have the potential to develop fruit?  Are the moments of discomfort worth the fruit that may grow out of them?  Are these uncomfortable conversations worth their salvation?  Having these uncomfortable will without a doubt refine you in the process.  Having these uncomfortable conversations will force you to become more bold in your faith, stronger in your faith, and more confident in the Holy Spirit within you.