I asked a man once how he was going to get to heaven. He responded, "I need to go to purgatory first." I didn't expect this answer. I expected him to explain how he needed to do a certain amount of good things to gain God's approval. Not surprisingly, many people falsely think they can do this. It was interesting to me, though, that this man knew he wasn't good enough. This is good theology. Romans 3 is the place to go if you're feeling too good about yourself! It says things like this: "no one is righteous, no not one," "no one seeks for God," "no one does good," "their mouths are full of curses and bitterness," "in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known" (Rom. 3:10, 11, 12, 14, 17). This kind of person cannot get himself or herself favor with a holy God. The only holy God, by the way, "is light, and in Him is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5).
Now our key passage: John 14:6. It says,"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'" Many people view God as reluctant to save people from their sorrows. Besides, the world is full of it and it doesn't seem to go away. The Bible is clear, though, that God will completely put away all evil and pain (Rev. 21:4). In the meantime, God has a plan He is working out. Part of that plan is that sinners would be reconciled with God the Father. This is only way and it's all done by the work of the Son. You see, Jesus Christ bore the sins of the world in His death on the cross (Isaiah 53:4-5). He also raised from the dead to defeat the power of sin and death (1 Cor. 15:54-57). Second Corinthians 5:21 says that "in [Christ] we...become the righteousness of God." This is what it means that Jesus is the way to God.
One more thought, though. Many people believe that Jesus is the way to God but miss a crucial point. Jesus takes you all the way to God. My friend who responded to me that he first needed to go to purgatory couldn't be more wrong. For those saved by the Lord Jesus, none of them will be lost (John 6:39). Ultimately, "there is no condemnation for those who are in Jesus Christ" (Romans 8:1).
This is the most amazing truth in the world! Do you believe it? Have you found the way?
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