Question: Can a person be saved without accepting Jesus?
Answer: There is One God (1 Corinthians 8:6), therefore, there is one road to heaven. When man sinned He was sentenced to death “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). But the Lord in His infinite mercy planned a way of redemption through the sacrifice of Jesus to atone for man’s sin (Genesis 3:15). “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). The good news is that “as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12).
Christ links us to Heaven
Christ is our connection to heaven. Because of His incarnation and death “a new and living way” has been consecrated for us (Heb. 10:20). Because of His sacrificial death, Christ became the only legal Mediator between man and God “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5).
Christ our Redeemer
The prophet John saw a vision in heaven honoring Jesus for His work on behalf of men. The vision describes the 24 elders and the four creatures around God’s throne saying: “You (Jesus) are worthy … for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation” (Revelation 5:1-13).
“[T]here 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). Jesus declared, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). No other person on earth like Confucius, Buddha, Mohammad, Gandhi, or Krishna can claim this claim.
Accepting Jesus
Therefore, now, “God…commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man [Jesus] whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:30-31). Here is the good news that God, through His Spirit, enables all believers to be transformed into His image and be ready for heaven (2 Timothy 1:9).
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In His service,
BibleAsk Team
