Objection 2: Exclusivity – How can Jesus be the only way to heaven? Wasn't he just a man?
Is Jesus the only way to God?
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. (John 14:6 NLT)  Jesus claimed to be the only way.  Mohammad (Islam), Buddha, Joseph Smith (Mormonism), Confucius, Krishna, baptism, or good works will not connect you with God. 

How is Christianity different from other religions?
Christianity is the only religion which claims a Savior died and rose again. No other founder of a religion did miracles as Jesus did, and certainly none rose from the dead.  The key question is whether the claim of the resurrection is true.  So…

Did the resurrection really happen?  
Two excellent articles are available on our web site which go into much more detail: “The Physical Resurrection of Jesus Christ Is Historical Fact” www.randysinger.net/randysinger/apologetics/Christres2.pdf & “Beyond a Reasonable Doubt” http://www.truthortradition.com/modules.php?file=article&name=News&sid=128#null.  I also recommend Lee Strobel’s “The for Case Christ,” http://www.amazon.com/Case-Christ-Journalists-Personal-Investigation/dp/0310209307/ref=pd_sim_b_img_4 Josh McDowell’s “More Than A Carpenter” http://www.amazon.com/More-Than-Carpenter-Josh-McDowell/dp/0842345523/ref=pd_sim_b_img_1 & “The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict” http://www.amazon.com/Evidence-Demands-Questions-Challenging-Christians/dp/0785242198/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206202031&sr=8-1, and Paul Little’s “Know Why You Believe.” http://www.amazon.com/Know-Why-Believe-Paul-Little/dp/0830834222/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206215800&sr=8-1

Here a three core arguments for the resurrection of Jesus, which debunk the  objections that 1. Jesus did not die, but was just unconscious; 2. Jesus’ body was stolen; and 3. Mary and the disciples went to the wrong tomb.

a.  No body was ever found
      The Romans never failed to kill on the cross.
      The guards would face death for failing.
      Mary would not forget where her son was buried.
      The disciples had no motive to steal it.
      The Pharisees had every reason to find it.

b. Eyewitnesses agreed and recorded experiences
How many eyewitnesses? 100’s   Several eyewitnesses wrote of their experiences with in 30 yrs of JC’s death: Matthew, John, Peter, James, Paul, Mark, & Luke.  Consider their words…

Having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I also have decided to write a careful account for you, most honorable Theophilus, 4 so you can be certain of the truth of everything you were taught. (Luke 1:3-4 NLT)

For we were not making up clever stories when we told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We saw his majestic splendor with our own eyes. (2 Peter 1:16 NLT)

1 Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. 2 It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place.
 3 I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. 4 He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. 5 He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. 6 After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. 7 Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him… 11 So it makes no difference whether I preach or they preach, for we all preach the same message you have already believed. (1 Cor. 15:1-8,11 NLT)

During the forty days after his crucifixion, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. (Acts 1:3 NLT)

c. The Disciples were Transformed and Convinced Many

Peter went from denying Christ (John 18:25-27) to preaching boldly to a huge crowd of potentially violent people (Acts 2:41). Of that crowd over 3,000 believed in the resurrection.  They began meeting regularly with the disciples and changed how they lived (Acts 2:42-47). 

The disciples all ran at the arrest of Jesus, but now proclaim boldly that  JC is alive.  They are ostrasized & persecuted by Jewish leaders and Romans.  Yet, all but 1 died for confessing belief in the resurrection.

EXPERT QUOTES!!!
Josephus (37-100AD), the first-century Jewish historian, wrote about Jesus Christ and the growth of Christianity as follows:

    And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day.
Translated by William Whiston (originally published in 1737), The Life and Works of Flavius Josephus (The Winston Co., Philadelphia, 1957), p. 535.

Thomas Arnold, former Professor of History at Rugby and Oxford, and one of the world’s greatest historians, made the following statement about the historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

    I know of no one fact in the history of mankind which is proved by better, fuller evidence of every sort, to the understanding of a fair enquirer, than the great sign which God hath given us that Christ died, and rose again from the dead.
Thomas Arnold, Sermons on Christian Life (London, 1854), p. 324.

Simon Greenleaf is one of the most highly regarded legal minds ever seen in America. He was an expert on the laws of evidence, and the founder of the Harvard Law School. He analyzed the accounts in the Four Gospels of the resurrection of Christ in terms of their validity as objective testimonial evidence, and concluded:

    It was therefore impossible that they [Gospel writers] could have persisted in affirming the truths they had narrated, had not Jesus actually risen from the dead, and had they not known this fact as certainly as they knew any other fact.
Simon Greenleaf, The Testimony of the Evangelists (New York: 1874), p. 28.

Legal scholars such as Lord Darling, former Chief Justice of England, have been astonished for centuries at the mountain of evidence supporting the resurrection.  In the words of Darling:

“In its favor as a living truth there exists such overwhelming evidence, positive and negative, factual and circumstantial, that no intelligent jury in the world could fail to bring in a verdict that the resurrection story is true.”
Michael Green, Men Alive. (Downers Grove, ILIntervarsity Press, 1968), p. 54.
Frank Harber, Reasons for Believing, NewLeaf Trust 1998, p.111.

Lee Stobel was a spiritual skeptic and an award winning journalist at the Chicago tribune, with a Masters of Studies in Law degree from Yale University, when he began to research Christianity.  His research has lead to several books including ”The Case for Christ,” The Case for Faith,” “The Case for Creation,” and more.

I believe that the evidence of history does point in the direction of the truth of the resurrection. Number one is the empty tomb of Jesus--everybody agreed in the ancient world that the tomb of Jesus was empty. The question is, how did it get empty? The Christians claimed that Jesus returned from the dead. The counterclaim was presented that the disciples stole the body, even though they lacked motive and an opportunity. I don't think that's credible.

I think belief in the resurrection is warranted by the evidence. I don't know on what basis a person might reject it or water it down and say, "I'm going to believe in Christianity, but I'm going to be skeptical about the resurrection." (http://www.beliefnet.com/story/166/story_16690_1.html)

Does Jesus’ resurrection matter to you?

1. CONNECTION: Jesus said he is the only way to the Father

2. FORGIVENESS: His death offers forgiveness/friendship

3. HOPE: His resurrection offers hope of eternal life

4. LIFE: Jesus promised abundant life John 10:10.

“There isn't one aspect of my life that isn't different. My worldview, my philosophy, my attitudes, my relationships, my parenting, my marriage--everything has been transformed by my relationship with Christ. Every decision I make, every moral choice that I select, every relationship that I have is all centered around my best understanding of how Jesus would want me to live in that moment.” (Lee Strobel, http://www.beliefnet.com/story/166/story_16690_3.html)

He will change you, all of you. Your character, attitude, and behavior will change. Not over night, but it will change as you continue to connect with God. (John 15)   

So, What should we do?

8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Eph, 2:8-10 NIV)

Here we read that God freely offers a gift of grace (forgiveness) and asks for a response of faith (belief).  When both are active in your life you can be assured of eternal life.

9 If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. 11 As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” (Rom. 10:9-11 NLT)

Paul tells us to believe and confess.  If you believe, tell some!  If you are not ready to make this decision, KEEP SEEKING!  Do not ignore the nudge in your heart to read and consider the claims of Christ.  He wants to include you in his Kingdom.

PRAYER OF SURRENDER… by Mick Duben
Father, I confess anew, Jesus Christ, as my Lord and Savior today.  Lord, you are the head of my life.  I completely yield myself to you.  My will is now Your will.  My plans are now Your plans.  I put aside every weight and the sin that so easily besets me. Amen.

More Links:
http://www.leestrobel.com/videoserver/video.php?clip=strobelT1185
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diKEZb9_M8Q
http://www.truthortradition.com/modules.php?file=article&name=News&sid=128#null
www.randysinger.net/randysinger/apologetics/Christres2.pdf