There is an idea I've heard recently that seems to have gained some hold in the modern world that Jesus is a path to God.
Not the path, but a path. Jesus, in this view, is one of many ways to right standing before our Creator, one (or more) of which a person must choose for themselves from their own understanding.
I said I've heard it recently, but it's not a new idea. It is at its foundation a very old sort of apostasy: the idea that Christ is unnecessary for salvation -- that salvation and acceptance before God can be gained through some other means.
This heresy may seem an artificially-easy target, yet even some Christians have been ensnared in it -- so it should be addressed.
First, we know that mankind is, in a natural state, intrinsically unacceptable before God and incapable of acting in a manner that is pleasing to God. Genesis 6:5 says:
Every intention of the thoughts of man's heart is only evil continually.
Psalm 14:3 declares:
they have all turned aside...there is none who does good, not even one,
The book of Romans contains a strong indictment on humanity:
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
[Romans 3:23][3]
For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
So man requires justification before gaining God's acceptance. But even in the same chapter where Paul lays out his case against sinful humanity, he makes clear the way to obtain that justification:
and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
Christ Jesus is the source of that redemption. And it is only Christ, none other, than can provide this salvation:
[Acts 4:10-12][5]
let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead---by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
And it is not just Christ's apostles who preach this -- this is no invented idea of the early church. Christ himself declared as much:
[John 14:6-10][6]
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him."
Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.
It is only through Jesus Christ, the Son of God, that we can be cleansed from our sin and approach God the Father -- our Creator. It is because He is God. "I and the Father are one", He declares (John 10:30).
This claim, therefore, that there are "many paths" to God and that Jesus is one of them is therefore incompatible with what Jesus Himself said. If you accept that Jesus is a path to God, you must accept that Jesus is the path to God -- that He is God. Otherwise, you make Him to be a lunatic or a liar -- neither of which can lead to a perfect, holy God.
I've said that this heresy of pluralism is not new. So to where then can we trace it?
To Hinduism:
As men approach Me, so I receive them. All paths, Arjuna, lead to Me. 1. Bhagavad Gita 4.11
To Islam:
Say, "We believe in God, and in what has been revealed to us, and what was revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and in what was given to Moses, Jesus, and the Prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and to God do we submit." 9. Qur'an 3.84
And thus, ultimately, to Satan, who disguises himself as an angel of
light.
([2 Corinthians 11:14][9]).
This is why we are cautioned to cling fast to the truth of God's Scripture alone, giving no quarter to the dogma of a rebellious world (with no apologies given to Mormonism):
[Galatians 1:6-10][10]
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel---not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.
For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.
May we always seek to please God, our Creator -- not men. Even (or rather, especially) when it means proclaiming one truth.
[3]: http://www.esvbible.org/Romans 3:23/
[5]: http://www.esvbible.org/Acts 4:10-12/ [6]: http://www.esvbible.org/John 14:6-7/
[9]: http://www.esvbible.org/2 Corinthians 11:14/ [10]: http://www.esvbible.org/Galatians 1:6-10/