Christianity is often criticized because it claims to be the only way to God and the only way to heaven. John 8:24 says,“Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” (NASB).
Unlike many of the popular salvation verses (John 3:16, etc.), this verse unambiguously says that it is necessary to believe in Jesus in order to have eternal life. The questions many people, Christians and non-Christians alike, would like to know is “Why?”
I recognize that this topic can quickly lead to other questions such as 'if the Bible is true, why would a loving God send people to hell', and many others, but I will save those for another time. In this article I will only address the direct question of why we must believe in Jesus. I think and hope that I can give a sufficient answer to that question.
First, it is important to recognize that Christianity does not exclude people - not anyone at all. What it excludes is ideas and all worldviews or religions that do that. Even worldviews that claim to include everyone end up excluding those who claim to be the only way. The reason for this is because truth by definition is exclusive. For instance, 2+2=4. The correct answer is the one and only right answer and, therefore, all other answers are wrong or excluded. I am currently living on the planet earth, therefore, I am not on Mars. We should actually be leery of inclusion rather than exclusion.