Upvote:-1
To directly answer the question you asked:
Yes, salvation is only through Jesus Christ.
The Bible says so pretty directly.
However the actual meaning and implications of this are not simple (and not universally agreed on). For example a majority of Christians do NOT take this to mean "If you are not a Christian you are going to hell", which you might think is the straightforward interpretation. A widely accepted interpretation is that Jesus' death and resurrection is the means by which people are saved, and this is true even for people who have never heard of Jesus, or had the Christian message told them. For example, people who lived before Jesus can be, according to the Bible, still saved through him, even though they never heard of him in their lifetimes.
There are plenty of passages in the Bible that contradicts the idea that anyone who is not a Christian goes to hell.
Upvote:1
Is Salvation only through Christ?
The biblical answer is YES!
"Jesus answered, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (John14:6)
Is salvation exclusive to Christianity?
The biblical answer is No!.,why? There are a lot of people who lives before Jesus Christ came, and even after Jesus Christ founded His Church, after His ascension to Heaven, the Church had not yet proclaim the gospel of Christ to all people in the four corners of this world.
A good reading of Vatican II Council Documents will enlighten as about the Catholic Church teachings on Inter-religious dialogue;
DECLARATION ON THE RELATION OF THE CHURCH TO NON-CHRISTIAN RELIGIONS NOSTRA AETATE PROCLAIMED BY HIS HOLINESS POPE PAUL VI ON OCTOBER 28, 1965 http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decl_19651028_nostra-aetate_en.html
What is the fate of the people who never heard the gospel of Christ thru no fault of their own?
The Catholic Church teaches that this people can be save by the mysterious wisdom of God.
Is There Really "No Salvation Outside the Catholic Church?"
The Catholic Church teaches infallibly, “extra ecclesiam nulla salus,” or, “outside the Church there is no salvation.” But as with all dogmas of the Faith, this has to be qualified and understood properly. The Catechism of the Catholic Church lays out the truth of the matter succinctly in paragraphs 846-848, but I would recommend backing up to CCC 830 for a context that will help in understanding these three essential points concerning this teaching:
There is no salvation apart from Christ and his One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. Again, this is an infallible teaching and not up for debate among Catholics.
Those who are “invincibly” ignorant concerning the truth of #1 above will not be culpable for this lack of knowledge before God.
Those in the category of #2 have the real possibility of salvation even if they never come to an explicit knowledge of Christ and/or his Church.
“Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience – those too may achieve eternal salvation” (quoting, Lumen Gentium, 16).
“Although in ways known to himself God can lead those, who, through no fault of their own, are ignorant of the Gospel, to that faith without which it is impossible to please him, the Church still has the obligation and also the sacred right to evangelize all men” (quoting Ad Gentes, 7, another document from Vatican II).
Is salvation only through the name and person of Jesus?
In the recent famous statement of Pope Francis in the signing of Fraternal Agreement with the Muslims, the statement goes like this;
Freedom is a right of every person: each individual enjoys the freedom of belief, thought, expression and action. The pluralism and the diversity of religions, colour, sex, race and language are willed by God in His wisdom, through which He created human beings. This divine wisdom is the source from which the right to freedom of belief and the freedom to be different derives. Therefore, the fact that people are forced to adhere to a certain religion or culture must be rejected, as too the imposition of a cultural way of life that others do not accept;
Justice based on mercy is the path to follow in order to achieve a dignified life to which every human being has a right;
APOSTOLIC JOURNEY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS TO THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (3-5 FEBRUARY 2019) http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/travels/2019/outside/documents/papa-francesco_20190204_documento-fratellanza-umana.html
As you can see Pope Francis did not condemn other religions, but working on fraternal agreement that people of different faith can live together in peace, harmony and love.
God greatest commandment is to love one another and to love even our enemies. It means loving our neighbor as we love ourselves ,and our love is rooted in the love that we received from God.
Again, is salvation only through Christ? YES!
Proof, all the people in the Old Testament, pre-messianic time of Jesus Christ who had died in friendship with God are in the Abraham bosom's, these righteous people cannot enter Heaven without Christ opening the gate of the Kingdom of God for them.
Bosom of Abraham ; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosom_of_Abraham
Is salvation exclusive to Christianity? The answer is NO!
Is salvation only through the name and person of Jesus? The answer is Yes!.
Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names, 10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose… (Philippians2:10-14)