Bypassing Jesus

Q.   I’ve been noticing in these trying times that there is a lot of “God talk” with regards to inspirational sayings, quotes, etc. and obviously a lot of Facebook pages about God.  My question is, can people be saved by “bypassing Jesus” when directly praying to God? Does God recognize their sincerity of wanting to be saved but without accepting Jesus as their Savior?

A.  In my opinion, when Jesus said no one can come to the father but through Him (John 14:6) He meant exactly what He said.  This is because His death is the only remedy God has provided for our sins. Romans 3:20-26,  Hebr. 10:1-4, and other places plainly say that the Old Testament practices were not sufficient to save anyone. Without applying His shed blood there can be no remission of sin, and without that no one can exist in the presence of God.

Then there’s the Lord’s statement what whoever accepts Him accepts the one who sent Him (John 13:20).  I believe that implies that rejection of Jesus equals rejection of the Father because in Matt. 10:33 Jesus said, “But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.” And in John 5:23 He said, “He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.”

In short there doesn’t seem to be any way to bypass Jesus in going to the Father for salvation.