I would like to answer this by answering two other questions: 1) Does one have to believe in WHO Jesus Christ is to go to heaven? 2) Can one who doesn’t believe in Jesus love God the Father?

1) As we shall see, it is absolutely VITAL to believe in Jesus Christ to go to heaven. Jesus said to the Jews in His day who didn’t believe in Him: “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24). These words are simple and clear; one must believe who Jesus Christ is to be saved and to go to heaven. Let’s read Matthew 16:13: “When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, ‘Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” Jesus asked this because He knew that the answer to this question would determine one’s eternal destiny. His disciples responded by saying, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets” (verse 14). These answers all had one thing in common; they were all WRONG ANSWERS! Jesus then said to them in verse 15, “But who do you say that I am?” And then we read one of the grandest confessions in all of Scripture: “Simon Peter answered and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’” (verse 16). This, dear friend, is the RIGHT ANSWER! Jesus went on to say, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (verses 17-18). Peter knew in his heart that Jesus was 1) the Christ (the Anointed one of God to be the Savior of Mankind, and 2) the Son of the living God (the eternal Son of God, co-equal with God the Father). This confession of Jesus Christ is THE ROCK upon which Christ is building His church and if one does not believe this he/she is NOT going to heaven. As you rightly pointed out, Jesus said emphatically that “No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). He is the “door of salvation” that sinners must enter through to be saved (see John 10:9) and thus Peter preached to his fellow-Jews: “Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

2) We just saw that God the Father had revealed to Peter that His Son was “the Christ, the Son of the living God,” so it stands to reason that if one loves God the Father they will believe in His Son. On the day that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist we read that “the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’” (Matthew 3:16-17…NASB). On the “mount of transfiguration” (where Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James and John) we read, “While he (Peter) was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold a voice out of the cloud said, ‘This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!” (Matthew 17:4). One cannot read these two accounts of God the Father’s estimate of His beloved Son without concluding that “one must love and honor the Son, for God the Father loves and honors His Son.” Jesus Himself said this in John 5:22-23, “For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, so that ALL WILL HONOR THE SON EVEN AS THEY HONOR THE FATHER. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.” If one “dishonors the Son” they are “dishonoring the Father.” In fact if one does not honor the Son EQUALLY with the Father, they are called an ANTICHRIST! This is borne out in 1st John 2:22-23, “Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is ANTICHRIST who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.” So we see that one MUST believe that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God”; if one doesn’t confess this, they DO NOT HAVE THE FATHER. They may “say they love Him,” but to deny His Son is to dishonor Him and leaves one WITHOUT THE FATHER.  (428.1)  (DO)