The Exclusivity of Jesus
Not every road leads home.
We live in a world that celebrates options. Walk into a coffee shop, and you'll have more choices than you know what to do with. Browse Netflix, and you'll spend more time choosing than watching. We have options for everything, and somewhere along the way we've assumed the same must be true of God.
“Choose whatever works for you.” “Just have faith.” The strangest one I’ve heard is, “We all know there’s God and there are many ways to kill a cat; there’s not just one way"
It sounds open-minded and inclusive. But God is not a cat; it’s a great idiom for other contexts, but the reason it comes crumbling down when our relationship with God is in question is because Jesus never said any of those things. Instead, He looked ordinary people in the eye and said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) Notice He didn't say a way. He said the way. Christianity has always made this startling claim: not that Christians are better than everyone else, but that Jesus is unlike everyone else.
What threatens this doctrine today?
The challenge isn't only atheism anymore. In fact, many people are deeply spiritual. The question isn't whether people have faith, but what their faith is resting on. Some people have faith in their faith itself. As though believing very sincerely is enough, regardless of what—or who—you believe in. But faith has never saved anyone simply because it exists. Faith is only as secure as the object it rests upon.
A person can have enormous faith in a chair made of paper, but it won't hold them. Others place their hope in what they call "the universe.” You'll hear phrases like, "The universe will work it out.” "I'm putting it out into the universe.” "The universe has my back."
There is certainly beauty, order, and power in creation— I personally can’t ignore it. The heavens really do declare the glory of God (Psalm 19). But Scripture warns us against stopping there. Paul writes in Romans 1 that humanity exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator.
The sea is powerful. The mountains are magnificent. The stars leave us speechless. I’ve seen breathtaking views traveling to Hluhluwe & Jozini last weekend for my friends’ wedding. But none of them died for sinners. Creation was never meant to terminate our worship; it was meant to direct it toward its Creator.
Others try to combine Jesus with something else. For some it is Jesus and ancestors. For others it is Jesus and traditional practices. Jesus and crystals. Jesus and astrology. Jesus and manifestation. Jesus and good works. Jesus and being a "good person.” It is understandable why people do this. We like backup plans. We want something tangible that we can contribute. But the gospel doesn't give us Jesus as one piece of the puzzle. It gives us Jesus as the whole answer. Even within the church, there is another subtle danger. We can begin trusting in ‘Christian’ activities rather than Christ Himself— become modern-day Pharisees by liking so much the “religious activities” more than Christ. Leading a Bible study. Giving generously. Church attendance.
Meeting with God's people is a gift, and Hebrews urges us not to neglect it (Hebrews 10:24–25). But if we think attending church earns God's favor or secures our forgiveness, we've misunderstood the gospel. Church does not reconcile us to the Father—Jesus does. We gather because we belong to Him, not so that we might belong. So, although these are beautiful gifts from God, but none of them reconcile us to the Father. Only Christ does. Paul says, "God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21) Notice where our righteousness is found— in Him. Not in our religious performance. Not in our morality. Not in our spiritual discipline. In Christ alone.
Of course, this glorious truth should never be misunderstood. The finished work of Christ is not a license to live however we please. Jude writes passionately against those who "pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality" (Jude 4).
Grace does not make holiness unnecessary. Grace makes holiness possible. Those who have truly been united to Christ will increasingly desire to become like Him.
Why does this matter? Because eternity hangs on it.
If Jesus is merely one option among many, then Christianity loses its urgency. But if He really is who He claimed to be, then telling people about Him becomes one of the most loving things we can do. We don't speak about Jesus because we're trying to win arguments. We speak about Him because we have found life.
All the answers humanity has ever truly needed, God has graciously revealed in His Son and in His Word. If we belong to Christ, we won't be able to keep Him to ourselves. Not arrogantly. Not as people who have all the answers.
But as beggars telling other beggars where to find bread.
Actually...
Even better than bread.
The Bread of Life Himself.
