The Exclusivity of the Christian Gospel

The world today is becoming increasingly pluralistic and inclusive, and “political correctness” has run amuck throughout the global society. Nowhere has this been felt more keenly for the Christian than its impact on the gospel. LifeWay Research published research results in March 2012 which illustrate just how pervasively inclusivism and pluralism have invaded Christianity and diluted the gospel of Jesus Christ. LifeWay asked 1,000 Protestant pastors, from a variety of Evangelical traditions, for their responses to the statement, “If a person is sincerely seeking God, he/she can find eternal life in religions other than Christianity.” Responses to the same statement were asked of 2,930 regular attendees/members of those same churches. The disparity between the pastors in the pulpits and the people in the pews, so to speak, was remarkable, but also illustrates just how invasive the dilution of the gospel of Jesus Christ has been among Christians.

Gauging the Landscape

There are basically three positions taken today on the question of whether or not personal repentant faith in Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation. The first, Pluralism – popularized by men like John Hick, says that salvation can come through any religion as long the person adhering to that religion is sincere in their faith. The second, Inclusivism – popularized by men like Clark Pinnock, says that Christ is the only true savior, but those who are sincere in other religions will be eventually brought to Christ (either in life or postmortem). While Christ accomplished the work necessary to salvation, people can be saved by responding positively to God’s revelation in nature or other religions. People do not have to know about Jesus Christ to be saved. The third, Exclusivism – held by most Evangelicals and most recently defended by men like John Piper, Bruce Ware, et. al., affirms that Jesus alone has accomplished the atoning work necessary to save sinners and that one must have a personal knowledge of and faith in Jesus Christ alone in order to be saved.

What Does the Bible Say?

Though not original to him, Bruce Ware, in an article published at Christianity.org, identified several biblical reasons why Jesus Christ alone can be the only legitimate Savior of mankind.

1.                   Christ alone was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin (Isa 7:14; Matt 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38), and as such, he alone qualifies to be Savior. Why does this matter? Only as the Holy Spirit takes the place of the human father in Jesus' conception can it be true that the one conceived is both fully God and fully man. Christ must be both God and man to atone for sin, but for this to occur, he must be conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a human virgin. No one else in the history of the world is conceived by the Spirit and born of a virgin mother. Therefore, Jesus alone qualifies to be Savior.

2.                    Christ alone is God incarnate (John 1:1-18; Hebrews 1:1-3; 2:14-18; Phil 2:5-11; 1 Tim 2:5-6), and as such, he alone qualifies to be Savior. Our Savior must be fully man in order to take the place of men and die in their stead, and he must be fully God in order for the value of his sacrificial payment to satisfy the demands of our infinitely holy God. Man he must be, but a mere man simply could not make this infinite payment for sin. But no one else in the history of the world is both fully God and fully man. Therefore, Jesus alone qualifies to be Savior.

3.                    Christ alone lived a sinless life (2 Cor 5:21; Heb 4:15; 7:23-28; 9:13-14; 1 Pet 2:21-24), and as such, he alone qualifies to be Savior. As Leviticus makes clear, animals offered as sacrifices for sin must be without blemish. This prefigured the sacrifice of Christ who, as sinless, was able to die for the sins of others and not for himself. But no one else in the history of the world has lived a totally sinless life. Therefore, Jesus alone qualifies to be Savior.

4.                   Christ alone died a penal, substitutionary death (Isa 53:4-6; Rom 3:21-26; 2 Cor 5:21; Gal 3:10-14), and as such, he alone qualifies to be Savior. The wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23). And because Christ lived a sinless life, he did not deserve to die. Rather, the cause of his death was owing to the fact that the Father imputed to him our sin. The death that he died was in our place. No one else in the history of the world has died because he bore the sin of others and not as the judgment for his own sin. Therefore, Jesus alone qualifies to be Savior.

5.                   Christ alone rose from the dead triumphant over sin (Acts 2:22-24; Rom 4:25; 1 Cor 15:3-8, 16-23), and as such, he alone qualifies to be Savior. The Bible indicates that a few people, other than Christ, have been raised from the dead (1 Kings 17:17-24; John 11:38-44), but only Christ has been raised from the dead never to die again, having triumphed over sin. The wages of sin is death, and the greatest power of sin is death. So, Christ's resurrection from the dead demonstrates that his atoning death for sin accomplished both the full payment of sin's penalty and full victory over sin's greatest power. No one else in the history of the world has been raised from the dead triumphant over sin. Therefore, Jesus alone qualifies to be Savior.

What can be concluded from this biblical material? Simple. Jesus Christ alone qualifies to be the Savior of mankind and is, therefore, mankind’s only hope. This gives legitimacy to Jesus’ claim in John 14:6 that he is the ONLY way, truth, and life; a truth that was confirmed by the Apostle Peter in Acts 4:12 when he boldly stated that salvation could not be found in any other person other than Jesus Christ.

Not only does the Bible clearly state that Jesus Christ alone is the only legitimate Savior of mankind, but it also affirms that personal repentant faith in Jesus Christ’s person and atoning work brings salvation. The Bible is clear that only faith in Christ brings forgiveness of sin and eternal life. Jesus himself taught that everyone, from every nation on earth, needed to hear his gospel and repent to be saved (Luke 24:44-49). To be forgiven sinners must repent.  But to repent they must hear the Christian gospel.  There is no thought by Jesus of the nations of the earth already having saving revelation available to them; just the opposite. Luke recorded (Acts 10:1-2, 38-43; 11:13-18; 15:7-9) the conversion of the Gentile Cornelius in the Book of Acts. Cornelius had received special revelation from God, but was not already saved when Peter arrived. Rather, Peter had to preach the gospel to Cornelius and his household, they had to exercise repentant faith, and then salvation came. Christianity’s first and greatest theologian, the Apostle Paul, unequivocally teaches that Jesus Christ alone is the Savior and that personal repentant faith in Jesus is necessary for salvation (Romans 10:1-4, 13-15). 

Conclusion

What can be said about those who are sincere in their religious fervor and faith, but do not believe that Jesus Christ alone is the Savior of mankind and have not personally trusted Jesus and his atoning work for salvation? For Bible-believing Christians the answer is simple, they have not experienced the saving grace of God that results in forgiveness of sin and eternal life. It sounds harsh, but it’s the biblical truth. Apart from Jesus Christ there is no salvation. Christians must be zealous about spreading the truth of forgiveness and eternal life that is only found in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, our enemy is polluting and diluting the gospel into a porridge of powerless goop. Christians must unapologetically stand for the truth while compassionately sharing the life found in Christ alone with a lost world.