I Have Come That They May Have Life ...
Some words feel like chalk scraping a chalkboard. “Christianity is an exclusive religion,” wrote a religion professor at Austin Presbyterian Seminary, when I lived in Austin, TX. I said to myself, “What else is new?” Then quoted him one Sunday morning at the Austin Brethren Church (Moravian heritage) where I was pastor. There were people who were very perplexed. Even then, in the 1980s, the message of inclusiveness was taking hold in our culture.
In ways the statement is half the story. Christ died and rose for all people. This is inclusive language. However, there is Christianity is exclusive. In John 10 Jesus is the shepherd of his sheep. He adds, “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture” (John 10:9). In his polemic with the Pharisees he describes others as “thieves and robbers.”
Jesus talks about how those who are his have enough discernment to “never follow a stranger; in fact they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice” (John 10:5).
A popular notion is that all religions, all faiths, lead to the same God. We are taught that all faiths are equal. A person cannot take Jesus seriously and agree with that claim. Jesus implies otherwise when he says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full“(John 10:10).
Exclusivity grates in our ears because we want a faith that is tame, inoffensive, tolerant, and above all comfortable. Everyone will like us if we hold such a tolerant open perspective. Yet, such a faith is not to be found in the Gospels, or in the New Testament Epistles.
The faith assures, “He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out” (John 10:4). Jesus cares for us as individuals. Yet, the faith grates, when it challenges modern worldviews and presents Jesus alone as Savior.
(Editor’s Note: This column is written by a different Littlefield pastor for the Leader-News each week. The columns are published on this page on Wednesdays.)