The “inclusivity vs. exclusivity” centers on two questions:
(1) Is Jesus the only way of salvation?
(2) Is faith in Christ required?
My reason for posting this is due in part to what I have heard during a recent study at a local church when I stated that Christianity (being in the faith) or following Jesus Christ is exclusive and not inclusive. What I meant by this statement is that a person who is not a believer cannot claim they are following Christ, or that they will enter heaven when they pass. Another point I brought up was that the gospel of Jesus Christ is inclusive of all humanity. However, entering heaven is exclusive to only those who believe and follow Him, to those who have accepted Jesus as the messiah, and who have been born anew from above. Another point was that Jesus Christ was and is the only way and means of salvation, that there is no other way.
Religion today and probably years past as well, exists in its various forms as an attempt to worship God while suppressing the unpleasant entailment’s, specifically, our guilt and His demands on us. Today, religion, and I’m addressing about christian religion, wishes to include all people, believers or not, and that each will find their way to heaven if they believe in the church they attend, or the religion offered to them. Taking this form of thought and practice is what I see as inclusivity at the cost of compromising God’s commandments, Jesus’s teaching, and the Holy Spirit’s words through the apostles, such as Peter and Paul.
Christianity encompasses every aspect of life, including the acknowledgment of guilt, and it asserts that it offers a solution to that guilt, rather than suppressing it, by fully acknowledging it. In this way, it can be said there is inclusivity within the Christian faith. This inclusivity mentioned here is nothing but the gospel message if repentance.
Zaspel 1Zaspel, F. (n.d.). Inclusivism v. Exclusivism: Is Jesus the Only Way? The Gospel Coalition.https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/inclusivism-v-exclusivism-is-jesus-the-only-way/
Closely related to this is the (majority) Christian claim that the cross of Christ was necessary, not in the sense that God was obliged to save but in the sense that the sacrifice of Christ was the only possible means of saving (e.g., John 3:14–17; Heb 2:17). The problem of human guilt and the demands of divine righteousness must be answered (Rom 3:21–31; cf. Heb 9:13–26). Justice must be satisfied, and God must be propitiated if sinners are to go free. God can justify the sinner only on just grounds, and only in Christ can these just grounds be established.
This is the reason for Christianity, its very meaning. Christianity is a redemptive religion that proclaims a salvation from God accomplished by his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ (cf. Matt 1:21). On the very face of it, then, Christianity insists on the uniqueness of Christ as the only savior of sinners.
Gospel Warnings
Several New Testament passages give sobering warning that apart from faith in Christ (and repentance, the accompaniment of faith), there is only condemnation.
In Luke 13:3–5, Jesus insists twice that “unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”
In John 3:18, as we have seen, our Lord says that those who do not believe are “already condemned.”
In Acts 17:30–31 (again, as we have seen), Paul warns that apart from repentance, no one will survive the final judgment.
J. I. Packer speaks to this issue bluntly when he asks, “When Jesus and the apostles gave these warnings, were they just bluffing?” Quite obviously, they were not.2J. I. Packer, “Salvation sans Jesus”
Warning about inclusivity in the church and the false assumptions concerning inclusion.
The warning I want to share today is directed towards the majority of individuals I have encountered in my life, including pastors and bible teachers. It seems that their focus rests in discussing the teachings of the Bible without actually believing in them. The warning that I would like to convey is applicable to all: Despite the fact that individuals often preach and teach the Bible, it is highly likely that the majority of them would not align with Jesus’ teachings if He were present today, and convey the same message of repentance He did before His ultimate sacrifice on the cross. Of most importance is that Jesus did not tell an untruth concerning Exclusivism especially since He is the TRUTH. He told us that in order to see the kingdom of God one must be born anew from above. Today, there are those who believe that baptism, and the confession of faith are the tools needed to be born anew from above. Problem is the from above part. Baptism here on earth, and a confession of faith does not state you are born again. Those elements confirm your surrender to Christ as the Lord of Lords, and King of Kings, To be born again means that your heart has been changed and your mind renewed. That can only happen when we ask for forgiveness and genuinely repent, which means to turn away from sin. Then the Holy Spirit will penetrate your heart and behold, all things have become new, you old life has faded away. This act in inclusive that then becomes exclusive.
I strongly suggest reading the following:
Inclusivism v. Exclusivism: Is Jesus the Only Way? An Essay by Fred Zaspel
Inclusivism vs. Exclusivism, by Got Questions.
What does it mean to be Born Again, by Billy Grahm
Shalom
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