If Jesus is the only way… (4 of 4)

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american, american culture, apologetics, culture, politics, salvation, truth, world religions

As the finale to this mini-series on the question If Jesus is the only way, what about people of other faiths and those who never hear the gospel? I’m going to look at some common objections to the idea that any one path to God is the “true” or “only” one.

Let me say first of all that I sympathize with anyone who takes seriously the challenge that multi-cultural awareness poses to our beliefs. The answers I offer below may come across dry and uncaring (especially to those of you who don’t know me), but please know that’s not my heart. These questions represent for many a complex journey of learning how to believe in Jesus without appearing hateful towards large groups of people. Nevertheless, we must think clearly and that’s what I’m trying to do here.

1. But this is arrogant and exclusive and no longer works in our diverse world.

(1) Religious diversity and pluralism are not new. Globalization and consumerism have changed things, but this question has always been around. (2) All truth claims are equally “arrogant” and “exclusive.” We make truth claims. So do they: the idea that no religion is 100% right and true is a truth claim. Neither belief system is obvious; both require faith. Both are equally arrogant (I’m right, you’re wrong) and exclusive (I’m right, you’re wrong). (3) Technically, I’d say arrogance is a characteristic of people – even and perhaps especially religious people – but it is not a property of belief systems. I suppose if less people were arrogant (intellectually and otherwise), this would be easier to see. (4) We are conditioned to remove “religion” from the realm of “truth.” Our world is divided into the public realm of (scientific) facts and the private world of personal beliefs/opinions/values. We think religion is a private matter, but this idea of “religion” is unbiblical and intolerant toward most world religions. It is itself based in another “religion.”

2. But all religions are basically the same.

If Jesus is the only way… (3 of 4)

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apologetics, gospel, grace, jesus, missions, new testament, obedience, old testament, salvation, world religions

Thanks for some great discussion on part two of If Jesus is the only way, what about people of other faiths and those who never hear the gospel? The question we’re dealing with is who can be saved and how that happens. Specifically, is it possible for people to be saved apart from Jesus? If not, is it possible for people to be saved through Jesus even if they don’t know he’s the one saving them? More than ever after the discussion on the last entry, I’m convinced that this whole debate gets muddied up because we’re unclear on what “being saved” actually means. I include myself in this, and I admit that whatever answer I offer now probably suffers a bit from this lack of understanding or clarity. Nevertheless, here’s how I’d answer the question:

I do believe that no one can or will be “saved” apart from Jesus. I think he alone broke the stranglehold of sin under which we were all enslaved. But does God save people apart from conscious faith in Jesus? Even if no one can be saved apart from Jesus, can they be saved apart from knowing they are saved by Jesus? I don’t know that God has told us this will happen, so I can’t say yes with great confidence. But based on what God has revealed in Scripture (as laid out in part 2, including some of the comments), I do believe it might happen. I’d even say I think it will happen (IMHO!). I do not think it would contradict the character and ways of God revealed in Scripture’s witness to Jesus Christ.

So does God save people apart from explicit faith in Jesus? We don’t know, but we don’t know for sure that he doesn’t and we wouldn’t be shocked if he did. Most importantly, we believe that God has come to all of us in Jesus, offering salvation in both the next life and this one. Our task is to faithfully respond to what we believe God has revealed.

I also promised to deal with objections to this position (technically called inclusivism), first from Christians and then from non-Christians. There are three primary objections that I’ve heard from Christians against the possibility that God might save people who never identify themselves as Christians in this life.

If Jesus is the only way… (2 of 4)

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apologetics, gospel, grace, hell, jesus, new testament, old testament, salvation, world religions

If Jesus is the only way… what about people of other faiths and those who never hear the gospel? (read part one here)

The Bible witnesses to God’s universal love (Jn 3.16; 1 Tim 2.4; 2 Pet 3.9) as well as a particular path to salvation. How do we resolve this tension? Scripture teaches that this particular path comes to a head in Jesus. But is this unfair to those who never hear of Jesus, or only receive an unfaithful witness, or grow up in a different faith system? What about them?

In part one I shared some preliminary points. Today I’ll offer ten “theses” and follow it up later (today or tomorrow) with a summary conclusion. Enjoy.

1. This debate often rests on and feeds an unbiblical portrait of salvation. See more on this in the last post here.

2. “Judgment” on this level is God’s call and God can be trusted to do the right thing. It’s not our job to figure out who will “go where” at history’s end. It is God’s, and whatever God does will be loving, gracious, and just.