The Offense of the Exclusivity of Jesus

My friend and I were out on a Saturday morning walking along Main Street during a public outdoor market as part of our a weekly evangelism ministry. We happened upon a man sitting at a table, and I handed him a gospel tract. He quickly responded, saying, “I don’t need this.” I opened up a dialogue with him and asked him about Jesus. I’ve found over the years that a good place to start when sharing the gospel is to ask who Jesus is. His response was vague, but it provided an opportunity for me to tell him about Jesus from the Scripture. We discussed the deity and humanity of Jesus, God’s holy requirements, God’s character, and the wrath to come on all who have broken his holy law. This all pointed us to the glory of Jesus Christ and how he alone is the way to forgiveness and salvation. Only Jesus can rescue us from the wrath to come.

Apparently, there was a woman working at one of the nearby booths who was listening intently to my conversation with this man. She came over and proceeded to tell me that I should not be telling this man these things. She said, “How do you know this man isn’t already a Christian?” I responded, “That is precisely why we are having this conversation.” She wouldn’t back down and said I shouldn’t be involving myself in this man’s life. Ironic that she was doing just that with me! (Oh, the politically correct world we live in!)

This lady simply disliked the things I was saying to this man. I think she was disturbed not only whether “I didn’t know this man was a Christian”, but mostly because I was speaking of Christ being this man’s only hope and warning him of the judgment to come. What struck me most was when she asked me, “Are you saying that if people don’t believe only in Jesus, that they are going to hell?” My response was an emphatic, “Absolutely!” I shared Jesus’ own words from John 14:6 with her and told her that the only hope any human being on this entire planet has is Jesus Christ. 

Incredibly, she claimed to be a Christian yet her denial (or confusion) of the exclusivity of Christ raised red flags. I asked her what church she attended, and she told me it was none of my business. I then reached out a tract to her, telling her she needed to read it, only to be told that I was judging her. Sadly, she never took a tract, but she did hear the gospel as it was proclaimed to that fellow at the table.  

She then told me that she believed that Jesus died for everyone.

I asked, “Ok then, does that mean that everyone will be saved then?” I received no answer. Not only that, but I sensed her disgust at my insistence that Jesus Christ is the only way for anyone to be saved. She stepped over to the man at the table, but her hand on his shoulder and tried to tell him everything was going to be ok. She then walked away. I was able to talk a little more to the man and urged him to embrace Christ alone for salvation.

I sensed in myself anger at this woman. Anger that she intruded, and anger that she seemed to try to undermine the doctrines that are so essential to the Christian faith. It reminded me that Christians are called to share the gospel with gentleness and respect. Sadly, I feel that I failed at that, as I argued and defended the gospel impatiently. I learned a good lesson that the gospel doesn’t need to be defended so much as at simply needs to be proclaimed faithfully. I also was reminded of the remaining sin in my heart that seeks to win arguments and fails to be patient with others. It’s not the first time I’ve lost my patience with those I’ve tried to share the gospel with – especially those caught up in cults.

I want to take a little theological digression for a moment to focus on her belief that Jesus died for everyone.

Christians are divided on some doctrines that are not essential to the Christian faith. One such division concerns who benefits from the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Calvinism teaches that Christ’s death, while sufficient to save everyone, is effectual only to the elect. Arminianism teaches that Christ died for everyone. Importantly, what both Calvinists and Arminians believe is that faith alone in Christ alone is required to be saved. While I disagree with much of Arminianism, I believe that they are my brothers and sisters in Christ if they trust in the true Jesus Christ alone for their salvation. 

Where we stray into heresy is when we take the “Jesus died for everyone” belief and turn it into universalism. This is a belief that regardless of what you believe, you’ll ultimately be saved. You’ve probably heard people say that those other religions who worship other gods will also be saved by Jesus, since those people just aren’t using the name “Jesus”. (See my article entitled, All Roads Lead to God, for an interesting look into this belief.) Universalism is a common belief that is popular in today’s culture because it presents no offense at all. However, it is an affront to the gospel. It is an attack on the very words of Jesus Christ. One must trust in Christ alone by grace alone through faith alone to be saved. The famous verse John 3:16 makes that abundantly clear. There are numerous other verses that make it apparent that only those with faith in Christ alone will be saved. I don’t know where that woman was theologically, and I can’t read her heart, although it sounded to me that if she wasn’t adhering to universalism, she definitely was dabbling in parts of it. 

Surprisingly, it is professing believers that seem to push back the most.

Instead of being joyful for the gospel to be proclaimed, they try to get in the way by challenging core doctrines of Christianity, such as the exclusivity of Jesus Christ. Regardless, I’m thankful that she was there because she too got to hear the gospel. I have to wonder years ago when I was a false convert, if I had heard someone proclaiming the true gospel how I would have responded. It’s a reminder to all believers of that great saying: “But by the grace of God go I.”

The doctrine of the exclusivity of Christ may be hated by many – even some within the walls of a church. However, it is a truth that cannot be watered down or excluded due to fear of offending others. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. He’s not a way, but the way. We must fearlessly share the gospel of Jesus Christ in its full glory, relying not on our strength or persuasion, but only the power of the Holy Spirit to transform hearts of stone to hearts of flesh. And we are to do so with gentleness and respect… something I continue to work on and probably will have to fight until my King returns. Maranatha!