More Than One Way?

On Time magazine’s website (www.time.com, Christians: No One Path to Salvation, June 23, 2008) David van Biema writes: The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life last year surveyed 35,000 Americans, and found that 70% of respondents agreed with the statement "Many religions can lead to eternal life." Even more remarkable was the fact that 57% of Evangelical Christians were willing to accept that theirs might not be the only path to salvation, since most Christians historically have embraced the words of Jesus, in the Gospel of John, that "no one comes to the Father except through me." Even as mainline churches had become more tolerant, the exclusivity of Christianity's path to heaven has long been one of the Evangelicals' fundamental tenets. The new poll suggests a major shift, at least in the pews.

If the Pew survey is representative of the opinions that really exist in the American evangelical church, we are in real trouble as the people of God in this generation. It means that practically, though not officially, we have lost the Gospel as the center of our faith. It also means our churches are filled with professing Christians who are immature in the faith and that not a few of those have never come to saving faith. Paul the apostle says that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners (1 Tim. 1:15) and that the Gospel is summed up in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ (1 Cor. 15:1 – 4). A majority of evangelicals do not understand that simple, straightforward message or have discounted it.

For most people, knowing and understanding God is primarily an exercise in self-fulfillment or enlightenment. In other words, God is a means of enhancing their lives in a meaningful way. This misses the point of the Gospel entirely. The point of the Gospel is to deal with the problem of sin and reconcile man to his Creator. Many good things happen as a result of overcoming the sin problem. But those good things are ancillary benefits; they are not the purpose of the Gospel.

As Jesus Himself declares, He is the only way to the Father. But many Christians claim to believe that there must be other ways, too. We cannot hold to two contradictory beliefs at the same time. Christ must be true! It is for us to mold our attitudes and beliefs to conform to what He says rather than twisting or abbreviating Him to conform to our beliefs. Believing what Jesus says about being the only way has a consequence. The consequence is evangelism. If we believe that Jesus is the only way, we must get the word out! When the Gospel is central to our faith, we order our lives as a church and as individuals around it.