I have heard over and over that Christianity and all of the
church gatherings that it contains is supposed to be the most inclusive system
in the world. Inclusive of all people in all nations. My response? This is
absolutely true if all of these people believe the exclusive message of the cross.
Inclusivism is oftentimes propagated with the phrase “Come
as you are”, but then there is less of a push to be changed from what you are
to something holier and pure. Everyone who has come to believe in Jesus Christ’s
death and resurrection had to come as they were, so to speak, but then the Holy
Spirit regenerated us into life, from a dead state of spirituality.
Paul told the Ephesians more than once, “You were dead in
sin.” He told the Colossians more than once, “You were dead in your sin.” We
are born this way. Spiritually dead. (Eph. 2 & Col. 2)
Now, don’t let the word “spiritually” throw this whole
concept out of the window for you. Spirituality is as real as mentality and
reality itself. In fact, our spiritual state determines our eternal reality and
drives our current mentality. Think about this.
You may not consider yourself spiritual, but indeed you are.
You have a spirit. The question is: Is it dead? The answer is: We’re born with
a dead spirit that has been passed along to us in a sinful world. It started
when Adam first sinned with Eve in the Garden of Eden and then as they
procreated, they could only reproduce more sinful human beings. Sin begets sin.
It cannot produce righteousness.
In a world where many believe that non-life can somehow
produce life in a natural, evolutionary way and without God’s help, it is no
wonder that many also believe that people can manifest in themselves some form
of genuine spiritual life without the powerful touch of the living God.
This is where the exclusivity of Christ comes into play.
This is where historical, biblical Christianity is elevated above all other
religions that claim to have spiritual life and a method to salvation. Have you
ever wondered what the main differences were in all of the religions and the
sects, therein? What is it about Christianity?
Let me tell you. Only Christianity, as laid out in the Bible
(God’s inspired words) claims the following: That Jesus Christ is the Son of
God, so he is God, and he is the only way to salvation.
Jehovah’s Witness’, Mormon’s, Muslim’s, even the Roman
Catholic doctrine cannot uphold the claim that only by believing in Jesus
Christ’s death and resurrection can you be completely forgiven of sins and inherit
eternal life once and for all. Every other religion has some form of works
involved. Some form of perpetual need for justification.
Ephesians 2:8-9 says that it is “by grace you have been saved through
faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one
may boast.”
What is it again that we must place our faith in to be saved
by this grace? Welcome to Easter.
The prophet Isaiah said, “He was pierced
for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was
the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to
his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of
us all” (53:5-6).
You see, with the sinful state that we
begin in this life, we need a Savior. We are headed to Hell when left to our
own devices. This is exactly why Jesus, the Messiah (the Christ), came! He
doesn’t want anyone to perish without him. The wrath of God is a just
wrath. We all deserve it. This is why the love
of God provided an atonement that we never could have provided for ourselves.
“Without the shedding of blood, there is no
forgiveness of sins” (Heb. 9:22).
“No one is righteous, no, not one…” (Rom. 3:10)
“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” (Rom.
3:23)
But wait!
Verse 24 continues… “and are justified by his grace as a
gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a
propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith.”
The apostle Paul is writing this to the Romans and he goes
on to explain what he just said: “This was to show God’s righteousness, because
in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his
righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier
of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
The same God who we will suffer from His wrath if we do not
believe is the same God that will freely justify us and forgive us if we
believe in and put our faith in Jesus Christ’s sacrifice that took our place.
Jesus Christ was no ordinary man. Though he was flesh and
blood, he was also fully God. This is something else that almost all religions
differ on. Some say he was a prophet, or a good teacher, or even the brother of
Satan! Listen to when Jesus asked his own disciples what they thought in Matthew
16:
Jesus:
Who do people say that the Son of Man is?
Disciples:
Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the
prophets.
Jesus:
But who do you say that I am?
Peter:
You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Jesus:
Blessed are you Peter! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my
Father who is in heaven.
This is foundational and necessary to the Gospel message. If
Jesus was not the Son of God then he would not be a fitting sacrifice for our
sins because he would not be pure and spotless, or blameless. This would change
everything! 2 Corinthians 5:21 says that “he made him to be [like] sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might
become the righteousness of God.”
Peter made the great confession that every Christian makes:
Jesus is the Son of God. Even the centurion helping to oversee the crucifixion
of Jesus, after seeing the darkness and commotion with Jesus breathing his last
breath, stated, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” We would hope that this
man’s evident devastating realization would have led him to place his faith in
the man he just crucified.
The exclusive claim of Christianity is that Jesus is the Son
of God, so he is God.
Finally, the ultimate capstone to all Christian doctrine and
joy is the resurrection of Jesus! This is what we celebrate on Easter Sunday.
Jesus warned his disciples on numerous occasions that he would
be killed, but that he would also then be brought back to life. In Matthew
16:21 it says “From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go
to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and
scribes, and be killed, and on the third
day be raised.”
Again in Matthew 17:22-13:
“As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them,
‘The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands
of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third
day.’ And they were greatly distressed.”
Finally, in chapter 20, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be
delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to
death and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and
flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.”
This actually
happened.
The Apostle Paul, writing to the Corinthians again with passion,
said, “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I
also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,
that he was buried, that he was raised on
the third day in accordance with the Scriptures […]” (1 Cor. 15:3-4).
People, this was it! It was finished.
Christ came for us to believe in him for eternal life. To submit to his
lordship as the Son of God and believe in his sacrifice as sufficient for
covering all of our sin. We submit to Him in obedience to His commands, which
is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.
If Jesus had not been raised from the dead,
then as Paul said in 1 Cor. 15:17 & 19, our faith would be futile and we
would still be lost in our sins. Of all people, we would be the most to be
pitied!
“The sting of death is sin, and the power
of sin is the law. But
thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (v.
56).
I urge you…be reconciled to God. Our sin is
real. The penalty of God’s wrath and eternal Hell is real. It is real fire and
real anguish, but we have the way out of our sin and its penalty, which is
found in the death and resurrection of Jesus, the Christ! Praise God for his
love and mercy to offer this to us.
All who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.
The exclusive claim of Christ’s message is
that no one can get to the Father, except through him (John 14:6). Not some
spiritual Christ consciousness that false spiritual gurus are perpetuating. Not
some Jesus who was just a prophet and teacher that other religions claim. Not
some Jesus who needs Mary’s intervention to be convinced to forgive us over and
over. No…Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, is born of God
(1 Jn. 5:1). Whoever repents of their sin and believes in Christ’s death and
resurrection as the satisfaction for our sins’ penalty will not perish, but
have eternal life.
As you consider on this Friday, the agony
and weight of God’s wrath that Christ bore for us, let us bow in humility to
our Lord in thanks and awe. If we have not believed in Him yet, let us not
delay, for the day is coming when we will all give an account of this very
decision to repent and believe. Let us also anticipate Sunday because it is
coming!
“The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be
afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said’
(Matt. 28:5-6).
Happy Easter everyone!
