Sun 9:30a Class; 10:30a Worship; 11:35a Communion
Bible Bites
Can Salvation be Found in World Religions?
For all true Christians the New Testament is authoritative and serves as the final arbiter in all matters of faith and practice. Understanding this makes the answer to the above question less palatable to the world but more obvious to those whose confidence is in the scriptures. It has become fashionable in recent years for many to logically ignore the conflicting truth claims of Christianity and world religions in an attempt to appear open-minded and inclusive. Yet the scriptures allow no such inconsistency. In John 14.6, Jesus Himself says, I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through me.
As the gospel of Christ was preached, the apostles showed that they understood the exclusive nature of their message. In Acts 4.12, Peter and John tell some of the same people who executed Jesus, There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we much be saved.
In spite of human efforts to harmonize all religions into equally valid routes to the divine, the scriptures do not allow such an option. Oriental religions have become attractive to many Americans because they are so inclusive. But that attitude stands in stark contrast to the exclusive claims of Christianity. Both cannot be right. Other exclusive religions, such as Islam, clearly understand that two exclusive, contradictory routes to God present a logical impasse. Again, both cannot be right. It is time for Bible believers to accept that if Jesus is not the “only way” as He claims, then He is not even “a way” to the Father. If salvation is in anyone else, then the message taught by the apostles is flawed and obviously not perfect and divine.
Inclusivism also removes the urgency for world evangelism, for if others can be saved in their sincerely held beliefs, why the note of immediacy in Matthew 28, Mark 16 and Luke 24? Such an attitude reduces the Great Commission to a parochial bid to compete for religious loyalty when such a contest is unnecessary, risking the salvation of some by confusing them with conflicting messages. Whatever points of contact we find in non-Christian religions, belief in the Bible’s authority requires that we understand that other proposed avenues to God are woefully inadequate to save. Therefore, let us redouble our efforts to teach the “only way.”
What is the Responsibility of the Christian to Those in Other Religions?
The love of God is a concept impossible entirely to grasp. How could an omnipotent, omniscient, righteous God love a world full of sinners? How could He give His son into the hands of the wicked as a sacrifice for the sins of mankind (Romans 5.8)? Why would He go to such extremes to encourage, even beg men to let Him save them (Revelation 22.17)? Non-Christians are not the only ones to grapple with these questions. Christians, however, while not entirely fathoming such matchless love, should feel a profound sense of duty to reflect that love by relaying the saving message that redeemed us and to which Christ attached such urgency.
However, that teaching needs to come, not from a sense of religious superiority, but from humble concern for the souls of men. We need to approach non-Christians, not with cultural arrogance, but with respect for those “points of contact” in their religion and culture which are admirable and may lead them to Christ. After all, God calls men to be citizens of heaven, not Americans or Westerners, and few will respect us as teachers unless we respect them as human beings.
But finally, I believe that our interest in those from the world’s religious traditions must be informed. Our world has become too small and the consequences of our neglect too tragic to afford the luxury of ignorance about Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and other religious traditions. People who believe this way live in your neighborhoods, attend your schools, and trade with you. Failure to understand and respect their beliefs almost insures that they will remain prospects untaught. A wise man once said that to be effective as a gospel preacher, one must “know the Book, and know men.” All teaching has to be based on an accurate, thorough, understanding of God’s Word, and we usually have understood this. However, sometimes we fail miserably in knowing men.
The entire world is only hours from your nearest airport. Telephones and the Internet have removed most impediments to communication. Volunteering your interest in learning more about world religions can encourage you to take that first step in talking to a neighbor about his culture and values, make you more comfortable in asking them questions about faith, allow you the opportunity to tell about the scriptures in a way that will make the Biblical story more “authentic” to them, and may even create an abiding interest in world evangelism. The fields are “white for harvest” (John 4.35). Let us not be found negligent in the performance of our duty.
— In "Biblical Insights", May 2013
