Narrow-minded Christians - Part 1

Christians are often criticized for believing that Jesus Christ is the one and only right way to God and eternal life.  But could we be right, after all?

To be a genuine Christian believer in any orthodox and/or historical sense is to believe that Jesus Christ is the one and only Son of God who came to earth to save us.  To be a real Christian is to believe that the gift of eternal life of God is only offered in and through Jesus Christ.

I can both understand and appreciate the desire people might have for a more “inclusive” faith.  I certainly want all human beings on this planet to know that there is a God who truly knows and cares about them.  And the Bible makes it very clear that God is no respecter of persons.  One of the things first century religious leaders hated about Jesus is that He welcomed everyone into the kingdom of God, regardless of their religious background.

But I must be counted as one of those “narrow-minded” Christian believers.  I do believe that Jesus Christ is the only true expression of God on this planet, and the only way to obtain eternal life.  Jesus Himself made it clear that there was no other way to God or eternal life (the kingdom of heaven).

I know that such a stand makes me seem narrow and intolerant.  But we Christians are not the ones who keep people from a relationship with God.  No mere religion or religious expression, idealism or philosophy can keep anyone from knowing God.  Each and every soul is free and able to respond to God.  The problem is, we don’t always want God.  We often choose to go our own way.

Anyone who truly wants to be with God is invited to spend eternity with Him.  After all, He is the One who came looking for us.  The door to heaven has been opened by the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Whosoever will may enter in.

None of this is new, by the way.  God has never restricted Himself to operating within the walls of a temple or church building, or a special group of people.  Even in the days of the ancient tabernacle and the temple (under the Law of Moses), God often worked in the lives of people like Naaman (a leper and the commander of Syria’s armed forces) and others who were not of Israel.

God is God. He is not limited in any way by time or space, by human religions or ideas, by our refusal to listen, or by our unwillingness to understand and believe.  Yet He allows us to make our own choices.  If we do not want God, then we will not be forced to be with Him for all eternity.
He’s at work in every single human life on this planet, calling people to Himself.  All people are responding to Him in one way or another.  Whoever will be saved must respond to Him in faith.