“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts4.10
Christianity is an exclusive faith with inclusive conditions. By this I mean that Christ offers salvation to anyone and everyone, and in that sense, it is inclusive. But salvation is realized and can only be realized by those who accept the terms, and in that sense it is exclusive. The universal theme of the many world religions is that man must reform or change himself, before he can be right with God or the universe or whatever. Even those religions which deny the existence of a personal God, still place man at the center of all reform. Christianity stands alone in its assertion that man is made right with God, freely, as the gift of God's grace. It is not something we earn or deserve. God declares a person to be right with Him when they transfer their trust from personal accomplishments to the accomplishments of Christ-His atoning death at the cross, His resurrected life in them. Christians do not promise reform in exchange for this gift but are willing to trust Christ to reform them as the result of being brought into a right relationship with the Father. A person accepts Christ when they stop trying to find happiness through self rule or trying to merit God’s favor through personal works and starts trusting Christ to be both Savior and Lord.
The invitation of Christ seeks to include but will certainly exclude all who refuse Him. Those who are bothered by this exclusion need only to consider one of the reasons for it. People who refuse the offer of Christ have excluded themselves. In one sense, I quite agree with the brother who said that the gates of hell are locked on the inside. 3/15/07 ts
Just me trying to be honest with God.
