Is Christianity Narrow and Intolerant?
“There is salvation in no one else. God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
Food For Thought: It seems the thing to do these days is to accuse Christianity of being narrow and Christians of being intolerant. To be labeled narrow and intolerant is now, arguably, the worst sin in our culture. Now for the most part, those accusations are unfair. In reality, Christianity is quite broad—we love everybody and believe everybody has a right to hear the truth; Christians are very tolerant—we have tremendous patience with people who are wrong.
Narrow and intolerant? Hardly! Except when it comes to the way of salvation. God’s Word is very clear that the forgiveness of sins, right standing with God and eternal life comes only through faith in Jesus Christ. Salvation is not attained because we work hard for it, because we are good people who obey the Ten Commandments, or because we piously follow some other religious teaching. Salvation is by grace through faith in the saving work that Jesus performed on our behalf when he died on the cross…period!
I, like a lot of people, do a fair amount of flying these days. The last time I noticed, the runway on which those big jet airplanes land is very narrow. I’ve also noticed that the pilot is very intolerant about alternative ways to bring the aircraft in for a safe landing. The pilot has one way, and is pretty fanatical about that. And I, for one, am very glad for that narrowness and intolerance-it gets me home in one piece. So it is with God’s narrow plan to get us safely home. There is one way, and one way only to salvation. It is through Jesus Christ.
Why don’t you be a little narrow and intolerant today and speak that truth to someone—in love, course!
Prayer: Father, thank you for loving the world so much that you gave your only Son to die for our sins and make a way for us to receive eternal life. We didn’t deserve anything from you except judgment and punishment. But in your mercy, you withheld what we deserved—hell, and in your grace, you freely gave what we could not earn—salvation. Those of us who have receive the forgiveness of our sins and the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ will be eternally grateful for what you have done. Now Lord, give us opportunity today to share this Good News with another person! Help us to have the courage and the grace to share this truth in love. And may others come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior through our witness. Amen.
On this day…in 1882, blind Scottish Presbyterian clergyman George Matheson penned the words to the hymn, “O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go.”