On Intolerance

Narrow Minded and Intolerant?

In an age of pluralism where ‘tolerance’ is a chief virtue, where a multitude of diverse ideas are assumed to possess equal weight and verity in public controversy, and where equally sincere but contradictory propositions are allowed to coexist without apparent conflict, what is the Christian supposed to do when the Bible makes this absolute, exclusive statement: “There is salvation in no one else other than Jesus Christ; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12)? Need the Christian be apologetic that such an ‘intolerant’ statement is an essential part of his creed? 

When Peter ascended the public platform upon which he made this proclamation in the Book of Acts (a statement which incidentally was attributed to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit), he had already climbed upon several lower supporting steps to reach his position. Consider five of them, each of which contribute to Peter’s conviction of Christ’s exclusivity. 

1. CHRIST’S BIRTH

The first step Peter took up to the platform to proclaim the uniqueness of Christ was the miraculous manner in which Jesus came into the world. Christ came to this earth in a way never before seen and never to be duplicated. An angel from heaven made the announcement: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you (Mary, the virgin), and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). Because of Christ’s miraculous birth, He was uniquely and exclusively the GOD-MAN, a descendent of the family of David according to the flesh, but also declared to be Son of God...(Romans 1:3,4). 

2. CHRIST’S LIFE

One of the most audacious statements Jesus ever made in His lifetime was this question addressed to His detractors: “Which of you convicts Me of sin?” (John 8: 46). Jesus claimed to be sinless, and the Bible asserts that His self-evaluation was accurate. He is called a Priest, “one who was tempted in all things as we, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). If Jesus Christ was indeed innocent of any transgression, then He among men is in a class all by Himself. 

3. CHRIST’S SUBSTITUTIONARY DEATH

His sinless life then made possible His God-authorized, substitutionary death. When He died on the cross, He died for the sins of others. He had no sins of His own for which to be punished. The Bible declares “He who knew no sin was made to be sin for us...” (2 Corinthians 5:21). No one but Christ could have died such a death after having lived such a life. 

4.CHRIST’S BODILY RESURRECTION

The fourth step Peter took up to that platform to announce Christ’s uniqueness was the historical fact of His bodily resurrection. He “was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from dead...” (Romans 1:4). “He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and appeared to Peter, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time...” (1Corinthians 15:4-6). No other famous religious leader in the history of mankind has ever died and then bodily been restored to life. 

5. CHRIST’S BODILY ASCENSION TO HEAVEN

The final step which led to Peter’s announcement of Jesus’ exclusivity was His bodily ascension. “After He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received him out of their sight...” And the attending angelic messengers explained, “This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:9,11). This event was the capstone event of the miraculous life of Jesus. With His mission completed He returned to the place from which He had come. 

If we were considering natural laws we might ask: “What is the probability that a man might be born from a virgin? If it happened once in the history of mankind, let’s say the odds are conservatively one in 10 billion. The odds of the other four steps occurring would be equally rare. When we consider the chance of all five of these occurrences happening to the same man in a life span of 30 years, the odds are astronomical and incomprehensible. But, of course, the Bible does not present these events as the product of the natural laws of probability and statistics, but the result of the divine, miraculous intervention of a sovereign God who does whatever He wants in the world He created for His glory. 

NOW HERE IS THE MAIN POINT

It would be offensively presumptuous and even preposterous for any Christian to quote Peter’s proclamation that “there is no other name; there is salvation in no other” than Christ Jesus, if that statement hung in the air, unsupported by any other justifying circumstances. But Peter’s announcement, the same announcement that Christian evangelists can still make today, is not hanging in the air. These convictions are all interlocking and mutually supporting. All of these truth claims must stand or fall together. 

The circumstances surrounding the life of Christ are without duplication. 

He is the Man without Equal. 

  1. There is no other Savior, because there was no other Man who ever came into the world like Jesus, born of the Holy Spirit through a virgin’s womb. 
  2. There was no other Man who was free from the guilt of personal sin. 
  3. There was no other Man qualified to die for the sins of others and so satisfy God’s justice. 
  4. There is no other Man who was raised bodily from the grave. 
  5. There is no other Man who has physically ascended into heaven in a resurrected body. 

There is no other Man who so loved the world. (John 3:16) 

If you adhere to these five fundamental tenants which have always been an essential part of the historic creeds of Christianity, then it is quite a logical and consistent step to embrace Peter’s exclusive statement about the uniqueness of Jesus Christ as the only Savior. If these five assertions are true of the Lord Jesus Christ, then they are true of Him, and of Him alone. He is in a class of one. And if He is in a class of one, then there is no other Savior. 

To you who are reading these words, if you have sinned, you have acquired real guilt before a holy God, and you need a savior. Now you may choose to rely upon yourself or someone else for forgiveness, but why would you be so foolish when the class of those qualified to save is a class of one? 

Pastor, Stephen Jennings