I’ve heard it said that, with the change of one letter, millions of people would immediately change their view of Christianity. And that letter is “a.” These people would change their view if Christians would only proclaim Jesus to be a savior instead of the Savior.
Adherents of this view often practice what is known as a “Buffet Religion.” As opposed to following one of the traditional world religions, buffet religions treat spiritual beliefs like an all-you-can-eat buffet. Under the guise of “tolerance,” adherents mix and match their preferred beliefs to create their own personalized religion. The results of this type of pluralistic worldview in America are evidenced by a Newsweek Poll on the topic. Amazingly, 79 percent of respondents believe that someone of a different faith can get to heaven.[1]
This is a direct attack against the uniqueness of Jesus because Jesus did not claim to be a way to God. Rather, He claimed to be “the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6, English Standard Version).” Not to be misunderstood, He went on to declare that “no one comes to the Father but through me (John 14:6).” Buffet religions, which focus more on the sincerity of the believer than the objective truth of the underlying belief, run in diametric opposition to these exclusive claims of Christ.
Some, seeking to justify the creation of a buffet religion, claim that Jesus did not see Himself as the unique Son of God. This is an attempt “to create God in our own image, instead of the other way around.”[2]
Jesus did not teach a “make your own” salvation. He claimed to be the door to salvation for His sheep (John 10:7). And lest one fall into the temptation to diminish the exclusivity of that claim, He goes on to say that “there will be one flock, one shepherd (John 10:16).” Jesus is the good shepherd. Further, He specifically claimed that how people react to Him will impact their eternity. “So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven (Matthew 10:32).”
As would be expected, the Apostles echoed Jesus’ clear teaching of His uniqueness. John reiterates that “No one who denies the Son has the Father (1 John 2:23) and Peter preached that “there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:13).
The scripture is clear, and I believe Jesus is who He said He is.
[1] J. P. Moreland and Tim Muehlhoff, The God Conversation : Using Stories and Illustrations to Explain Your Faith, (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2017), 71, ProQuest Ebook Central.
[2] Moreland and Muehlhoff. The God Conversation, 62.