Grace Maricopa

The Exclusivity of the Christian Faith

Nineteenth-century philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche said,

"Facts are precisely what there is not, only interpretations."

This statement is not entirely different from what some people say about truth today, expressing a denial of anything of substance beneath or beyond individual interpretation. In this way of looking at reality, the search for truth becomes an internal exercise restricted to an individual's own interpretation of what he or she observes in the world. This perspective of truth is called subjectivism, or sometimes relativism.

The subjective view of truth is observed in statements like,

"Truth is whatever you want it to be."
"My truth..."
"What is true for you may not be true for me."

Subjectivism is in direct contrast to the biblical view of truth, objectivism. The objective view of truth holds that truth is independent of one's mind.

Therefore, the Bible teaches that truth is independent of culture, time, gender, politics, and circumstances. In the Bible, truth is the conformity to fact, reality, or actuality. In other words, truth is that which is real, not imaginary, and truth is true for everyone everywhere.

What does objectivity have to do with exclusivity?

In a recent discussion, my brother, Jon, captured well the possible consequences of embracing subjectivity,

"...I'm wondering if a fear of objective reality is somehow causal to churches' stunted growth in the modern age. Postmodern thought and behavior empower people to make deities of themselves in solipsistic self-contained pseudo-realities, thus erasing one's perception of the need for an Almighty objective Sovereign."

"...and the gross plurality that comes with postmodern philosophy-- my truth, your truth, as equal and valid as they are different, so everything is real-- that has to be hurting unified faith and thus corporate worship. Churches may not be getting bigger at least in part because that means plugging in to Jesus, the perfect truth-teller. That means giving up control to the Savior. And we all know what it means to give the reins back...it means being inherently 'not right'..."

The Bible teaches that you will either worship the One True God, Yahweh, and Him alone, or you will not worship Him at all. Further, the Bible asserts that any form of worship that is not the proper worship of the One True God, Yahweh, is demonic idolatry.

This objective reality of the only true worship being the proper worship of Yahweh has several implications, one of which is exclusivity. There are, perhaps, differing traditions of worship; there are, perhaps, differing locations of worship. However, there is only one proper biblical worship of Yahweh that requires praising Yahweh, praying to Yahweh, the preaching of Yahweh's revealed word in the Bible, and the practice of the ordinances of the Church in the Lord's Supper and Baptism.

What this means for us as Christians is gathering and participating in the ministries of our local church is immensely important. Gathering with the saints every week to worship Yahweh God, using our spiritual gifts in service within the congregation to the exaltation of Yahweh God and edification of His people, and the proclaiming of Yahweh God in the evangelism of the lost is a necessity and our highest priority.

Finding a Biblical Church

In the first week of March, a devotional guide to help Christians identify a biblical church that I have published will be available on Amazon and Amazon Kindle: Finding a Biblical Church: A 35-Day Guide. This guide was written in response to the number of requests I received over the years from people who have applied a consumer shopping method to the process of identifying and joining a local church and the resulting harm they experienced from that practice. This guide has been written as a resource to help Christians evaluate and identify a biblical church.

If you know of someone who professes to be Christian but has not joined and is not actively participating in a local church, I encourage you to purchase a copy of this guide for them.

Our goal as Christians is not leading people to make decisions, but to become disciples of Jesus Christ. This means that we must not stop with sharing the gospel, but also lead those we evangelize to a biblical church where they can join the saints in exalting God, edifying one another, and evangelizing the world.

May the Lord grant us a life lived in faithful Christian community.

Post tenebras lux,

Pastor Dan | Ps. 46