No Other Name
““Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
The exclusive claim of Jesus has offended other religions, yes, but it even offends christians. Why does this offend Christians? I believe that there is an underlying current throughout culture that we have adopted into our theology…
The belief that sin isn’t serious.
There’s this idea of Shalom which we tend to just translate as the word peace but it is much more than that.
The Hebrew idea of Shalom is the knitting together of God, humanity and all creation in justice fulfillment and delight. In the Bible, Shalom is the universal flourishing, wholeness and delight of being in perfect harmony and fellowship with God.
Shalom—in other words—is the way things ought to be.
We see this in our experience throughout life. We long for a world without brokenness. If the universe was just a cobbled together bunch of accidents there would be no reason for us to long for such a thing. Music, movies and stories echo this longing. We long for paradise and peace. We long for universal flourishing. We long for delight in all our days. We long for things that don’t exist in this world, great, beautiful and wonderful things. We long for Shalom. Our souls long for perfect unity, blessedness, and fellowship with God.
So what is sin?
Sin is the breaking of Shalom.
It is the Breaking of the way things ought to be. The breaking of God’s design for perfect unity, justice, fellowship and delight between God, humankind and creation. If we took sin seriously. If you and I just think of what sin has done to God’s perfect, good and wonderful creation. What we have done to ourselves, how we have knowingly and ignorantly succeeded in corrupting and twisting every good thing in creation, how the world itself is fallen due to our sin. What would we conclude if we truly took all of that seriously? We wouldn’t get offended that there is only one way (only one name) by which we can be saved.
We’d be astounded that there is a way at all.
If we truly cared about Justice (like so many post about) we’d be scandalized, not by the exclusivity of Jesus as a sacrifice, but that God would willingly and lovingly take our place.
We are fully guilty of sin and deserving of a just punishment for breaking the universe. We get offended when we hear that Jesus is the only way, when instead we should marvel that there even is one. What benefit do we bring to God? By what merit are you and I deserving of salvation? None. It is by the grace of God alone that we are offered salvation, by his good name and through Christ alone, his good way.
In his children’s book, The Silver Chair, C.S. Lewis writes a beautiful depiction of this truth. One of the main characters, Jill, meets the lion Aslan who represents Jesus in the stories. This is what he says,
“If you’re thirsty, you may drink.”
For a second she stared here and there, wondering who had spoken.
Then the voice said again, “If you are thirsty, come and drink,” and she realized that it was the lion speaking. She had seen its lips move this time, and the voice was not like a man’s. It was deeper, wilder, and stronger; a sort of heavy, golden voice. It did not make her any less frightened than she had been before, but it made her frightened in a rather different way.
“Are you not thirsty?” said the Lion.
“I’m dying of thirst,” said Jill.
“Then drink,” said the Lion.
“May I—could I—would you mind going away while I do?” said Jill.
The Lion answered this only by a look and a very low growl. And as Jill gazed at its motionless bulk, she realized that she might as well have asked the whole mountain to move aside for her convenience. The delicious rippling noise of the stream was driving her nearly frantic.
“Will you promise not to—do anything to me, if I do come?” said Jill.
“I make no promise,” said the Lion. Jill was so thirsty now that without noticing it she had come a step closer.
“Do you eat girls?” she said.
“I have swallowed up girls and boys, women and men, kings and emperors, cities and realms,” said the Lion. It didn’t say this as if it were boasting, nor as if it were sorry, nor as if it were angry. It just said it.
“I daren’t come and drink,” said Jill.
“Then you will die of thirst,” said the Lion.
“Oh dear!” said Jill, coming another step nearer. “I suppose I must go and look for another stream then.”
“There is no other stream,” said the Lion.
My friends, there is no other stream. There is no other way.
But thanks be to God that there IS a way and his name is Jesus Christ. Scripture tells us that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved!
I hope that encourages you today.
