In this world of all-inclusivism, deconstructionism, liberalism, ecumenism, moral and mental chaos, the exclusivity of Jesus Christ triumphs. It gives clarity to the mind. It gives peace to the heart. It is the beacon of light that stands alone, ever shining brightly to dispel the darkness of unbelief and to give hope to those who humble themselves and come to Christ.
Today, in the marketplace of ideas, the word ‘truth’ has lost its meaning, purpose and relevance. Much of this is due to the rise of philosophical relativism and postmodernism. On the altar of postmodernism, all the transcendental and objective truths, slowly but surely, are being marginalized. ‘Truth’ has now been personalised. There seems to be no definitive meaning of the word ‘meaning’ and no definitive purpose to the word ‘purpose’. For many, life seems to be a meaningless accident in a universe that is lonely, cold and dark.
The gap between tangible truth and the philosophical view of truth seems to be ever-widening. As a result of that, our moral landscape is plagued by immorality, injustice, civil unrest and oppression. Nothing seems to irritate people more than the word ‘truth’. Their allergy to it is easily palpable. In this climate of all-inclusivity, Christians claiming to know the truth sounds obnoxious. We are now considered narrow-minded, religious bigots. Society at large treats us as a fringe group that is disillusioned.
But have you ever thought about why Christians assert such a bold claim that we know the truth? What could be the reason? Let me try to answer this question in this article.
Exclusivity of the Truth
In John 14, the disciple Thomas said to Jesus “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?’. Just a few verses above, Jesus tells his disciples that he was going to the Father to prepare a place for them. Thomas was unsure about the destination that Jesus would end up at. So, his question was, to paraphrase, like this, ‘Jesus, we don’t know where in the world you are going (destination), how can we expect us to know the way?’.
After spending a great deal of time with Jesus and having heard that he was going to the Father, it is astonishing that Thomas would ask such a question. However, in answering Thomas’ question, Jesus reiterates that He is the way, the truth and the life and no one can come to the Father except by him. In other words, Jesus tells Thomas that not only was he going to the Father (destination), but he is the only way to go to the Father. If Thomas had known Christ, he would have known the way to the Father too. Knowing and believing in Jesus Christ is the only way to be accepted by the Father. There is no other way. There is no other truth. There is no other who can give life. Only Jesus Christ.
Christ was the only one who came down from heaven and the Father (Jn. 16:28). He was the only one who lived a perfect and sinless life (Jn. 8:46). He was the only one who fulfilled the entirety of the law (Matt. 5:17-22). He was the only one who loved the Father with all his heart, mind and soul perfectly (Rom. 5:19, Jn. 4:34).