Jul 21, 2023

Exclusive or Inclusive Gospel – Mr. Mark AbelMasseih

Institution: St. Athanasius Provincial Seminary

Language: English

Post Format: Video

Full access to resources, including videos and transcripts, is available to logged-in members only. Login below or Register for free.

0 Comments

Submit a Comment Cancel reply

Full text transcript

In this lecture, we will discuss both the exclusive and inclusive views when it comes to those who never heard about Christ and His Gospel. Can those who never heard the message of the Gospel be saved or not? The exclusive position speaks about three truths that they would never negotiate. The first is that Jesus Christ is the climax and peak of God's revelation. We believe that God revealed Himself through general revelation, but this cannot save anybody. So, God revealed Himself in nature and the human conscience, but everyone who receives this general revelation has transgressed and suppressed the truth. To be saved, you must hear the special revelation. God spoke through the prophets throughout history, but as Hebrews says, God's last word was in Jesus Christ. So, the first truth is that Jesus is the ultimate revelation of who God is. The second truth is that Jesus lived a perfect life, died on the cross for sinful people, was buried, and was raised on the third day to give new life to perishing sinners. Any other message proclaiming a different Christ is not the Christian gospel. The third and final truth is that to be saved, you need to hear the good news of Jesus, believe in Him as the Lord and Savior, and repent of your sins. We need to hear, believe, and repent (cf. Mark 1:15, John 3:36). This Gospel is inclusive in the sense that it includes anyone who believes in Jesus Christ, but it's exclusive in the sense that Jesus is the only way to God, and you need to respond to the message of the Gospel by faith to receive the benefits of His work of salvation. The inclusivist position believes in the first two points but rejects the third. They believe that Christ is the ultimate revelation of who God is and that the Christ of the Bible died on the cross and was raised on the third day, and that He is the only way to God. However, they reject the reality that to be saved and benefit from the work of Christ, you need to actually hear and believe the Gospel. An inclusivist might argue that through interaction with general revelation and moral standards written in one's heart, or through mysterious workings of God's Spirit, one can be saved without consciously hearing the Gospel. The official position of the Roman Catholic Church, as stated in the Second Vatican statement, is inclusivistic. They believe that those who never heard the word did not do so because of anything they did, but because no missionary reached them. They can benefit from the work of Christ without consciously hearing His word. Arguments for inclusivism include the idea that Old Testament saints were saved without hearing of Christ, so some today can be saved without hearing of Him. They also posit that God, being benevolent, can work with the Spirit in someone's heart without the need for the word. Another argument, based on Romans 10:10, makes a distinction between necessary and sufficient conditions for salvation, asserting that confession may not be necessary but faith is. However, this distinction is open to question. Lastly, William Craig argues that faith is necessary but does not specify the object of that faith. This position raises the question: how can one believe in Jesus without ever hearing about Him and His word? Ultimately, the lecture emphasizes that believing in Jesus as the only way of salvation and understanding the necessity of faith and repentance should motivate the Church to pray for the salvation of souls and respond to Christ's call to go and share the Gospel with the lost world. The prayer closes by asking God to instill in His Church a zeal for the salvation of nations. Amen.

Click to Copy

Exclusive or Inclusive Gospel – Mr. Mark AbelMasseih

0 Comments

Submit a Comment Cancel reply

Report this resource