In the previous installment of this issue, we began considering the uniqueness of Jesus Christ. To summarize thus far, the Christian teaching is that Jesus is the only Son of God. He is wholly human and wholly divine. Our salvation comes solely through him precisely because he is uniquely God incarnate.

A common question in response to our belief arises from the obvious fact that Christianity is not the only faith tradition on the planet. In fact, it is probably not the only faith in your neighborhood, and perhaps even in your family. What about all those people who do not believe in Jesus but practice another faith with deep sincerity?

Christ’s Uniqueness and Other Faiths

Let’s begin answering the question with an important distinction. There are different faiths: Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism, for instance. Sometimes, people talk about Roman Catholicism and Protestantism as different faiths (or Anglicans and Baptists, or Presbyterians and Methodists, and so on). These are different denominations of the same Christian faith. Judaism and Islam are different faiths from Christianity. Here, I am talking about differences between faith traditions, not Christian denominations.

Now that we are clear about what we mean by faith tradition, let’s ask the question again. If we insist on the uniqueness of Jesus Christ, what are we saying about people in other faith traditions? Is it necessary for us to call them unbelievers and assume that they are condemned to hell? Assuming that this must surely be the case, many have forsaken the Christian claim to Christ’s uniqueness.

There are Christian leaders who have said something to this effect: Jesus is my way, my truth, and my life. This of course suggests that Jesus is this individual’s personal path, but that there are many other paths to God that do not include Jesus. Initially, this seems very attractive. We are able to live peaceably with one another within the context of multiple faith traditions. There is no hint of smugness or intolerance in saying such a thing. Unfortunately, it is also spiritually very bad news.

If I say merely that Christ is my way, I say that Jesus is not who he claimed to be. I do not follow him as a real person, a real God, or a real savior. Instead, this view suggests that Jesus is a metaphor for God or his teaching is the philosophy of life that I will follow or his commitment to justice is the banner under which I will march. But in any event all I say when I claim that Jesus Christ is my way is that Jesus represents a path to God I pursue. I am saved by my sincerity of belief or my moral integrity or even the tirelessness of my devotion to the cause of the marginalized.

But my sincerity, integrity and tirelessness will not save me from sin and death. Only Jesus the God-Man can do this. I entrust my life and my death to Jesus. My salvation is something he and he alone accomplishes. I must trust solely in the grace of God in Jesus Christ.

And here is in fact the key to how Christians should respond to the question of other faith traditions. We must trust in the God of grace for our own salvation, and so too must we entrust anyone else to that same grace. Jesus came into the world to save us, not to condemn us.

By now you are probably impatiently asking just how this will happen if faith in Jesus Christ is the way to salvation. After all, a faithful Jew does not believe in Jesus, and neither does a faithful Muslim. This is quite right, and it is here that I ask you to remember that God is God and we are not.
Holy Scripture teaches us that God intends to reconcile the Creation to himself. The same Holy Scripture teaches us that he has done so through the death and resurrection of his Son Jesus. I do not have to forsake these beliefs to hope that all faithful Jews and Muslims and Buddhists receive the grace that comes through the Cross of Christ. But I would be wise to admit that my mind is finite and that I cannot know the intricacies of the divine economy. My comfort comes in knowing that my trust in God’s grace is well founded.

So how should we relate to our Jewish and Muslim and Buddhists friends, neighbors and relatives? Be the Christian that you are, humbly and gratefully accepting God’s grace. Respect and acknowledge our differences. Be willing to tell anyone what Jesus has done for you. Never assume a posture of spiritual superiority. Do not be anxious about God’s love for anyone. Trust in the breadth of God’s grace. And leave the work of salvation to the Savior.