We have said too much and we have said too little. The we being followers of Jesus the Christ. Throughout the centuries we have been caught in this tension of being too restrictive and not being restrictive enough.
For example, some in the first century wanted to follow a Jesus that they believed had not come in the flesh. Somehow sin didn’t matter to this Jesus (see 1 John). If you were to accept this understanding of Jesus you might be considered inclusive. John, on the other hand, was exclusive claiming that such an understanding of Jesus is outside of orthodoxy. For John, what you believe about Jesus matters. He claims that those who hold the inclusive* position are the antichrist (1 Jn. 2:18-19).
However, we also read a story of that same John coming to Jesus all worked up because there was a guy who was driving out demons in the name of Jesus and he was not one of their group. To this Jesus said, “Do not stop him…No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us” (Mk. 9:39-40). This is an inclusive Jesus.
So which is it? Is Jesus inclusive or exclusive? This is the subject that Rob Bell is tackling in this particular chapter of Love Wins. Bell obviously feels that the Church has been much too exclusive in her understanding of Jesus.
He is for all people,
And yet he refuses to be co-opted or owned by any one culture.
That includes any Christian culture. Any denomination. Any church. Any theological system. We can point to him, follow him, discuss him, honor him, and believe in him – but we cannot claim him to be ours any more than he’s anyone else’s (p. 151).
It is clear to me that Bell is reacting to the infighting that has and is taking place among followers of Jesus as well as the judgmental spirit that Christians often have of anyone who has not named Jesus as their savior. What he is doing is pointing out that God’s door is much wider than any of us imagine. This is because God is acting in ways that none of us can see or understand.
This is a message that we, like John, need to hear. God is at work in places and among people of whom we are unaware. For instance, God had a particular people through whom he intended to use as witnesses of himself – Israel. They were his chosen people. But from time to time we hear of people in the Old Testament who had no connection with Israel but who were followers of Yahweh. So Bell is right that we must be cautious in making judgmental statements about others.
However, we must also be careful that we don’t make Jesus so inclusive that he becomes superfluous. The writers of the New Testament seemed to think that it meant something to say that Jesus came in the flesh, that he was crucified for sin, that he was raised on the third day, that he was God incarnate, and that his atoning work could not be merited by humans. They thought that Jesus to be so significant that he was the only access to God (Jn. 14:6; Acts 4:12) and called curses on those who offered alternatives (Gal. 1:8-9).**
It is certainly not ours to pass condemnation on any. But it is ours to tell the story of Jesus the way the writers of the New Testament tell it. That story has an inclusive element to it. It is inclusive in that it invites all – Jews, prostitutes, Roman centurions, tax collectors, drunkards, drug addicts, Muslims, Hindus, White Supremists, gang members, middle-class white guys, and serial killers.
But it also has an exclusive element. That is because God is not one to force us. Therefore, while all are invited to come, all who refuse to come exclude themselves. Jesus made this abundantly clear (Matt. 8:11-12; Lk. 14:16-24).
* Ironically, though we might think this group inclusive, they were actually exclusive. They saw themselves as more spiritual than those who remained and therefore left them behind.
**Bell is also concerned about this, but thinks that is not a very worrisome matter because sooner or later everyone will come to this conclusion. But if we don’t accept that claim (and I don’t), then how we understand Jesus is a worrisome matter.
