I remember when we were expecting our second child. Instead of seeing our regular doctor, we were seeing a specialist known as an OB/GYN doctor, who specialized in pregnancies and childbirth. During one of our visits, the doctor saw some things that did not look right on his scans. It appeared that our baby might have water on the brain or spinal issues. He sent us to see a perinatologist. I had never heard of this kind of specialist before. This was a specialist within a specialist field that dealt with high risk pregnancies. Thankfully, after much prayer, our son came into the world without any problems.
Whenever the doctor sent us to see a specialized specialist, we never accused him of being narrow minded for doing so. There was only ONE kind of specialist suitable for us. Our question was not whether it was narrow-minded or exclusive, but when and where we were to go in order to see this specialist. Whatever ONE doctor or ONE treatment we needed was what we were prepared for.
We live in an age where narrow-mindedness is frowned on and criticized. However, there are many areas in our lives where we insist on narrow-mindedness, especially when it is a matter of life and death. If the doctor says there is only ONE treatment, we do not complain about this being narrow minded. Whether it is narrow-minded or not is not the issue. The issue is whether it is true. If it is true, then the next question is when and where can we get this ONE treatment? In our marriages, we insist on narrow-mindedness when it comes to what kind of relationships we and our spouse have with those of the opposite gender. In aircraft maintenance, we insist that the technicians follow the procedures as outlined in the tech manuals. And the list goes on and on…
What about matters of eternal life and death? Ephesians 4:4-6 declares there is one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and father of all. Is this narrow-minded and exclusive? Yes it is. But being narrow and exclusive does not make it untrue. If there is only one way to get to the next town, what difference does it make as to whether it is exclusive? If there is only one way, the question to ask is where is the one way?
In Matthew 7:13, Jesus said, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” This makes it clear that the issue is not whether it is narrow, but whether it is true and leads to life. Jesus went on to warn of false teachers who come in sheep’s clothing, which are those who lead people on the broad way to destruction.
We live in an age where it is fashionable to accept conflicting claims about God, religion, and truth as equally valid. This is the broad way. To say otherwise is criticized as being narrow-minded without asking whether it is true or not. Calling some caricature of God your god does not in fact make it God. There is only one. It is the same with everything on the list in Ephesians 4.
Jude 3 instructs that we should “contend earnestly for the faith that has been delivered once for all to the saints.” Then, after warnings against false teachers, Jude 20-21 says, “But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.” A “holy” faith is narrowly defined. It is another way of saying that there is “one” faith.
Part of our task of sharing the good news is to explain all of this. Just as we do not have multiple spouses, so we cannot have multiple gods and multiple faiths. There is and can only be one holy faith. We need to communicate that religious truth has more substance than any other truth since it deals with matters of eternal significance.
John Telgren