Theological Term of the Week

inclusivism
The view that while Jesus Christ is the only Saviour and everyone who is saved is saved by the work of Christ, explicit knowledge of Christ and faith in him is not necessary to be saved, because it is possible for someone to be saved by responding rightly to the light of general revelation or by sincerely believing and practicing in accordance with the bits of truth found in a non-Christian religion.

• Scripture used by some to defend inclusivism:

  … to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life…. (Romans 2:7 ESV)

• Scripture that shows inclusivism to be in error:

  That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? (Romans 10:9-14 ESV)

• From the Westminster Larger Catechism:

  Question 60: Can they who have never heard the gospel, and so know not Jesus Christ, nor believe in him, be saved by their living according to the light of nature?

  Answer: They who, having never heard the gospel, know not Jesus Christ, and believe not in him, cannot be saved, be they never so diligent to frame their lives according to the light of nature, or the laws of that religion which they profess; neither is there salvation in any other, but in Christ alone, who is the Savior only of his body the church.

• From The Gospel, Missions, and Inclusivism by Andreas Kostenberger:

  Scripture makes clear that humanity is universally sinful, and that God’s wrath remains on every individual who has not placed his or her trust in Jesus Christ on the basis of his substitutionary death on the cross and his subsequent resurrection. While there may be philosophical or larger theological objections to such a notion (such as the difficulty experienced by some of reconciling this notion with the love of God), while there may be commonsense concerns on the basis of human conceptions or “fairness” or other similar considerations, there can be little doubt that Scripture nowhere teaches, or easily allows the implication, that there is a way to salvation other than through explicit faith in Jesus Christ during a person’s lifetime (e.g., Heb 9:27-28). In fact, this is not an obscure topic; it is the central contention of the biblical message concerning the gospel, that “[s]alvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Learn more:

1. GotQuestions.org: Inclusivism vs. exclusivism - what does the Bible say?
2. Dan Musick: Inclusivism
3. Robert Reymond: The “Very Pernicious and Detestable” Doctrine of Inclusivism
4. A. B Caneday: Evangelical Inclusivism and the Exclusivity of the Gospel: A Review of John Sanders’s No Other Name (pdf) and Faith Comes By Hearing: Inclusivists’ Abuse of Romans 10:9-17
5. John K. Barrett: Does Inclusivist Theology Undermine Evangelism (pdf)
   
6. Michael Reeves: The Cruelty of Inclusivism
7. Timothy Beougher: Does Belief in Inclusivism Weaken Motivation for Missions and Evangelism
8. Todd Borger: Can Inclusivism Be Supported by the OT?
9. Dr. Tim Beougher: Understanding the Isms: Universalism, Inclusivism, Pluralism and Exclusivism (mp3)
   
10. Greg Koukl: Revisiting Inclusivism, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 (YouTube videos)

Related terms:

• general revelation
• exclusivism
• pluralism
• universalism
  

Do you have a a theological term you’d like to see featured here as a Theological Term of the Week? If you email it to me, I’ll seriously consider using it.

I’m also interested in any suggestions you have for tweaking my definitions or for additional (or better) articles or sermons/lectures for linking. I’ll give you credit and a link back to your blog if I use your suggestion.

Clicking on the Theological Term graphic at the top of this post will take you to a list of all the previous theological terms organized in alphabetical order or by topic.

Theological Term of the Week

exclusivism
The teaching that Jesus Christ is the only Saviour and faith in him is necessary for salvation.

• From scripture:

  That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? (Romans 10:9-14 ESV)

• From the Westminster Larger Catechism:

  Question 60: Can they who have never heard the gospel, and so know not Jesus Christ, nor believe in him, be saved by their living according to the light of nature?

  Answer: They who, having never heard the gospel, know not Jesus Christ, and believe not in him, cannot be saved, be they never so diligent to frame their lives according to the light of nature, or the laws of that religion which they profess; neither is there salvation in any other, but in Christ alone, who is the Savior only of his body the church.

• From Christian Exclusivism Explained and Defended by Matt Perman:

  Sometimes the question is phrased like this: “What happens to the innocent native in deepest Africa who never hears the gospel?” If one puts it this way, the answer is easy: the innocent person has nothing to worry about! As R.C. Sproul has said, “The innocent native who never hears of Christ is in excellent shape, and we need not be anxious about his redemption. The innocent person doesn’t need to hear of Christ. He has no need of redemption. God never punishes innocent people. The innocent person needs no Savior; he can save himself by his innocence” (Sproul, p. 49).
  
  The problem, however, is that there is no such thing as the innocent native in Africa, or anywhere! The Bible teaches that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 6:23) and “there is none righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:10). In fact, the Scriptures go so far as to say that left to ourselves, “there is none who seeks for God” (Romans 3:11).
  
  This leads us to an important principle: the person who has never heard of Christ is already condemned—not because they haven’t accepted a Savior they’ve never heard about, but because they have sinned against what they do know about God. But one may ask, “What has this native known about God that He could reject?” The answer is in the distinction the Bible makes between general revelation and special revelation. Special revelation is the message that Christ died and rose again for sins, and that salvation comes through trusting in Him. This message is only revealed in the Bible, and therefore the only people who get special revelation are those who either hear it from others or read it for themselves. General revelation is “the mute non-verbal witness of the creation that points men to the existence of God” (Robert Morey, Studies in the Atonement, p. 246). Since general revelation is given through nature, all humans are aware of it. The Bible teaches that everyone, through the general revelation of nature, knows that God the Father exists and is holy (Romans 1:18-21) and that they are sinful (Romans 1:32; 2:14-15) and thus are deserving of death (Romans 1:32). Therefore, all humans to ever live, whether they have heard of Christ or not, are guilty and without excuse before God for rejecting what they do know about God (Romans 1:20, 21; 3:23).
  
  This should clear up a huge misunderstanding. Often we think that humanity is in the neutral zone, and that “the only damnable offense against God is the rejection of Christ” (Sproul, p. 50). Thus, it would seem unfair for God to condemn those who have never heard, because they never had the chance to respond to the gospel and commit the “damnable offense” of rejecting Christ. However, we have seen that the Scriptures are clear that we are not neutral, and even those who do not have the Bible are willingly and knowingly guilty of sin and rejecting God. We are sinners by nature (Eph 2:3) and by choice (Romans 6:23) even if we have never heard of Christ (Romans 1:18-32), and thus we are all deserving of condemnation. That is why we need Christ. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him” (John 3:17). So the gospel is sent to save those who are already condemned for reasons independent of the message, not to condemn those who are neutral in the sight of God but are in danger of perishing if they are never exposed to special revelation.
  
  Therefore, “We can rest assured that no one is ever punished for rejecting Christ if they’ve never heard of Him” (Sproul, p. 50). Those who never hear are condemned because they have rejected the general revelation of God the Father in nature that all people without exception receive, not because they have never heard of Christ. Those who never hear are not under condemnation for not knowing about special revelation that they never received, but for rejecting general revelation that they did receive.

Learn more:

1. GotQuestions.org: Inclusivism vs. exclusivism - what does the Bible say?
2. GotQuestions.org: Can a person be saved through general revelation?
3. W. Gary Crampton: Christian Exclusivism
4. J. I. Packer: Salvation sans Jesus
5. John Hendryx: Is Jesus Really the Only Way?
6. Matt Perman: Christian Exclusivism Explained and Defended 
7. Curt Daniel: The Destiny of the Unevangelized (mp3)
8. Kevin DeYoung: Clarifying Inclusivism and Exclusivism

Related terms:

• general revelation
• inclusivism
• universalism
• pluralism
  

Filed under Isms.

Do you have a a theological term you’d like to see featured here as a Theological Term of the Week? If you email it to me, I’ll seriously consider using it.

I’m also interested in any suggestions you have for tweaking my definitions or for additional (or better) articles or sermons/lectures for linking. I’ll give you credit and a link back to your blog if I use your suggestion.

Clicking on the Theological Term graphic at the top of this post will take you to a list of all the previous theological terms organized in alphabetical order or by topic.

Theological Term of the Week

typology
A method of biblical interpretation that arises from the concept that in God’s plan, elements found in the Old Testament (laws, institutions, and historical people or events) prefigure the things God purposed to accomplish in later times, especially in the work of Christ.

• From scripture:

  Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. (Romans 5:14 ESV)

  By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing 9 (which is symbolic for the present age). (Hebrews 9:8-9 ESV)
  

• From the London Baptist Confession, 1689, Chapter 8, Of Christ the Mediator:

  6._____ Although the price of redemption was not actually paid by Christ till after his incarnation, yet the virtue, efficacy, and benefit thereof were communicated to the elect in all ages, successively from the beginning of the world, in and by those promises, types, and sacrifices wherein he was revealed, and signified to be the seed which should bruise the serpent’s head; and the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, being the same yesterday, and to-day and for ever.

• From ESV Study Bible, Interpreting the Bible:

  The earliest followers of Christ interpreted the Hebrew Scriptures (the OT) as Jesus taught them—as a book of anticipations pointing to Christ himself. He was the long-promised Messiah, the Redeemer who would reverse the effects of the primal fall and restore the world to pristine holiness. Jesus taught that the OT spoke of him. To his critics he said, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me” (John 5:39). The Gospel accounts suggest that Jesus understood the OT from a Christocentric, typological perspective; he is repeatedly cast as the fulfillment of the Scriptures. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus made it clear that his views did not contradict Moses, but he had come to invest the Law and the Prophets with their proper and full meaning (Matt. 5:17). Two themes run through Jesus’ teaching: (1) the Law was the perfect revelation of God to humanity, and (2) Jesus came to fulfill the Law by meeting its exacting demands for a righteous standing before God.

  This approach to the OT is how the earliest writers of the Christian Scriptures (the NT) approached their own writings. They spoke of the OT in the same way that Jesus had: as a book not merely telling the pre-Christian history of Israel but telling that history in a way that had present and future significance for Christians. The OT was the original sacred book of the church, giving assurance that Jesus was the promised and anointed one predicted by the prophets.

• From 40 Questions about Interpreting the Bible by Robert Plummer:

  In a famous lecture (and subsequently published article), New Testament  scholar Richard Longenecker asked, “Can we reproduce the exegesis of the New Testament?” Longenecker was asking whether we, as modern interpreters, can apply typological interpretive methods to passages not so cited by New Testament authors. Bible-believing Christians have reached a variety of conclusions on the matter. In my opinion, it is necessary to ask how any part of Scripture points to Christ. We must be cautious, however, in proposing any typological correspondences that are not explicitly mentioned in Scripture. In other words, we should keep the surface-level meaning of the text the primary focus of our exposition and give appropriate interpretive caveats when suggesting a Christological application not found explicitly in the Bible. Obscure symbolic interpretations of Old Testament laws should be avoided. It is probably wise to ask a friend who is more experienced in biblical interpretation to critique any newly proposed Christological typology before publicly proclaiming it.
  

Learn more:

1. GotQuestions.org: What is Biblical typology?
2. Theopedia: Biblical typology
3. Tim Challies: A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words
4. Stephen J. Wellum: Three Features of Typology
5. Fred Zaspel: The Warrant for Typological Interpretation of Scripture
6. David Murray: Typology: A Step-by-Step Guide (pdf)
7. Wayne Jackson: A Study of Biblical Typology
8. Charles T. Fritsch: Biblical Typology
9. Bible Research: List of resources on typology

Related terms:

• biblical hermeneutics
• exegesis
• redemptive history

Filed under Scripture

Do you have a a theological term you’d like to see featured here as a Theological Term of the Week? If you email it to me, I’ll seriously consider using it.

I’m also interested in any suggestions you have for tweaking my definitions or for additional (or better) articles or sermons/lectures for linking. I’ll give you credit and a link back to your blog if I use your suggestion.

Clicking on the Theological Term graphic at the top of this post will take you to a list of all the previous theological terms organized in alphabetical order or by topic.