The Exclusivity of Christ

Why do people reject the gospel? The words of Jesus are very clear. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everylasting life" (John 3:16). This suggests that if you do not believe in him you will perish. That is be lost throughout eternity without God. To perish means to vanish, be destroyed, go astray, or be lost. John 3:16 is known throughout the world, and most people can quote it by heart. The verses that follow John 3:16 are not so familiar, perhaps, but just as important, if not more so. "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved" (verse 17). This is saying that without faith in God's Son, we are not saved, we are lost, we are on the way to eternity with no hope of everlasting life in the Kingdom of God. "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God"(verse 18). "And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil" (verse 19). Christ has called believers His bride, and He is referred to in Scripture as the Bridegroom. Of course, His claim is exclusive. There is only one way to God, one Lord and Savior, one Mediator between God and man, and that is Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son. This is the gospel in a nutshell. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Jesus did not come to condemn, we were already condemned; therefore, refusal to repent of your sin and follow Jesus is remaining condemned and without hope and without God in the world (Ephesians 2:12). He invites us all to have a relationship with Him, because He created us and commanded us to love Him with all our heart, soul and mind, the first of the Ten Commandments. It is no more than God's will for all people, and rejecting this is to continue under God's wrath. This is the most important message of the entire Bible.