Cedarville Magazine, Spring/Summer 2016

The Exclusivity of the Gospel WeBelieve in preach the Gospel flows naturally from the requirement of conscious faith in Jesus for salvation. On the other side of the equation, the assertions of universalism and inclusivism — that some, if not all, will be saved apart from faith in Jesus Christ — undermine the command to go and preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth (Matt. 28:18–20). The God of Christianity is not the same as the gods of Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, secularism, or any other belief system that denies the divinity of Jesus Christ, and this distinction carries an immense implication for humanity. As theologian Carl F. H. Henry once noted, “The Gospel is only good news if it gets there in time.” The Apostle Paul makes this quite clear in Romans 10:14–15. First, faith in Christ comes only when the good news of Jesus Christ is understood and is met with the response of personal belief. Second, the unreached are not able to believe in Jesus Christ if they have not heard of Him. Third, the only way the unreached can hear the good news of the Gospel is if someone goes to proclaim it to them. Fourth, if they are not sent, the proclaimers of the Gospel will not reach those who have not heard. This golden chain of God’s design for saving sinners from among the nations is why Cedarville University makes taking the Gospel to the unreached our utmost priority. Theologian J. Gresham Machen captured the missions impulse resulting from the exclusive nature of salvation when he wrote, “In answer to the objection [that exclusivism is too narrow], it may be said simply that the Christianway of salvation is narrow only so long as the Church chooses to let it remain narrow.The name of Jesus is discovered to be strangely adapted to men of every race and of every kind of previous education. And the Church has ample means, with promise of God’s Spirit, to bring the name of Jesus to all. If, therefore, this way of salvation is not offered to all, it is not the fault of the way of salvation itself, but the fault of those who fail to use the means that God has placed in their hands.” PLAN OF ACTION: TRAINING FOR LIFE In light of our commitment to the exclusive Gospel of Jesus Christ and God’s promise to provide all we need for His global mission, Cedarville University has strategically provided a multitude of missions-minded opportunities to our student body. § § We consistently and intentionally train students how to share the Gospel. Students are provided regular opportunity to gain training through our Global Outreach department and Bible minor classes, in order to deepen their Gospel understanding and become equipped in evangelism and apologetics. § § We work hard to provide students with opportunities to go off campus to share the Gospel during the semester. Whether it is going to other college campuses, partnering with local churches, visiting local jails, or serving in a variety of mercy ministries, students are consistently on the go sharing the Gospel. § § We cultivate international missions partnerships and send students around the globe to share the Gospel. Each year Global Outreach sends several hundred students around the globe to evangelize the lost, encourage long-term workers and indigenous believers, and imprint on the hearts of students a burden for the unreached. In the late 19th century, famed students from Cambridge University, known today as “The Cambridge Seven,” sparked fervor for missions by yielding their lives to the God of the nations during their college years. Included in this group was famed British athlete C.T. Studd. When Studd engaged the message of Scripture and the lostness of the unreached, he reoriented all of his gifts and abilities from athletic success to the priority of God’s agenda. Studd and his classmates serve as an example of what is possible when college students connect the exclusivity of the Gospel and the state of the unreached to a burden for taking the Gospel to the nations. Just as the combustion of the dual realities of salvation in Jesus Christ alone and the desperate situation of the unreached peoples around the world led the Cambridge Seven to mobilize to reach the nations, so the Lord is working at Cedarville University. Every year, Cedarville launches students from more than 100 courses of study into the world, each one with a burden for those who have never believed or heard the name of the serpent-crushing Messiah. Just as C.T. Studd confessed, may the heartbeat of our cry be, “If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.” Jon Wood is Vice President for Student Life and Christian Ministries at Cedarville University. He earned his Ph.D. in systematic theology. The God of Christianity is not the same as the gods of Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, secularism, or any other belief system that denies the divinity of Jesus Christ To watch Thomas White’s chapel messages on this topic, visit cedarville.edu/jesusonlyway or cedarville.edu/atonementofchrist . 12 | Cedarville Magazine