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Resolution On The Finality Of Jesus Christ As Sole And Sufficient Savior


WHEREAS, The fundamental truth of Christianity is that “God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself” (II Cor. 5:19); and

WHEREAS, From beginning to end the Bible proclaims salvation through Jesus Christ and no other (1 Tim. 2:5); and

WHEREAS, Both our Lord Himself and the apostles He sent forth into the religiously pluralistic environment of the first century proclaimed without apology the exclusive claims of Jesus Christ as the only way to the Father, calling on all persons everywhere to repent or perish (Luke 13:3; John 14:6; Acts 4:12); and

WHEREAS, Although God has disclosed himself genuinely in all cultures through the created order and the human conscience, this general revelation has been so perverted by sin as to leave all persons utterly destitute of any hope of salvation outside of personal repentance and faith in the Redeemer (Rom. 1-2); and

WHEREAS, The Christian church is not confronted with various schemes of universalism, radical pluralism, theological inclusivism, and religious relativism, all of which call into question the clear teaching of Holy Scripture and historic Baptist belief in the particularity and finality of the revelation and salvific work of Jesus Christ; and

WHEREAS, Christianity is often presented in the context of world religions as merely one of the many expressions of humanity’s religious consciousness, all of which are seen as independently valid ways of knowing God; and

WHEREAS, Theological accommodation in this critical area of faith and doctrine seriously compromises our evangelistic witness and missionary outreach to the lost.

WHEREAS, This session of the Southern Baptist Convention coincides with the very week which marks the 200th anniversary of William Carey’s departure from England for India for the express purpose of “propagating the gospel”; and

Therefore, Be it RESOLVED, That the messengers to the 136th session of the Southern Baptist Convention, affirm biblical teaching concerning the uniqueness of Jesus Christ as the sole and sufficient Savior for all persons who have lived or ever shall be, understanding that the redeemed are justified by grace through faith in our Lord who on the cross personally bore the penalty of our sin in His body and purchased our redemption by His blood; and

Be it further RESOLVED, That we oppose the false teaching that Christ is so evident in world religions, human consciousness or the natural process that one can encounter Him and find salvation without the direct means of the gospel, or that adherents of the non-Christian religions and world views can receive this salvation through any means other than personal repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, the only Savior; and

Be it finally RESOLVED, That we confess Jesus Christ as the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and that we commit ourselves to proclaim the good news of eternal life through Jesus Christ to everyone everywhere, including the 1.3 billion persons who have never heard the name of Christ for the first time, to the end that souls may be saved for eternity and God glorified in ever increasing measure.