Depending on the church you attend, the Christianity you see reported on the news, or the Christians who evangelise to you on the street, Christianity can come across as either radically inclusive or radically exclusive.
On one hand, there are some Christians who really promote the radical love of God: Christianity is open to all, and no one is far enough away from God that acceptance can’t be found. And the most extreme versions of this messaging might even say that there’s no ‘limit’ after you die – universalist approaches to hell major on the idea that God’s grace doesn’t even stop at death, and so all can (or will) be saved after death.
On the other hand, some people can make Christianity seem extremely exclusive. For while anyone can come to faith in Jesus (in theory), there is a long list of things you need to do to be truly part of God’s Kingdom. This might mean having specific views on sin, attending the right church, dressing a certain way or anything else that makes one ‘part’ of the community of believers. At its most extreme, this sort of Christianity might deny that some Christian community or other are ‘not really Christians.’¹
But who’s right? Is Christianity open and inclusive, or narrow and exclusive?
Well, sort of both. Don’t get me wrong, I think there are extreme views on both sides of this debate that we should question and challenge, but both are born out of solid theological foundations.
Now it’s worth saying that I’m a theologian and Christian, and that means I fall somewhere on this spectrum (I am not, for example, a universalist) – meaning it’s likely that some people will profoundly disagree with me. But breezing past that, let’s look at what I see as the potential conflicts. I see two key tensions that can become confused in this debate. Firstly, salvation. Secondly, two joint questions of the Christian community and sanctification.
Starting with the latter, Christianity does suggest that there are ways in which we should live, and not just in the Old Testament. Jesus seems to suggest that actively sinning is a problem (‘go and sin no more, John 8:11). Likewise, Paul has all sorts of things to say on Christian behaviour (to list a few examples: 1 Timothy 6: 9-12, Galatians 6, Ephesians 5: 3-7, Philippians 4)
And this is tied together with sanctification: the idea that through the power of the Spirit, we are made Holy.
But Holiness, while made possible by God, is something we must engage in. We draw near to Him through prayer and worship, and we turn away from sin (or try to).
And this is tied together with sanctification: the idea that through the power of the Spirit, we are made Holy. But Holiness, while made possible by God, is something we must engage in. We draw near to Him through prayer and worship, and we turn away from sin (or try to).
On the other hand, Christianity is not a mystery cult (like Scientology or Gnosticism); its beliefs are on display for the world, and that is because anyone and everyone is welcome. Jesus invites all people to come to him (Matthew 11:28-30). You don’t unlock the Holy Spirit at Level 2 and only understand a theology of lament at Level 9. Theology is open for us to explore and learn. There are obvious limitations on people’s ability to study (time, for example), and some people won’t pursue in relationship with Christ, but the thief on the cross shows us that the bar for a relationship with Jesus is pretty low.
It would seem then that both sides have a point. I know that it may be a little disappointing to hear, but just a few points on this. Christianity has some primary issues. For example, certain beliefs are precluded to you if you want to be broadly speaking a Christian (such as claiming Jesus isn’t God) – you can believe this, but it does set you apart from Christianity. So, in this sense, Christianity can be exclusive. But there aren’t many theological issues that count as ‘primary’. To be clear, this doesn’t equate to ‘not important’, it’s just a way of allowing disagreement within Christianity, whilst acknowledging that not all theology is essential to agree on to be a Christian. We might, for example, disagree on whether communion is symbolic or not, or on the style of worship, or on church leadership, but this theology does not separate us because we still share the core Christian commitments, such as belief in the Trinity.
Likewise, it’s important to note that some churches may exclude you from specific roles, because of secondary beliefs – women are unlikely to be appointed pastor in a complementarian church – but this is not the same as excluding you from the Christian faith.
Is Christianity exclusive or inclusive? Well yes. And I think that’s okay. No matter which flavour of Christian you might be, may the Lord bless you and keep you, and make his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you, may you know peace (Numbers 6:24-26).
Footnotes:
¹Importantly there is a distinction between primary and secondary doctrine’s, disagreement on secondary issues is perfectly fine in Christian circles. Check a previous post of mine on this topic on Substack https://jackdjohnson.substack.com/p/are-you-a-heretic
