When it comes to essential Christian truth, the substance of the faith as summarized in the ecumenical creeds and Reformed confessions, it is Christ, ultimately, who is the stumbling block and the rock of offense (Rom 9:33; 1 Peter 2:8). What excludes is not race, ethnicity, nationality, or sex (male or female). What excludes is not taste or preference. What excludes is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” In this sense, either the church is exclusive or it is no church. 

Perhaps the most intense and difficult part about growing up is learning how to fit in, when to try, and when it does not matter. I suppose, we probably never really outgrow those questions but perhaps, as we mature, it matters less than it did in school where, for some children, it becomes literally a matter of life and death. When I was in school we there were cliques, exclusive social groups. I belonged to an anti-clique. We made fun of the kids who we thought did not accept us. Of course, we did not have to worry about being harassed on social media.

The temptation to want to be popular is a challenge for the church too. In my first pastorate I received (surface) mail regularly from church-growth groups who offered tips and programs (typically for a fee) to help our church grow. There was some practical wisdom in some of the advice. I recall being struck by the observation that if your church feels crowded, new comers might not feel welcome. That may not be true for all cultures but on the plains that made some sense. Those folks do not like to be crowded. Other suggestions, however, struck me as being essentially man-pleasing and ear-tickling.

I am tempted to write about striking a balance between being exclusive and inclusive but that is trite. Our Lord Jesus, however, does illustrate how to relate the two truths. He said “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to Father except through me” (John 14:6). He also said, “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:9; ESV). Jesus was an exclusivist regarding salvation. He was not a universalist.

That is a hard truth for the Modern world. The Modern creed is universalist: the universal fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood of man. Orthodox Christians feel this tension constantly. We know that the most offensive thing we can say to a Modern, Enlightened person is that Jesus, God the Son, is the only Savior and that anyone who does not turn to him in true faith and repentance cannot be saved. We know the implications of this truth.

Christian exclusivity did not always trouble the church. The first two lines of the Athanasian Creed say, “Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the catholic faith; which faith except every one do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly.” In the Belgic Confession (1561) the Reformed Churches confess that the doctrine of the Trinity distinguishes us from the heretics who deny the faith and from non-Christian Jews, and from the Muslims.

When it comes to essential Christian truth, the substance of the faith as summarized in the ecumenical creeds and Reformed confessions, it is Christ, ultimately, who is the stumbling block and the rock of offense (Rom 9:33; 1 Peter 2:8). What excludes is not race, ethnicity, nationality, or sex (male or female). What excludes is not taste or preference. What excludes is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” In this sense, either the church is exclusive or it is no church. It may be a fine social gathering but it is no church. This is why the Reformed Churches, in the Belgic Confession, confess that there are three marks of the true church: the pure preaching of the Gospel, the pure administration of the sacraments (the gospel made visible), and the use of church discipline.

When it comes to ethnic, racial, or national differences or when it comes to the differences between the two sexes, we are inclusive.

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