Matthew 11:28-30 – (Jesus said), “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
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(…continued) I, like Oprah, was shocked and saddened by the horrendous events of September 11th. But unlike Oprah, I am unable to give any hope and comfort beyond the words of Scripture itself. There, in that Word of God, I find the unique story of God coming to earth as a man, dying, and then rising from the dead. My comfort and hope must be based on that Word and what it says about how I may inherit eternal life. Without that story, there is no hope. There are no other credible offers on the table.
I do not like being critical of the happy and hopeful proclamations of Oprah. Even now I would like to remain silent. I saw on TV the other night yet another family member of a World Trade Center victim, another one who was grieving “as those who have no hope” (I Thessalonians 4:13). How nice it would be to be able to offer comfort and hope to everyone as easily as Oprah. But I know of no true basis for such easy comfort. We cannot just dream up whatever makes us feel good about the afterlife, and then offer it as hope to those who are grieving (not even if you are an important celebrity with a huge following). We have to base our hope and comfort on something true and solid. I have found the Bible to be the only reliable source of truth about eternal life. There is no other. In Jeremiah 23:16 the Lord God Almighty, creator of all life, says “Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord.”
The feeling of unity at the inter-faith services was a good feeling and it was seductive. Today’s pluralism makes it more and more difficult to name the name of our God, the one true God, and to say as Peter said in Acts 4:12 that “salvation is found in no one else.” But the Word which we believe sends us out in to all the world to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the NAME of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).
This is not what I want to do. It is too difficult. People don’t want me bothering them with this. But as a Christian, I do not get to do what I want to do, for the Bible tells me, “You are not your own, you were bought at a price; therefore, honor God…” (I Corinthians 6:19-20). I have been called to speak that word and name that ‘Name that is above every name’ (Philippians 2:9). So as it says in Ecclesiastes, “There is a time to be silent,” but there is also “a time to speak.”
If we remain silent, the easy universalism of Oprah will become the firm belief of all, even Christians, and then there will be no more evangelism and no more world missions. To proclaim ‘salvation in Christ alone’ to a pluralistic world is not easy and may not seem to be the way of love. But to leave a hopeless people without hope, or to give them a false and worthless hope, is certainly not the most loving thing to do. We must continue to obey the clear command of God.
The prophet Jeremiah, also speaking to a troubled people at a troubled time, had this same inner struggle. Here is how he expressed it: “But if I say, ‘I will not mention Him or speak anymore in His name,’ His Word is in my heart like a burning fire, shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot” (Jeremiah 20:9).
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Acts 4:11-12 – (Peter said), “Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
Acts 16:29-31a — The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.”
Matthew 28:18-20 — Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Romans 10:9 — If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
I Thessalonians 4:13-14 — Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.
John 14:1-6 – (Jesus said), “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
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O God of all the nations of the earth, remember the multitudes who, though created in thine image, they have not known thee, nor the dying of thy Son; and grant that by the prayers and labors of thy holy church they may be delivered from all superstition, false hope, and unbelief, and brought to worship thee; through him who thou hast sent to be the resurrection and the life to all men, thy Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
–Francis Xavier, Missionary to India, Japan, and Borneo (1506-1552)
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Merciful Father, your kindness caused the light of the Gospel to shine among us. Extend your mercy now, we pray, to all the people of the world who do not have hope in Jesus Christ, that your salvation may be made known to them also and that all hearts would turn to you; through Jesus Christ, your Son our Lord. Amen.
–Lutheran Book of Worship, 1978, page 45
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