Why is Christianity Exclusive?

The other day I had the opprotunity to talk to a fellow Christian about my beliefs infront of an unbeliever, and so the result of that came to me basically trying to be clear to both of them about what Christianity is. The unbeliever was asking alot of questions about why our faith and belief is the only true "exclusive" belief and all others are wrong. While my fellow brother in Christ is a synergist. I had my hands full for the night. We were discussing this over food and my friends pointed out to me that I hadn't even touched my food. But how could I when I am trying to proclaim the Gospel to an unbeliever while clarifying the mistakes my brother in Christ was making because of his synergistic tendencies.

Well, to cut straight to the matter, there was a phrase in my head that keeps ringing over and over that he and many other Christians like to repeat. Many of you have heard of this phrase "it is not religion, it is a relationship." As if relationships make the difference between religion and Christianity. Cannot religions display a relationship with their god, gods, or no gods? Granted many do not have that relationship, being caught up in their works righteousness, but is not being a relationship work? This constant giving and receiving? I believe that Christianity is also a religion. By definition it is a set of beliefs and practices that people have concerning the cause of nature and the universe. So as Christians we have a belief and we have a set of practices such as the Lords supper and communion with one another coming together in worship. So what is it that makes Christianity exclusive?

The answer is not that we have a relationship (granted we do have one), but that we have the Gospel. A God centered belief as opposed to a man centered belief. What the Gospel says is not what other religions say, "do this and that and you will gain this" but that God has done everything and that we are gathered in belief of that. It is not about "What would Jesus do?" but "What has Jesus Done".

This is why I needed to clear the synergistic belief that we are the cause to our faith in which saves us. Because it is a monergistic work of God. God descends to us and gives us what we need. There is nothing we can do to ascend to Him. Our belief is a result of our regeneration which is the gracious act of God replacing our hearts of stone with a heart of flesh. Our justification is a result of the righteousness that is Christ's and is imputed to us by the faith we have recieved. And we have our relationship with God because we are continually being sanctified by the Holy Spirit working within us, creating within us fruits of righteousness. In Romans 8:28 it says "For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified." We see that it is God who does all these things! God has done everything for us! We have been freed from our selves which was dead to our sinful nature, and so we now have peace with God who has always loved us. "Twas not that I did choose thee for Lord that could not be...this knowing, if I love Thee, Thou must have loved me first".

Christianity is exclusive because it is Gospel! not because it is relationship.

P.S. Just to let all those know that are among the Christians who say this phrase, I do not hate you or mean to demean you in anyway but I am simply correcting the statement made. As said in Proverbs 27:17 "Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." Let our relationship with God be Gospel Driven and may our focus be on what God has done for that is what sticks us out from everyone else!