Hebrews 9:22–26 — And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. 23 Therefore it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; 25 nor was it that He would offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with blood that is not his own. 26 Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.
Christianity is exclusive. God makes it very clear in the book that He caused to be written that there is only one way for sinners to be saved, and not many. Salvation is not a matter in which men and women may display their ingenuity, producing an à la carte salvation, in which they pick and choose the components that suit them best. It is not a matter of following any (or none) of the major religions depending on what we feel most comfortable with.
We don't like to be told this in the 21st century. We don't understand why we can't choose how we would like to be saved - in fact we often don't think of ourselves as needing a thorough-going salvation so much as a helping hand when things get too tough for us to manage on our own. It would be narrow-minded of God (we think) to limit our options to one Savior, one pathway to heaven. Since the god we have formed in our imagination is not narrow minded, those Christians have clearly got it wrong, who say that repentance from sin and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation - or so we think.
But before we close the page and get on with our day, let's take a look at a couple of Scriptures. First, what did Jesus think on this subject?
John 14:6 — Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
And what was the opinion of the Apostle Peter?
Acts 4:8–12 — Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people, 9 if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by this name this man stands here before you in good health. 11 “He is the STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, but WHICH BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone. 12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
The Lord Jesus and Peter must count as authorities on the subject, surely, and their words are recorded for us so that we may be certain of this truth - Jesus is the only Savior from sin. No other religion, experience or philosophy will save anyone from hell.
So what does this have to do with the Lord's Supper? Simply that the Table clearly proclaims to us the reason why there can be no other way to heaven - if we have ears to hear it. Our opening text tells us that the shed blood of Jesus, seen in symbol at the Table, is the key.
Over the next few meditations we will explore this further so we can better appreciate this facet of the message proclaimed by the Table. For now, though, let us rejoice that there is a Savior, and that salvation is available to all who will turn from sin and put their trust in Him!
