A Liberal Lutheran Pastor For Whom Jesus is Not the Only Way

(The following is by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org.  Follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and twitter - here.)

How do liberal pastors get around the Bible's clear teaching that Jesus is the only way of salvation (John 14:6, Acts 4:12)? Below is a tragic example of a pastor trying to do just that. You will notice the tortured hermeneutics he uses to get around the plain meaning of John 14:6. It is sad because once Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, a huge ELCA congregation, was known for being more evangelical. It looks like ...those days are gone.

Pastor Tom Brock

From Prince of Peace's website:

One Way
March 16, 2015 by Jeff Marian
Recently a friend confided that he was troubled by John 14:6, “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”

Like many others, my friend was troubled by the way that this verse is often interpreted. The interpretation goes something like this: “God will only accept, and give entrance into heaven, those who believe certain doctrines about Jesus, like his virgin birth, his divine/human nature, his substitutionary atonement. Everyone else will be rejected and condemned.”

John 14:6 would trouble me, too, if that’s what I thought it meant. But I don’t, if for no other reason than that it runs counter to the profound inclusivity that Jesus modeled throughout his life and ministry.

There are, fortunately, other ways to understand and interpret Jesus’ words...I understand “the way” of Jesus as the pathway of love, forgiveness and self-sacrifice … not the way in to God’s favor, and not the way out of eternal condemnation. The way, the truth and the life are not an end result reserved for people who believe certain religious doctrines. Daily dying to old self-centered ways and daily rising to newness of life is a journey that’s universal and inclusive, and God’s Spirit meets and empowers all who choose to walk that road.

I’ve met far too many who profess all the right doctrine but seem to walk the dead-end road of life-denying anger and judgment. But I’ve never met anyone walking in the way of Jesus – dying to self-centeredness and rising to newness of life – who didn’t radiate life-giving grace, no matter what their doctrine.

So, in light of John 14:6, I think the question is this: Which “way” are you walking?

Jeff Marian is Lead Pastor at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Burnsville, MN

(See here)