Isaiah 45:22: “Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.”
One of the reasons people struggle with the Christian faith is our belief that there is only one way to God. They think we’re too exclusive. They like the idea that there are many ways to God. Today’s verse confirms that there is only one way, but it reveals the heart of God that is anything but exclusive.
Listen to the opening line, “Turn to me and be saved.” Do you hear the yearning in God’s voice? First, He’s telling everyone who doesn’t yet know Him they’re going in the wrong direction – He wants them to turn to Him. Furthermore, not only is He telling them they are going the wrong way, but also He’s informing them the way they are going offers no hope and ends in death. If it did not, why would He say they will be saved if they turn to Him?
The next segment amplifies the heart of God. Moreover, it blows apart the notion that God is exclusive. “All you ends of the earth.” Do you hear any exceptions in God’s desire for all to turn to Him and be saved? Personally, I think this is a key verse that blows up the John Calvin doctrine that only those who God chooses can be saved. If this were true, why would He so clearly make a statement of desire, “All you ends of the earth?”
The final segment of our memory verse tells us this is God talking, and there is no other God. Why is this important? First, this messaging of all turning to Him to be saved is God Himself – everyone’s Creator. What other god of any other religion so plainly and clearly makes such a passionate, redemptive request? Furthermore, I believe when He is saying there is no other god, He is also saying there is no other way to be saved. This puts us back to my opening statement of the difficulty people have with Christianity. There’s only one way.
Give this some thought, if you did not know God, wouldn’t you want to be sure of your eternal destination choice instead of having to figure which god is the right one and which one is wrong? There may be only one way to God in our faith, but it is the right way to the right God. Moreover, He wants everyone to turn to Him – that is the same heart that we hear in John 3:16, for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever should believe in Him shall never perish and have eternal life. That’s the love of God telling all of His creation to turn to Him and be saved. That doesn’t sound exclusive. It sounds pretty inclusive to me.