The Gospel Of Christ: Peace With All, Compromise With None -By Leonard Karshima Shilgba

“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” — Acts 4:12

There is a growing language in our world today about interfaith understanding, interreligious dialogue, religious harmony, common brotherhood, and global peace. There is certainly nothing unchristian about desiring peace.

Indeed, Scripture commands us:

“If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.”
— Romans 12:18

Christians should not be people who hate their neighbours because they belong to another religion. We should love our neighbours, respect their humanity, seek justice, reject violence, and pursue peaceful coexistence.

But there is a question that the Church must never be afraid to ask:

At what point does the pursuit of peace become a compromise of truth?

For the Christian, there must be a line that cannot be crossed.

PEACE IS NOT THE GOSPEL

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not fundamentally a program for reconciling religions with one another.

It is God’s message of reconciliation between God and sinful humanity through Jesus Christ.

The Apostle Paul says:

“God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.”
— 2 Corinthians 5:19

That is the Gospel.

The problem confronting humanity is deeper than religious misunderstanding. It is sin.

The greatest divide in the universe is not between Christian and Muslim, Jew and Gentile, African traditional religion and Western religion, or one denomination and another.

The greatest divide is between a holy God and sinful humanity.

And the Gospel announces that God Himself has provided the way of reconciliation through His Son.

Therefore, Christianity cannot reduce the Gospel to a program of human friendship, social harmony, diplomacy, or international cooperation.

These things may have their legitimate place.

But they are not the Gospel.

THE CHRISTIAN CAN LIVE PEACEABLY WITHOUT CALLING FALSEHOOD TRUTH

There is an important distinction that Christians must recover.

Peaceful coexistence is not the same thing as theological agreement.

I can respect you without agreeing with you.

I can love you without affirming your religion.

I can defend your right to worship without declaring that your worship and mine are identical.

I can sit at a table with you as a fellow human being without placing Christ on the same theological level as every other religious claim.

I can work with you to prevent violence, promote education, protect communities, defend human dignity, or advance the common good without surrendering the central confession of my faith.

The Christian does not need hostility in order to maintain conviction.

Neither does he need compromise in order to demonstrate love.

The Scriptures ask:

“Can two walk together, except they be agreed?”
— Amos 3:3

There are matters on which human beings can cooperate despite profound differences.

But when the question becomes:

Who is Jesus Christ?

the Christian cannot negotiate.

THERE IS ONLY ONE SAVIOR

Peter stood before the religious authorities of his day and declared:

“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
— Acts 4:12

Notice the language.

Not one of many names.

Not one legitimate path among several.

Not one expression of the same religious truth.

“None other.”

And Jesus Himself declared:

“I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
— John 14:6

The definite article matters:

THE way.
THE truth.
THE life.

This is not the language of religious relativism.

The Christian Gospel makes an exclusive claim because Christ makes an exclusive claim.

The question therefore is not whether Christians should be peaceful.

We should.

The question is whether, in the name of peace, Christians may alter the Gospel so that it becomes acceptable to everyone.

They may not.

PAUL’S WARNING TO THE CHURCH

This brings us directly to Galatians.

Paul was astonished that believers who had received the Gospel were so quickly turning to another message.

He wrote:

“I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel.”
— Galatians 1:6

And then Paul says something extraordinarily severe:

“But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.”
— Galatians 1:8

Why such severity?

Because Paul understood something that the contemporary Church must never forget:

You can change the Gospel while continuing to use Christian vocabulary.

You can still say “Jesus.”

You can still quote Scripture.

You can still gather in church buildings.

You can still hold conferences.

You can still call yourself Christian.

You can still bear respectable Church leadership titles.

And yet the message being preached can gradually become “another gospel.”

That is why the Church must constantly return to Scripture.

Not to personalities.

Not to reputations.

Not to institutions.

Not to popularity.

Not to political access.

Not to international recognition.

Not even to the reputation of great men and women of God.

Back to the Word.

THE DANGER IS NOT ONLY OUTSIDE THE CHURCH

Some Christians are very good at identifying falsehood outside the Church while becoming careless about deception within the Church.

But Paul’s warning was addressed to people who were already part of the Christian community.

And Scripture gives us another sobering warning:

“For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”
— Matthew 24:24

Deception does not always arrive wearing the appearance of evil.

Sometimes it arrives wearing the language of compassion.

Sometimes it comes disguised as sophistication.

Sometimes it comes under the banner of unity.

Sometimes it comes as tolerance.

Sometimes it comes wrapped in the vocabulary of peace.

And sometimes it comes through people whom we have respected for many years.

That is why the Christian’s ultimate loyalty cannot be to a personality.

It must be to Christ and His Word.

“ANOTHER GOSPEL” IS STILL ANOTHER GOSPEL

Paul’s warning in Galatians is particularly relevant here:

“Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.”
— Galatians 5:2

The issue was not circumcision itself as a physical act.

The issue was what was being added to Christ as a condition of salvation.

If something is added to Christ as though Christ alone is insufficient, the Gospel has been corrupted.

The tragedy of religious compromise is therefore not merely that Christians become friendly with people of another faith.

The tragedy occurs when the uniqueness, sufficiency, and saving authority of Christ are surrendered in the process.

Paul continues:

“Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.”
— Galatians 5:4

Christ does not need another savior beside Him.

He does not need another revelation to complete His Gospel.

He does not need another religious system to authenticate His truth.

Christ is sufficient.

JESUS DID NOT HATE PEOPLE—BUT HE NEVER SILENCED THE TRUTH

Jesus ate with publicans.

He spoke with Samaritans.

He showed compassion to Gentiles.

He healed people whom society despised.

He spoke with people who were religiously different from His disciples.

His command was:

“Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you.”
— Matthew 5:44

But notice something equally important:

Jesus’ compassion never required Him to deny the truth.

He loved people enough to tell them the truth.

He confronted religious hypocrisy.

He rebuked sin.

He called people to repentance.

He declared Himself to be the only way to the Father.

And He warned:

“If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world… therefore the world hateth you.”
— John 15:19

There will always be a temptation to make Christianity acceptable by removing everything about Christianity that offends the unbelieving world.

But Jesus warned His followers that the world would not always applaud them.

The Gospel itself is offensive—not because Christians should be offensive, but because the Gospel confronts human pride.

It tells the sinner:

You cannot save yourself.

It tells the religious person:

Your religious achievement cannot substitute for the grace of God.

It tells the self-righteous:

You need repentance.

It tells every human being:

You need Christ.

That message will never be universally popular.

CHRIST IS THE ROCK OF OFFENCE

Scripture says:

“Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.”
— 1 Peter 2:6

But the same Christ becomes:

“a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence”
— 1 Peter 2:8

The problem is not that Christ lacks beauty.

The problem is that fallen humanity does not naturally want a Lord who demands repentance, surrender, and obedience.

We would rather have a Christ who blesses our preferences than a Christ who commands us.

We would rather have a Christ who never confronts us than the Christ who says:

“Repent ye, and believe the gospel.”
— Mark 1:15

But the real Gospel cannot be redesigned according to the preferences of the age.

DO NOT CONFUSE THE CHURCH WITH ITS PUBLIC IMAGE

There is another danger before us.

Christians can become so concerned about how Christianity appears to the world that they gradually become more committed to the reputation of Christianity than to the truth of Christ.

We must be careful.

The Church is not called to win the world’s applause.

Paul asks:

“For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men?”

Then he answers:

“For if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.”
— Galatians 1:10

That is a searching question for every preacher, denomination, Christian institution, and believer:

Whom are we trying to please?

Are we seeking God’s approval or human applause?

Are we preserving the Gospel or making it easier for everyone to accept?

Are we proclaiming Christ or protecting our public reputation?

Are we preaching repentance and salvation or merely offering religious language for social harmony?

THE FRUIT OF THE GOSPEL

Yet let us be equally careful not to misunderstand what the Gospel produces.

The Gospel does produce peace.

It produces love.

It produces forgiveness.

It produces reconciliation.

It produces honesty.

It produces justice.

It produces self-control.

It produces compassion.

It transforms homes, communities, and nations.

Jesus said:

“Ye shall know them by their fruits.”
— Matthew 7:16

When individuals are genuinely reconciled to God through Christ, that reconciliation begins to transform how they treat other people.

The Gospel therefore has profound social consequences.

But the order matters:

First reconciliation with God.
Then transformation of the human heart.
Then transformation of conduct.
Then the blessing of society.

We cannot reverse the order.

We cannot manufacture the fruits of Christianity while removing the Christ of Christianity.

IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO CARRY A BIBLE

There is a frightening possibility that we can become familiar with Scripture without being transformed by it.

We can quote verses and remain spiritually blind.

We can attend church every Sunday, preach sermons in the church and on the social media every week and yet remain strangers to Christ.

We can belong to a denomination and yet never experience the new birth.

We can defend Christian traditions while missing the Christ to whom the Scriptures point.

Paul told Timothy that the Holy Scriptures are:

“able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”
— 2 Timothy 3:15

The purpose of Scripture is not merely to make us knowledgeable.

It is to make us wise unto salvation.

The question is therefore not merely:

“Do you know the Bible?”

The deeper question is:

“Has the Christ revealed in the Bible transformed you?”

THE CHURCH MUST NOT BE ASHAMED OF CHRIST

My brothers and sisters, we must recover the courage of the early Church.

We must be able to say:

We love our neighbours.

We seek peace.

We reject violence.

We respect human dignity.

We can cooperate with people of different religious convictions where conscience and truth permit.

We will not persecute anyone because of his faith.

We will not insult another person’s religion merely because it differs from ours.

But we will not deny Jesus Christ in order to make peace.

We will not exchange the Gospel for diplomacy.

We will not replace salvation with social engineering.

We will not replace repentance with religious sentiment.

We will not replace Christ with a vague idea of universal spirituality.

We will not place the Gospel on a negotiating table.

And we will not call compromise “love” when that compromise requires us to silence the truth about Christ.

LET US RETURN TO CHRIST

The answer to confusion is not another personality.

The answer is not another denomination.

The answer is not another movement.

The answer is not hostility toward people of other faiths.

The answer is Christ.

Let the Church return to the Scriptures.

Let preachers preach Christ crucified and risen.

Let sinners be called to repentance.

Let believers be taught holiness.

Let Christians love their neighbours genuinely.

Let us seek peace wherever peace is possible.

Let us feed the hungry, educate the ignorant, defend the vulnerable, and serve our communities.

Let us cooperate with all people wherever such cooperation does not require denial of our faith.

But above all:

Let us never forget whose Church we are.

It is Christ’s Church.

And the Gospel is Christ’s Gospel.

Paul’s words still thunder across the centuries:

“But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.”
— Galatians 1:8

Therefore, Christian, love without compromising.

Serve without surrendering truth.

Seek peace without sacrificing the Gospel.

Build bridges without removing the cross.

Respect people without relativising Christ.

Speak graciously without becoming ashamed of the truth.

And when the pressure comes to make Jesus less exclusive, less demanding, less offensive, less Lord and more acceptable to everyone, remember the words of the Apostle Peter:

“Neither is there salvation in any other.”

There is no Gospel without Christ.

There is no Christian salvation apart from Christ.

There is no substitute for Christ.

And there is no peace with God apart from the reconciliation accomplished through Christ.

Jesus Christ is not merely a way to God.

He is THE WAY.

He is not merely a religious teacher of truth.

He is THE TRUTH.

He does not merely offer another kind of life.

He is THE LIFE.

And the Church must never be so desperate for the world’s applause that she becomes ashamed to proclaim Him.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.”

— Romans 1:16