Tom Willadsen of Trinity Presbyterian Church recently stood before his congregation and treated one of the clearest statements ever made by Jesus Christ as though it were some kind of theological hazard label requiring careful handling.
Referring to John 14:6, Willadsen mocked Christians for using the verse as a “clobber text,” repeating the phrase “clobber, clobber, clobber” while arguing that the passage can become “dangerous” and “used to do harm” when taken “out of context.”
The implication was unmistakable. Christians who plainly affirm Christ’s exclusive claim to salvation are the real problem.
Of course, the trouble for this clown is that the context of John’s gospel does not rescue his argument. It sinks it. Jesus repeatedly made exclusive claims about Himself throughout the book of John, and He did so publicly, not merely in private conversations with the disciples.
He declared Himself “the door.”
