Acts 24:15 “I have the same hope in God as these men themselves have, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.”

It has been true throughout history that some of the most violent, vindictive vendettas have been over seemingly minor differences. People who by rights should have been close friends have killed each other down through the centuries, and points of theology have been some of the biggest problems. Jesus’ worst enemies were the Pharisees, who prided themselves on their devotion to God and to His Law, which prophesied Jesus in detail. It was those same Pharisees who were accusing Paul here, but as he himself pointed out to them, he had been born and raised a Pharisee himself! (Acts 23:6) It’s not that we are to abandon truth that has been revealed to us, but that we are to see one another as equally human before God, and apply to each other the grace God has extended to us. As C. S. Lewis rightly observed, one thing we can be sure of is that when we get to heaven, every one of us will discover we were wrong somewhere. Taken to the extreme, this leads to Unitarianism, the teaching that all roads lead equally to God, and the Bible is very clear that’s not the case. This requires a basic humility, as well as the assurance that God does speak to us and lead us. Otherwise, we are left completely without mooring, “tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.” (Ephesians 4:14)

I have wrestled with this issue a great deal. This church is non-denominational because I am convinced there are far too many divisions in the Body of Christ. I disagree with various things taught by just about every denomination, but at the same time, I know that anyone who has received Jesus as their Lord, the Son of God and the only Savior, is my brother or sister in Him. That said, I take strong exception to some of the things taught by the Mormon Church, as well as the Jehovah’s Witnesses and some other groups. I believe there are probably individuals in each of those groups who are saved, who haven’t swallowed the over-all theology to the point of denying Christ, but that determination is up to God and not me. Again, I am convinced that Islam is fundamentally in conflict with Christianity and that they do not know the God of the Bible, whatever linguistic tricks get played in translating between Arabic and other languages. I am in complete agreement with the effort to ban the practice of Saria law anywhere in the United States, because the US was founded on Biblical principles, however much it has strayed from them. I am to see every human being as equally created by God and loved by Him, and indeed, pray that the same grace that has been poured out on me may be received by them, however much we might disagree in the moment.

Father, thank You for this reminder. You have me ministering in a non-Christian country, so this issue is perhaps easier for me to see than for some in the US. I pray that I would be a consistent vessel of Your grace and truth, not siding with Satan, “the Accuser,” but standing firm in Your Gospel, for the salvation of many and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!