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Numbers and Labels
April 6, 2008 - Ian
According to the
Vatican – “Islam has overtaken Roman Catholicism as the biggest single
religious denomination in the world”. The Vatican estimates that there are 1.13
million members (17.4% of the world’s population) of the Catholic Church
compared to the estimated 1.3 million people (19.2% of the world) of the Islamic
faith. Yet if all Christians are put together “including Orthodox churches,
Anglicans and Protestants, then Christians make up 33% of the world's population
— or about 2 billion people”.
There is that in me that is disappointed that there are more Muslims in the
world than Catholics. As a Christian Pastor I would like to be on the side where
there are more of us than anyone else. But then I ask myself what does God want
in terms of numbers and what does he say is more important than numbers and
labels.
Just because there are more ‘Christians’ at the moment than any other faith
doesn’t excite God. God never promised success in terms of numbers of people
following of Jesus.
Listen to Jesus (Matthew 7:13-14) “Enter
through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads
to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the
road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Jesus seems to indicate
here that there will only be a few by percentage, who will really follow Jesus
as true/serious Christians.
Listen again Jesus (Matthew 7:21-23) “Not
everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but
only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to
me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name
drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I
never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ These are chilling words to
people who think that they are Christian – they have the label and ticked the
Christian census data box or had Christian parents or grandparents or went to a
Christian school or occasionally went to a church or were always at church, but
they had no personal relationship of trust with Jesus. Jesus therefore rejects
them.
Don’t be swayed simply by numbers, personally trust in Jesus- the dead and
resurrected Lord and that way you will be in the Lamb’s book of life and counted
as Jesus’, when numbers and true labels really counts. Do the Alpha Course or
FAQ or come and ask some questions of a Christian you trust.
Ian
Comments
Given that most thinking people accept
that all monotheistic religions worship the same God I do not see why He would
be concerned whether they were Muslim, Christian or Jewish. The problem arises
from what is to me the most difficult statement made by Jesus during his time on
Earth. John 14:6 “No man cometh unto the Father, but through me”. And of course
the Disciples picked up on this theme: Acts 16:17, St. Paul in Romans 6:23 and
many similar references.
If the only way to heaven is through a belief in the Lord Jesus Christ as the
being the Son of God, this excludes all human beings who lived and died before
Jesus, most Chinese, Indians, Japanese and about half of Africa. The fate of
Jews and Muslims is also questionable; although they worship the same God they
do not accept Jesus as being the Son of God or the route to heaven, salvation or
redemption. I cannot believe that it was ever the intention of our compassionate
and forgiving God that those who never had the opportunity to hear the word of
God as we know it would be denied salvation just because of their ignorance, not
of their own doing.
I raised this issue following a sermon delivered by a Minister from the
Episcopal Church of the USA (still Anglican?) who was holidaying in Bali some
years ago. She slapped me down almost physically; - “Of course Jesus meant
exactly what he said he is infallible. Those who do not believe in Him are
already condemned to hell-fire and eternal damnation”, and she would not discuss
the matter any further.
Even if we wait a few more millennia hoping complete religious unity will be
achieved and all human beings believe in what we like to think of as OUR God,
all those who have already gone to perdition in ignorance will not be saved.
How can we reconcile this apparently exclusive statement with our belief in a
reasonable, just and compassionate God?
Posted by Geoff on Friday, April 11, 2008 at 06:55:00
'Through me', not 'through belief in me'.
We cannot come to the Father except through Jesus, but I think he leaves the
option open for him to bring people to the Father who because of their
circumstances in this life did not believe in him.
Posted by Robert on Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 03:55:56
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