Of course, my friend and I share some common beliefs. What we believe and communicate about the finished work of Christ, the unconditional love of God, etc. are very similar. While we do not agree 100% on everything, we continually encourage one another to seek the truth of Jesus Christ and who we are in Him.
I've often wondered why this has not been the approach of the church: why we cannot agree to disagree on certain things and still consider one another legitimate believers in Christ? I mean...it's really not that hard. But the more I am around people with a religious or denominational mindset, the more I recognize the difficulty in building bridges with those who think differently than we do.
I actually had someone present to me the idea that discovering who we are in Christ means that we need to figure out if we are Baptist Christians, Methodist Christians, Lutheran Christians, Pentecostal Christians, etc. I was blown away by this mentality. The first thought that crossed my mind is that I cannot see any of this type of thinking in the Bible. In fact, I see quite the contrary. When the disciples decided to shut down a person's ministry because he did not walk with them, Jesus said that if that man is not against them then he is for them. Think about that!!! Jesus, the Head of the church said, leave him alone because he is not against us.
My point is that each of us have to discover the truth of Jesus Christ for ourselves. The truth that is revealed to us may come wrapped in a particular package but it does not mean that I have to sell out to a particular brand. I was raised in a Disciples of Christ church, spent a lot of time growing up in a Southern Baptist Church, saved in an Independent Baptist Church, baptized in another Southern Baptist Church, and would worship with a Church of God on Sunday evenings. You know what I discovered? I discovered that each of them did not mind promoting their own brand of Christianity AND that each of them held some very common views. I found legitimate believers who loved me, accepted me, and desperately wanted to communicate the Good News of Jesus to the world. While I may have felt more comfortable in one environment versus another, I never EVER questioned the legitimacy of their faith. I found Christ in all of them.
So...I reject the idea that my identity in Christ is wrapped up in a denomination!!!
I also reject any theology that has an almost empty heaven and a full hell.
It seems that many people within the religious community have bought into this idea. Not only have they bought into it, they can basically tell you who is going. What has happened (in my opinion) is that we have taken a few verses out of the Scriptures to explain this stance while missing the all inclusive statement discovered in the love of God. Last time I checked, God loved the ENTIRE WORLD and that is why He sent Jesus. I also hear Him saying through the Bible that He is not willing that any perish but that ALL come to repentance. Think about it!!! Do you really believe it has been God's intention to simply save a few while condemning the majority? Or is it possible that in the plan of God that He wanted to include Jew & Gentile in His plan of salvation thus creating one new man in Christ? I can promise you this, there is more Scripture to back the latter than the former.
Why is it we encourage people to find a "Bible believing" church when what we really mean is find someone who believe exactly like we do? The point is this: We can all have some error in what we believe. We can have some truth that we believe. And while all of us will claim to be Bible believing, the differences seem to be determined by how we view the Scriptures. That is why the Apostle Paul encouraged the church in the areas of unity, fellowship, and sharing with one another. He told them that it is in the sharing together that we all come to the fullness of the revelation of Christ. Therefore, we need one another. We need to hear different ideas, thoughts, and interpretations of Scripture. We need to hear of the experiences of others. We need more truth than we have currently experienced and the only way we are going to get it is when we are willing to listen.
Above all, let's remember these important truths:
John 17:3, "And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent."
1 Corinthians 2:2, "For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified."
What an expression of eternal life!!! This is what our community should look like. This is how we should express His nature. And in the end, He will work out the rest. Enjoy the journey!!!
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