The other week we went to visit a Christian and we talked about the pope John Paul 2nd who had died, she immediately said that he had gone to hell. I stopped her and told her that she had no right to judge, and that she should repent. A lot of Christians like that lady judge others very easily condemning them to hell saying that they aren’t converted.
They seem to forget how they too were unconverted sinners, but how God was merciful to them. God has no favourites, so why shouldn’t he be merciful to others too.
Every time we see her she loves running down a certain denomination, and treats them like pagans, and we always stop her. We have had enough of that attitude from her, and from quite a few people like her, and we feel that we have to stop that attitude and strive towards Christian unity.
It is dreadful how the body of Christ is being ripped apart by Christians showing such a lack of love and tolerance towards people of other denominations and religions.
It seems that the Christian denominations have forgotten the vital thing about Christianity which is to love.
Certain Christians have ignored the following Bible passages.
Luke 10:27 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, Love your neighbour as yourself.”
When you point a finger at another denomination and believe that your denomination is the one true church, and you believe that your church is superior to others, it is showing a lack of love and you are justifying yourself just like the Pharisee did in the Temple, and you are in the process of judging others. See Luke 18: 9-14.
After all the one true church is the Temple of the Holy Spirit which is in your heart. It isn’t being a club member of any denomination. When we die we won’t be judged by which denomination we belong to, but whether we have accepted Jesus as our Saviour and Lord or haven’t done so, and how much we have loved God and our neighbour.
The only way we will be able to change things and break down the barriers is to love, respect, be tolerant, merciful, compassionate towards one another, even if we choose to disagree. Let us stop calling each other names!
When we want to convert other non-Christian religions, let us do so in the spirit, and not in the flesh. Once you classify them as unsaved, you are binding them, so how then can your prayers for conversion be heard because by your attitude you show that you haven’t got faith in your prayers? Instead you have to believe that Jesus will answer your prayers of conversion and love everyone including non-Christians. We are not allowed to take God’s place as judge, but we should believe that they are simply on a road of life, and will eventually find their way to Jesus, even on their death bed.
I will illustrate it with the following Bible passages. See Matthew 7: 1-5 and James 4:11-12
Very soon Jesus will come back to judge the world and to see who has done God’s will. We don’t merit salvation, but we have to prove that we are saved by the fruit we produce by loving others and doing good deeds because we love Jesus.
Those who don’t produce good fruit and don’t love, even if they know the Bible inside out, don’t belong to Jesus. We can’t love God if we don’t love our neighbour, and constantly criticize other denominations. When you do that you are creating barriers, and you are tearing Jesus’ heart apart.
Only God reads hearts and knows a person’s soul. We must be very merciful and believe in God’s abundant mercy because we have to imitate Jesus who is infinite love and mercy. He never judged anyone not even the good thief on the cross.
If we are not merciful to others with the measure we have received, then the following passage applies to us. I believe that this passage has two lessons, one on how to forgive and the other how to be merciful the way God has been merciful to us. See Matthew 18:23-34
If people are not merciful, then I believe that this Bible verse applies to them and they should be careful and see it as a warning to stop judging others.
Please let us be truly God’s children and spread love and tolerance. Let us simply look at Jesus and refuse to judge, and allow Jesus one day to be the judge of who is right and who is wrong. It isn’t our place to do so. Let us turn this world into a better place and prepare it for the return of Jesus Christ.
The crucial question is, are we a child of God or not? If we are a child of God, then we must find our identity in Christ, and act as a child of God. Have we accepted Jesus into our lives and repented of our sins? If we have done so, then let us become God’s army who are spiritual soldiers of Christ, dedicated to obeying the Holy Spirit’s every wish, by doing God’s will, and living for Jesus rather than living for ourselves. Let us pull down the barriers and focus on Jesus. Let the Holy Spirit transform us into His image and likeness, and let Him work through us so that we can become beacons of light drawing people to the Lord with love and not judgement. Let us unite all denominations and let us become stronger by being God’s army.
Marie-Helene Bradshaw dominic.bradshaw@orange.fr