From Samaritan to Muslim - All May Come to the Foot of the Cross

John 10: 16: I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.

Christianity is not a private social club. It was not meant to be "us four and no more." There is a world out there that desperately needs Jesus as much as we did when He reached down and saved us. I say that because I receive an inordinate amount of hate email designed to appear "Christian." Messages of division that degrade people who simply do not believe what we do. Messages of self-righteousness offering up someone to hate in the name of Christ. That is not why our Lord and Savior went to the cross beloved. Here are the instructions we received from God:

And then he told them, "Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. Mark 16:15 (NLT)

This does not tell us to preach the Good News only to those who look like us, or talk like us, or dress like us, or are the same color as us. It says " all the world" not just the areas we feel comfortable with that have people we have pre-judged to be acceptable. Jesus says to preach this Good News to "everyone" not just the people we think are worthy. It means the lowly, the unrefined, and yes, even the Muslim. There are powers that be in this world that wish to pit the Christian against the Muslim. I get email after email telling me why I should hate the Muslim and not try to save them for God. But no matter how many fine-sounding arguments I hear I never seem to be able to find the verse that tells me to hate them. I find plenty of verses that remind me that my forerunners were the Muslims of their day. They were the outsiders looking in on the God of the chosen people, Israel. Remember, even though God has now extended his grace and mercy to the Gentiles, we had to be grafted in:

If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not boast over those branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in." Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. Romans 11: 17-21

Read these verses very carefully the next time you think you might be better than someone else. The grace and mercy God has given to us does not make us better than anyone. But there remains an arrogant streak throughout western Christianity that seeks to pass judgment on people who are walking in the same darkness we all used to walk in. There is a lack of fear as these verses indicate. We were only grafted in beloved and praise God we were! But how does God say we should approach this opportunity?

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, - Philippians 2: 12

Salvation is a gift; the greatest gift we could ever receive, but it doesn't end there. It has to be "worked out" meaning we need to continue to grow in Christ and mature spiritually. We need to be continually working on being more like Christ and less like our fleshly, worldly nature. That work needs to be approached however with "fear and trembling." This doesn't mean that God wants you to be afraid of Him but rather that you approach your salvation, the fact that God chose to save you, with a reverent awe. It means there is not a hint of arrogance about it because we had nothing to do with it. Paul dealt with this issue in his letter to the Romans:

What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." "Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit." "The poison of vipers is on their lips." "Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness." "Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know." "There is no fear of God before their eyes." Romans 3: 9-18

These are pretty harsh words about the true nature of who we are without the blood of Jesus covering us. None are righteous but yet some in western Christianity can seem pretty righteous in their condemnation of people. These verses should be sobering and remind us that we have enough to work on in ourselves and we shouldn't be so pre-occupied with others. That is one of the schemes of the enemy. To get you so focused on someone else so that you cannot work out your own salvation. Too many fall for this. The result is damage to the overall witness of Christ. Less people at the foot of the cross for God to save.

There is a sharp difference between the love of Christ and the morality of Christianity. The love of Christ covers all and accepts all who are willing to come to repentance. The morality of Christianity provides a code to be lived up to and judgment when that code is not met. It is Pharisaical in nature. Remember, the Pharisees also had a corner on morality. They too had religion but their insistence on code blurred their view of God. They had religion but no relationship. God is all about relationship. How much does God love us?

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

The most popular verse in the Bible says that God loved the world, not just the people who look like you or I. It says that "whoever" believes in Him shall have eternal life not just a specific set of people. This goes for everyone. All should know the love of God and have the opportunity to be grafted in to the branch as we were. So often we only concentrate on a verse like John 3:16 and fail to see what the surrounding context is but let's look at the next two verses:

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. John 3: 17-18

Jesus did not come into this world to condemn anyone but to save the world. Not just our corner of the world. Not just our country or those who may be pre-disposed to what we believe. Everyone. There is a story in the Gospel of Luke that highlights the arrogance that we can so easily slip into simply because we now walk with God. In the time of Jesus and the Apostles, the Samaritans were the despised people to the Jews. They were considered half-breeds and the disdain for them was well documented. If there were email back then, Jews would have been forwarding emails about how bad the Samaritans were and how much we needed to hate them. As Jesus was close to His passion, He sent people ahead to make way for Him to Jerusalem but a Samaritan village did not welcome Him.

As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. - Luke 9: 51-53

Here was the response of James and John:

When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, "Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?" But Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they went to another village. Luke 9: 54:-56

Realize that James and John were only with Jesus less than three years at this point. Yet look at the arrogance in assuming that God would prefer they be destroyed rather than be saved. Jesus rebuked them of course because judgment is left for God alone. Jesus knew that the Samaritan could still be saved. He knew that the Gentile could still be saved. He knows today that the Muslim can still be saved.

That brings us to our key verse for today. Jesus is saying that there are other sheep. Sheep not just of the pen that you think comprises His pasture. The time will come when Jesus will return and rule over all. Then there will be one flock listening to the one voice of the one Master. But that time has not yet come. I hear all the time the Christian lament that Jesus should come soon. Yes the world has fallen and with each passing day the evil grows worse but there is still work to be done between this time and the time that there is but one flock. Our charge is to show the love of Jesus Christ not to beat people over the head with the cross. Jesus specifically explains this:

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:35

I can hear the response already from some "but they are our enemies!" That is ok because here are the words of Jesus again:

"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. Matthew 5: 38-42

"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. Matthew 5: 43-45

This life is a glimmer. The Bible describes it as a vapor. Eternity is forever. God wants His creation reconciled to Him. The same grace and mercy He offered to us, He offers to everyone, everywhere:

This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 1Timothy 2: 3-4

For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Romans 10: 12-13

There is no difference between us and the people we are sometimes called to hate. We both are sinners, although now we are saved by grace. That same opportunity for grace exists for them as well. We are the vehicles God uses to show His goodness, His mercy and His love. What do they see from us? Do not get tied up with the thinking of this world. Do not look to another for a reason to feel better about yourself . Once in the past that other person was you. Yet God reached down and saved you. There is no one beyond that mercy and saving grace. No one.

Reverend Anthony Wade July 22, 2010