Diversity
John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone
using your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he wasn’t
in our group.” “Don’t
stop him!”
Jesus said. “No
one who performs a miracle in my name will soon be able to speak evil of me. Anyone who is not against
us is for us.” (Mark 9:38-40)
John has a
dilemma. He and the other disciples ran into someone who was doing a great
work. The guy was casting out demons – something the disciples had trouble
doing just a few verses earlier. This man was changing lives. And, what's more,
he was giving the credit to God. He was doing it in the name of Christ.
Everything about him was so right. Right results. Right heart. But there was
one problem. He was from the wrong group. So the disciples did what any
able-bodied religious person would do with someone from the wrong group.
"We told him to stop because he wasn’t in our group."
John's not being
cocky here. He genuinely wants to know if they did the right thing; he's confused.
So are many people today. What do you do about good things done in another
group? What do you do when you like the fruit but not the orchard? I've asked
that same question. I am deeply appreciative of my heritage. It was through a
small, Southern California Church of Christ that I came to know the Nazarene,
the cross and the Word. The congregation wasn't a mega church, maybe two
hundred on a good Sunday. Most of the families were like mine, middle class
working types. It was a loving church. When our family was sick, members visited
us. When we were absent, they called.
But through the
years, my faith has been supplemented by people from other groups. A British
Anglican by the name of C. S. Lewis put muscle in my faith. A Presbyterian,
Frederick Buechner, taught me about God's passion. A Catholic, Brennan Manning,
convinced me that Jesus is relentlessly tender. I'm a better husband and parent
for having read James Dobson, and maybe a better communicator because I listened
to preachers like Chuck Smith, J. Vernon McGee and Max Lucado.
So, what do you
do when you see great works done by folks from other groups? Not divisive acts,
not heretical teachings, but good works that give glory to God? Well, go back to
the conversation between Jesus and the disciples. But before you consider what
Jesus said to John, pay particular attention to what he didn't say. Jesus didn’t
say, "John, if the people are nice, they’re in." Generous gestures
and benevolent acts aren’t necessarily a sign of a disciple. Just because a
group is distributing toys at Christmas doesn't mean they’re Christians. Just
because they’re feeding the hungry doesn’t mean they’re the honored ones of
God.
Jesus doesn't
issue a call for blind tolerance, any more than he endorses blanket rejection.
If unanimity of opinion were necessary for fellowship, this would have been a great
time for Jesus to say so. But he didn't. Jesus didn't hand John a book of rules
and regulations by which to measure every candidate. Were such a checklist
necessary, this would have been the perfect time to give him the list. But he
didn't. Look at what Jesus did say: "Don’t stop him! No one who performs a miracle in my name
will soon be able to speak evil of me." (Vs. 39)
Jesus was impressed
with the man's pure faith (". . . in my name") and his powerful fruit (". . . who performs a miracle"). His answer offers us a crucial
lesson on studied tolerance. How should you respond to a good heart from a
different religious heritage? First, look at the fruit. Is it good? Is it
healthy? Is he or she helping or hurting people? Production is more important
than pedigree. The fruit is more important than the name of the vineyard. If
the person is bearing fruit, be grateful. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit
(see Matt. 7:17), so be thankful that God is at work in groups other than your
own.
But also look at
the faith. In whose name is the work done? Jesus was accepting of this man's
work because it was done in the name of Christ. So, what does it mean to do
something "in the name of Jesus"? It means you are under the
authority of, and empowered by that name. For instance, if I go to a car
dealership and say I want a free car, the salespeople are going to laugh at me
and then call law enforcement. If, however, I go with a letter written and
signed by the owner of the dealership granting me a free car, then I drive off
in a free car. Why? Because I am there under the authority of, and empowered by
the owner. The Master says examine the person's faith. If he or she has faith
in Jesus and is empowered by God, grace says that's enough. And that’s an
important point to remember.
There are some
who do not work in God's name. They present a salvation of works rather than a
salvation of grace. They’re not working in the name of God; the truth is, they
don’t think they actually need God. They’re working under the banner of
human-merit self-righteousness. And just as Paul was intolerant of
self-salvation, we must be as well. But there are believers in many different
heritages who cast their hope in God's firstborn Son, and put their faith in
the cross of Christ. If they, like you, trust Jesus to carry them to the
father's throne, don't we share a common Savior? If their trust, like yours, is
in the all-sufficient sacrifice of Christ, aren't we covered by the same grace?
You mean they
don't have to be in my group? No. They don't have to share my background? They
don't. They don't have to see everything the way I do? Does anyone? What’s important
is their fruit and their faith. Later, a much more tempered Son of Thunder
would reduce it to this: "Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God
has God living inside, and that person lives in God." (1 John 4:15) Ironic.
The one who challenged the simple answer of the Master eventually rendered the
simplest answer himself. And it should be simple. Where there’s faith,
repentance, and a new birth, there is a Christian.
When I meet a
man whose faith is in the cross and whose eyes are on the Savior, I meet a
brother. Wasn't that Paul's approach? When he wrote to the church in Corinth,
he addressed a body of Christians guilty of every sin from abusing the Lord's
Supper to arguing over the Holy Spirit. But how does he address them? "I
beg you, brothers and sisters." (1 Cor. 1:10) When the church in Rome was
debating whether to eat meat that had been sacrificed to idols, did Paul tell
them to start two churches? One for the meat-eaters and one for the
non-meat-eaters? No. On the contrary, he urged, "Christ accepted you, so
you should accept each other, which will bring glory to God." (Rom. 15:7)
Is God asking us
to do anything more than what he’s already done? Hasn't he gone a long way in
accepting us? If God can tolerate my mistakes, can't I tolerate the mistakes of
others?
If God allows
me, with my foibles and failures, to call him Father, shouldn't I extend the
same grace to others? In fact, who can offer grace except those who are securely
in its grip. If God doesn't demand perfection, why should I? "They are
God's servants," Paul reminds us, "not yours. They are responsible to
him, not to you. Let him tell them whether they are right or wrong. And God is
able to make them do as they should." (Rom. 14:4)
God's house is a
grand house. And just as a mansion has many rooms, so God's kingdom has room
for many opinions. But just as a house has only one foundation, God's kingdom
has a common ground, too – the all-sufficient sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
So, pray with me
for the day when Jesus' prayer is answered. Pray with me for the day when the
world is won because the church is one. Pray with me for the day when we can come
out of our rooms and stand together to salute the owner of the house. A day when
clusters cease, when cliques call it a day, and the chorus commences. Jesus'
final prayer before the cross was for the unity of his followers. Do you think he
would offer a prayer that couldn't be answered?
Me either.
Grace,
Randy
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