Richard Hall disagrees with the conclusion of my last post.
I'm going to let Pastor Hall have the last word on this topic, but I'd like to comment on one of his comments to his post. Why don't I make the same claim for Jews and Christians, after all don't they view God differently as well?
Well, to answer that, let me say this: A Jew can become a Christian and still remain a Jew, but a Muslim cannot become a Christian without renouncing his Muslim beliefs. I know that there are people who disagree with that, but basically it's their word vs. the word of those who have made that decision. Jesus' disciples were all Jewish, and I don't doubt they were Christians. Paul didn't renounce his Jewish heritage, though he did urge his GentiIe converts to not follow Jewish laws, as they were irrelevant to their salvation. I know people today who are Jewish and accept Jesus as the Messiah, and they have not renounced their Jewish faith; in fact, they seem to be more excited about it than ever before as they read the Hebrew scriptures and look for all the references to the coming Messiah that are mentioned there. They worship in synagogues with other Jews who also recognize Jesus as the Christ and this is a fairly widespread phenomenon. I don't see any similar movement of "Muslim Christians"; in fact, in countries dominated by Islam, a Muslim who converts to Christianity has committed a capital offense.
What about Jews who don't believe that Jesus is the Messiah? Well, I don't claim to know perfectly what constitutes believing in Jesus vs. rejecting Him. Old Testament people of faith, such as Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and David, are most certainly recipients of God's grace, even though their only knowledge of Jesus' works was based on prophecy. Jesus said, "If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority." (John 7:17 NKJV) Based on that, I believe that if someone makes a willful decision to love God with all their heart, soul, and mind, then God will show them what is necessary and true to complete His work of grace in their life.
Posted by joelfuhrmann at January 31, 2003 11:25 PM