It should be clear to any born-again Christian living in this generation that the return of Jesus is near. If we take a panoramic view and look at all of the geopolitical upheaval around the globe, we see that Bible prophecy is being fulfilled right before our eyes. Knowing that the hour is late, isn’t it time to get down to the business of evangelizing and making disciples?
Instead of fulfilling the Great Commission, many believers are content with seeking ecumenical harmony and common ground with non-Christians. In our day marked by spiritual blindness, are we evangelizing or compromising?
Mark 16:15-16 “And he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.’’
Go to a street corner, college campus, or workplace in almost any city and you will find a plethora of spiritual beliefs held by people. Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs, Hindus, Mormons, Gnostics, Spiritists and New Age worshippers are just a sample of people you may meet. As Christians, we will certainly come into contact with many people who don’t believe in Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
Some of these people believe in an afterlife and some don’t but the fact remains that they will spend eternity somewhere. We have a divine obligation and we are commanded by the Lord to go into all the world to make disciples.
It is at this crucial juncture where the disconnect from biblical reality begins. Instead of presenting the gospel with boldness under the direction of the Holy Spirit, many Christians are content with engaging in endless small talk about their respective religions. Interfaith dialogue is a modern misnomer for spiritual compromise. Let me cut to the quick because behind all of the ecumenical pleasantries, Satan is at work. He is the father of lies and the lie that is peddled in the name of religious unity is utter spiritual seduction.
People are dying and going into eternity without Jesus. They are going to hell because they believed a lie instead of the gospel. Many people are jaded and believe that all roads lead to heaven or that we basically worship the same God. The deception is widespread due to leaders who have rallied many under the banner of ecumenical cohesiveness. This “purpose driven” mission is nothing short of a modern Tower of Babel.
It’s humanism at its core. It’s coming together for the purpose of making a name for ourselves, instead of glorifying the one true God and His Son. Men like Pope Francis, Rick Warren, and Tony Campolo have done extensive damage to the Body of Christ when they collude with people who abhor the gospel. The men who attempt to promote peace without the Prince of Peace are wrong on every level. The small sampling below of spiritual deception being promoted in our day is something to be very mindful of. Take a look at some of the following statements from these men:
I think there are Muslim brothers and sisters who are willing to say, “You live up to the truth as you understand it. I will live up to the truth as I understand it, and we will leave it up to God on judgment day.” Our Muslim brothers and sisters can say Islam is the only true faith but we are not convinced that only Muslims enjoy salvation. I contend that there is no salvation apart from Jesus Christ, but I am not convinced that the grace of God does not go further than the Christian community.” —Tony Campolo
“Muslims and Christians must work together to combat stereotypes, promote peace and freedom and solve global problems.” —Rick Warren
I greet and cordially thank you all, dear friends belonging to other religious traditions; first of all the Muslims, who worship the one God, living and merciful, and call upon Him in prayer, to all of you. I really appreciate your presence: in it, I see a tangible sign of the will to grow in mutual esteem and cooperation for the common good of humanity. —Pope Francis
I’m not judging the personal lives of these men and have no ill intent toward them. But I am going to warn you about them, and the false gospel rooted in ecumenism which they promote. This common ground message they preach is a different gospel than the one we received. There is zero common ground between Christian and Muslim beliefs and it’s as simple as reading the Qur’an when it says “God has no Son.” —Qur’an 23:91
Unfortunately, the false gospel of ecumenism doesn’t end here. You can reference countless websites, Christian magazines, and books by well know Christian leaders, including evangelicals who espouse this sort of thing. The social justice, interfaith, and ecumenical pseudo-gospel is being disseminated across many churches and fellowships today.
We are told to build bridges, seek common ground, and reach out. This may seem like supremely Christ-like instruction if we are told doing so is sharing the love of Jesus. Unfortunately, this widespread sentiment is compromising our core message.
I’m all for talking with our Muslim, Hindu, or Buddhist neighbors and co-workers. I think we should seek kindness and genuine friendship. But doing this to reach some sort of inter-faith truce and ecumenical utopia is not of God. If you are simply trying to reach out for the sake of peace and harmony, then you are wasting your time. Once you became born-again you have one purpose and that is to make disciples and do all to the glory of God.
We don’t have to earn the right or earn enough trust to spread the gospel. The permission to preach Jesus was given to you the moment you became saved. It is good and proper for Christians to be the most loving, caring, and hospitable people in the world, but that doesn’t mean throwing the gospel message overboard for the sake of perceived unity.
It’s at the point now that many churches are more concerned with how they are viewed by other religious groups rather than preaching Christ to them. When you compromise on Jesus, you are not evangelizing. You might as well rename your church or ministry, the cultural center for interfaith cooperation.
1 Corinthians 2:1-5 “And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”
It may seem loving to reach out to other faith groups by showing them how accepting or caring you are. But if you fail to present Jesus as the only way to God the Father and eternal life, you are negating the most loving thing you can do for anyone. Friends, there are countless stories of people leaving other faiths to make Jesus their Lord. Former Muslim friends have risked family, money, and even their life to come to Jesus. They may have come to faith through a radio program, website, or teaching.
Oftentimes it was the bold witness of another former Muslim who risked it all to tell them the Good News. There are numerous Christian brothers and sisters who were saved out of Islam and are fired up for Jesus. These brethren are in Syria, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Egypt, Indonesia, and dozens of other nations with penalties for converting to Christianity. If the government doesn’t persecute them, oftentimes the local Muslim population will. They boldly speak up and proclaim the name of Jesus. These people are willing to risk it all for Jesus.
This didn’t happen because a lukewarm Christian became a buddy and wanted to spend countless hours embarking on a mutual journey of understanding of how to make the world a better place. It happened because they were lovingly confronted with the truths of God’s Word. This is conjecture on my part, but what must they think when they hear of Christians in the West compromising and attempting to reach lost souls with any other message but the gospel?
It must make them shake their heads in disbelief and sadness. They have experienced the miracle of total heart transformation through repentance and believing in Jesus. That is what wins souls in the darkest parts of the world, so why are we embracing a different gospel here?
Religious sounding small talk and interfaith harmony won’t change hearts, only proclaiming Jesus’ will. Turning our churches into religious cultural centers or overtly or covertly teaching that all roads lead to God is not evangelism but compromise and won’t bring souls into the kingdom. We are to love Muslims, Hindus, and all others but love them enough to share the truth of Jesus with them.
God the Father loves them and sent His Son Jesus so they might have eternal life through Him. We are here for God’s glory alone and not ours, so to that end we must evangelize not compromise. God isn’t willing that anyone should perish and He sent Jesus to save the lost. We must always be ready to boldly proclaim this message. God bless you as you faithfully evangelize and make disciples.
All for Him,
Howard
Concerning The Times Ministries