Acts 19
One must not make the mistake of
thinking that the Christian faith is merely one choice among many equally valid
choices of religions. One can find
stickers that say “coexist” all over the place, but the Word of God would have
us clearly say of these other faiths, “incompatible.” That is to say, while we clearly are called
to love our neighbor and do good to them, that does not mean we accept other
religions as good or right. When it
comes down to it, there are only two faiths in the world. There is only one true God. Therefore there are those who believe in Him
according to His Word, and there is everyone else.
Yes, that is a hard stance.
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| Statue of Artemis of the Ephesians |
The early church understood the conflicting
nature of other faiths with Christianity, and the folks who practiced other
religions saw the threat that our faith was to them and their way of life. Even the spirits recognized the difference
between the Christian faith and charlatans.
This is why people coming out of sorcerous religions burned their magic
books, many of which were very valuable in monetary terms! This is why Demetrius and the silversmiths
began a riot to defend Artemis (who, in Ephesus, was different from the goddess
of Greek myths). They knew the Christian
faith could not allow loyalty to both Artemis and Jesus. And the demoniac attacked the seven sons of
Sceva and beat the tar out of them because they recognized the power of Jesus
and knew these men had no part of it.
Jesus said that he came to bring
division and conflict. (Matthew
10:34) That separation and struggle
is rooted in His identity and what He has done.
He presents Himself as true God and true human who died on the cross to
pay for our sins, rose from dead, and will come again to judge the living and
the dead. He says that He is the only
way to be reconciled to the father.
We should not be surprised by the charge
of intolerance that stands against us as God’s people, nor should we be intimidated. Jesus is who He is, He has done what He said
He had come to do, and He will come again to keep His Word to take us to be
with Him in glory.
O Holy Spirit, keep me in the one true
faith, and help me show it to others rightly, then please use my life to draw
people to Jesus. Amen.
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