The same way the sun finds its way to the earth and earthlings, so Christ's redemptive love found its way to the whole of humanity and reconciled it (us) to God. We all go through the same door to access God and Him us. Jesus is the open door through which all of humanity accesses God, including Buddha and Muhammad or Gandhi. But because the door is unlocked and open, they simply go through to gain access to the inside of the building. Did you kiss it, acknowledge it, or ask it to let you enter through it? Thousands of people may walk through that door and not pay any attention to it at all in fact, most don't. When my detractors interpret that passage, they tend to mean, "No one comes to God except through 'Christianity' rather than Christ." They think it means "no one can get to the Father except you (they) get down on their knees, confess Jesus, and jump through all the traditional religious hoops in order to reach God." But that scripture doesn't mean that at all.įor example, the door you entered through to get into your office building. So how do you answer critics who quote the gospel verse "No one comes to the Father except through me"? I'm discovering that the Prophets are basically saying the same thing it is the theologians that are confused. They all have meaning and all should be respected and valued. The word "Messiah" simply means "anointed one." All the religions spiritually overlap and are intertwined. And by his Grace he does.Įveryone loves Christ. God is greater and bigger than the s-u-n, he created and can override any resistance to him. You can be born blind, but the sunlight will still shine on you. You don't have to do anything or believe anything. The S-o-n of God is as inclusive and non-discriminatory in his light and warmth as the s-u-n is. You have no choice or vote on the matter. Do you have to believe in the sun for it to shine on you? How do you receive sunlight? Even on an overcast day, the solar rays reach the planet, and you will see it and feel it and receive it. It's just like the sun's rays reach Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, atheists, and backsliders. So everyone is saved through the cross and through Jesus, but people don't have to believe that? It is temporary, it has a purpose, and is ultimately accountable to the sovereign God. Everything works for good, for God and has a specific and designated purpose.Īccording Isaiah 54:16-17, nothing the devil does, even though it may appear to us as destructive, will ultimately prosper. With God, there is no bad in the sense that our human consciousness understands "bad." Scripture teaches that everything that is or was made, was made or created by God and that everything God made was good. It's a distortion of good, good in a different form. But the evil of God is not the way we perceive evil. In the totality of vastness, there is evil. He came from God, has a specific assignment, and carries it out well. God sees Himself in everybody, in every belief system, in every icon, perhaps even the devil. He loves everybody, He understands everybody, and He has a covenant with everybody-again, whether they know it or not.Įvery human being in the history of the planet was created in the image and likeness of God. He's not Jewish or Christian or Hindu or Buddhist yet, He is all of that if we want or need Him to be, while at the same time, none of it conclusively, because He can't be and, in fact, is not limited to a person's or culture's perception of Him. God, however, is Spirit and cannot be confined exclusively to any particular religion including Christianity. First Timothy 4:9-10 says, ".we have put our trust in the living God who is the Savior of all men, and especially those who believe." Jesus did not just die for Christians, He died to redeem, reconcile, and ultimately save the Cosmos. In effect, the world is already saved, they just don't know it and, unfortunately, most Christians don't believe it. The Gospel of Inclusion is the exciting and liberating news that in the finished work of the cross, Jesus redeemed the entire world to God from the cosmic and organic sin imposed upon it by Adam, the original man. He spoke with Beliefnet recently about what his theology means for non-Christians.Ĭould you describe your message-the "gospel of inclusion"-in a nutshell? Pearson preaches the " gospel of inclusion," a controversial doctrine claiming that Jesus Christ saves all people no matter what their beliefs or actions. Bishop Carlton Pearson, a Charismatic minister, is the founder of the Azusa Interdenominational Fellowship of Christian Churches and the pastor of Higher Dimensions Family Church in Oklahoma.
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