I agree that there needs to be a standard of who may be called a Christian. We are assured by Jesus that the road that leads to life is narrow and few find it. Balance that with God's sincere desire to save as many as possible, reaching out to the highways and outlands to those who never were invited to the wedding feast to replace those who were and turned up their noses.

Is the Mormon a Christian? The Jehovah Witness? I would give a hesitant yes to the first and a categorical no to the second. While Mormons take a radical departure from orthodoxy by suggesting that Christ is a creature, Jehovah Witnesses seem wholly indifferent to Christ crucified for sinners.

But there is another issue as well. Who God decides to save will not fall along the same gerrymandered lines that we draw, nor will God abide by the formulas we propose to put on Him. While there can be no doubt that Jesus is the only name under heaven, given among men, by which we must be saved...how, when, and under which circumstances people come to accept or reject God's grace is not something that can be judged accurately by outward appearances. Like David was chosen by Samuel out of all of his "more qualified" brothers, we too can be deceived by our own eyes and ears.

When we start down the path of saying who is and who isn't Christian, where does that end? Shall we consider the lunatic rants of Ellen G. White who believed anyone who worshipped on Sunday took the mark of the beast and were not Christian as an example of how far adrif we might go? I rather like Christ's teaching that he who is not against us is on our side (Mark 9:39). Our duty is to preach Christ crucified and leave the final judgement to God.


Liberalism -- Ideas so good, they have to be mandated.