"And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us. And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us."
This is yet another very short message that bears a very powerful lesson to those of us who currently claim to be the Christian people.
As we all know, there are literally thousands of religious groups all of whom consider themselves to be the one true representative of the Church Jesus established during His ministry.
After many years of careful and prayerful bible research, and having studied the tenets of many "Christian" isms (periodically attending the gatherings of some), I have found that there is much basic philosophical disagreement even among those who most adamantly define themselves as a unique group with no brand.
As Jesus was preparing for His sin remitting sacrifice and the total upheaval of all Jewish tradition, anything positive that was done or said by anyone, be they friend of foe, must have been a good thing in His eyes. Sadly, that is not the case and cannot be applied today. Jesus, through His teachings and the whole of the New Testament, left us with a clear and distinct doctrinal foundation upon which His Church was to stand. All others are a stumbling block.
Jesus made very clear the doctrine that was to be taught and the purpose of the Church when He made this demand of the first twelve members, He said, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, *baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." (Matthew 28:19-20)
We should all get back to the basics of real Christian doctrine and pull together for the common good and eternal wellbeing of those who are otherwise lost and without hope.
It would be a wonderful thing if all who claim "christianity" in the twenty first century was "for us".~
*The word "baptizing", as it is applied in the above quote, simply means 'immersing' there is no water medium implied.
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