God of all Races and Religions

[mukk_in]

Dear friends, greetings in the blessed Name of our Lord Jesus Christ . As Christians we know that there is no other Name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved other than the blessed Name of our Lord Jesus (Acts 4:12). We also know that the Lord Jesus is the only way to God the Father (John 14:6). But what we may not realize is that God has His own ways of reaching out to men and women in all races and religions which may confound our stereotypical church baptisms or evangelical crusades (which are definitely the more traditional routes to salvation).



I’d like for us to turn to Acts 10:1-8. This is the story of Cornelius, the Roman Centurion who was called and accepted by God. According to the narrative, Cornelius was a commander of the Roman legion, a good and God fearing man. I can only guess that he was worshipping the Roman gods like Jupiter or Aries. I can also surmise that as the commander of the Italian regiment that was maintaining law and order in Caesarea, he was loathed and despised by the locals. But God knew his heart and that he was seeking the Lord whom he didn’t know (Ecclesiastes 3:11). So great was his piety that the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a vision (trance) and spoke to him (Acts 10:3) personally. This is a classic example of how God looks into the hearts of men/women and their personality, unlike the world which only judges our individuality (1 Samuel 16:7). Although Cornelius was a pagan, he feared God and prayed regularly and helped the poor and needy (Acts 10:4). Compare this behavior with that of many self-professing Christians who may be damned in the end (Matthew 25:31-46). Cornelius had never been to a church nor had he ever heard the gospel. Most of us would have thought that it’d be impossible for a man who had never heard the gospel to be saved (Romans 10:14). But God had His own ways of reaching out to Cornelius. We’re all familiar with the rest of the story about how the Apostle Peter preaches salvation to Cornelius and baptized his family (Acts 10:9-48).


Let’s now turn to another classic example of God’s unconventional methods of saving people, the story of conversion of Saul the Pharisee (Acts 9:1-19). While Cornelius was godly, Saul was religious (and I’m quite sure we all know the difference between the two). Cornelius had never heard the gospel, while Saul had not only heard the gospel but was actively trying to destroy it. Cornelius was a gentile, while Saul was a zealous Jew (Philippians 4:3-6). The contrast between the two couldn’t have been more poignant. Most of us could have understood why God loved and saved Cornelius, but would have certainly written off Saul as the one to be damned (Mark 16:16). Again, God had different plans for Saul. Since Saul was adamant in not accepting the gospel that he heard, God had to strike him down with blindness (Acts 9:3-4, 8-9). Jonah suffered a similar fate (Jonah chaps 1-2). This should be a reminder to all of us that God Almighty can and will override our ability to choose, if it contradicts His will.


Let me end with my testimony. I was born into an Indian (East Indian not Native American) Brahmin family, and my father (who reminds me of Cornelius and needs your prayers for salvation) taught me the Bhagavad-Gita, the Vedas, and all sacred Hindu scriptures in Sanskrit (some historians say that these vedas were passed onto the Brahmins by the Aryans. However, this theory is inconclusive). I was indeed extremely content with the God that pagan theology had taught me. When I was a graduate student in America in the fall of 1991, some of my fellow graduate students who were Christians often invited me to Church. I had heard of forcible conversions in India and simply didn’t want to give into their pressure. I also didn’t see a need to embrace Christianity exclusively, because as a pagan I was taught to respect and accept all religions. Jesus Christ, after all, was another incarnation of God to me (as opposed to the only true God). But then I started drinking and sought counseling to overcome those bad habits (Friends, I’m only against intoxication/drunkenness and not condemning recreational (John 2:1-11)/therapeutic dinking (1 Timothy 5:23) ). There was one counselor at Virginia Tech who I particularly liked. He was Dr. Adrian Hickmon who was then doing a PhD at Tech in Marriage Counseling and Therapy. He started sharing the gospel with me, but I was again reluctant to convert. Then one night I drank too much and was almost at the point of dying. Then I prayed to God that if He spared my life and let me live, I’d give my life to Jesus. The next day I dragged myself to the infirmary and was told that I was alcohol poisoned. They flushed my stomach and in two days I was back on my feet. During our next session I told Adrian this story and he baptized me in the First Church of Christ, Blacksburg, Virginia in Dec 1992. God knows I’ve had my share of mistakes, but He saw it fit to give me a second chance. Since then I quit drinking, and these days I only drink non-alcoholic beer (it’s my personal choice, and doesn’t have to be yours saints).


To summarize friends, we can never anticipate or second guess God. The Lord has billions of children on this planet, and He has infinite ways of reaching out to them.


Dear friends, I’m quite certain that all of you are sanctified, Holy Ghost baptized saints. Should there be any amongst you that don’t know the Lord yet, I pray that the Lord of the Universe will set you free from sin and disobedience into His glorious light and freedom. Amen.


[FONT=&quot]PS: Thanks for taking the time to read my scribble saints. If you find a lot of similarities between this writing and those of Rev. Oswald Chambers, that’s because the late Rev. Chambers is my mentor. Dear friends, please forgive me if I don’t respond to your mails and debates. I’m a full time college professor and haven’t the time to debate (that and I’m not very good at it.) “For God so loved this world that He gave His only begotten Son…….(John 3:16)…” Amen.[/FONT]