Er is een gemeenschappelijke tendens bij mensen om negatieve oordelen te vellen over andere mensen. In de middelbare scholen komt deze tendens tot uiting in kliekjes. Een paar populaire kinderen komen in een groep terecht, en beginnen geleidelijk aan te denken dat ze beter zijn dan anderen omdat ze beter geliefd zijn. Kinderen die niet "in" zijn, kunnen objecten van medelijden, of minachting, of zelfs van wrede grappen worden. Op een of andere manier oordeelt de kliek subtiel over de anderen als een lagere klasse van mensen.

Dezelfde neiging om op anderen neer te kijken toont zich in verschillende religies. Sommige religieuze groepen worden zo egocentrisch dat ze geloven dat niemand van een ander geloof naar de hemel kan gaan. In het uiterste geval is een dergelijke houding veel wreder dan de snobistische tienerkliekjes.

De leer van de Bijbel staat hier nogal haaks op. Om te beginnen zegt God's Woord ons dat we mensen niet moeten bestempelen als "gered" of "zondaar". Jezus zei,

"Oordeel niet, dat je niet veroordeeld wordt. Waarom kijk je naar de vlek in het oog van je broer, maar denk je niet aan de plank in je eigen oog?" (Mattheüs 7:1, 3)

De discipel James zei het zo: "Er is één wetgever, die in staat is om te redden en te vernietigen. Wie ben jij om over een ander te oordelen? (Jakoben 4:1)

Toen de Heer op aarde was, was er een oordelende houding onder de leiders van de kerk. Velen dachten dat als de Messias kwam, hij de Joden zou redden, en anderen niet. Toen Jezus kwam, veroordeelden ze Hem voor het associëren met zowel niet-Joden als Joden.

Jezus ontmoedigde dit soort houding. Hij sprak eens met sommige mensen die "op zichzelf vertrouwden" dat ze gered werden en anderen niet. Hij vroeg hen om twee gebeden te overwegen: "God, ik dank u dat ik niet zoals andere mensen ben," en "God, wees mij genadig, een zondaar!" Jezus prees de man die dacht dat hij een zondaar was. (Lucas 18:9-14)

Het is beter om jezelf als een zondaar te beschouwen dan te denken dat je gered bent.

U herinnert zich wellicht ook de gelijkenis van de barmhartige Samaritaan, die stopte om de gewonde man langs de kant van de weg te helpen. Hoewel deze Samaritaan van het "verkeerde" geloof was (vanuit Joods oogpunt), zei Jezus dat de Samaritaan bemind moest worden als een naaste, omdat hij een goed mens was. In feite zei hij dat een persoon die het eeuwige leven wil, net als deze Samaritaan moet zijn (Lucas 10:29-37), ook al was de Samaritaan noch christelijk noch joods. Jezus zag - en ziet - wat er in iemands hart is, niet alleen van welke kerk men deel uitmaakt.

De Bijbel stelt duidelijk dat het de manier waarop iemand leeft is, niet alleen wat hij gelooft, die bepaalt of hij naar de hemel gaat of niet. Jezus zei: "Niet ieder die tegen Mij zegt: 'Heer, Heer,' zal het Koninkrijk der hemelen binnengaan, maar hij die de wil van Mijn Vader in de hemel doet". (Mattheüs 7:21)

Nogmaals, "Hij zal iedereen belonen naar zijn werken." (Mattheüs 16:27)

"Zij die goed hebben gedaan," zegt hij, zullen gaan "naar de opstanding van het leven, en zij die kwaad hebben gedaan, naar de opstanding van de veroordeling." (Johannes 5:29)

Omdat het leven van een persoon, niet alleen zijn geloof, zijn eeuwige lot bepaalt, voorspelde Jezus dat veel christenen niet gered zouden worden, omdat ze een kwaadaardig leven hadden geleefd.

"Velen zullen in die dag tegen mij zeggen: "Heer, Heer, hebben wij niet in Uw naam geprofeteerd, demonen in Uw naam uitgedreven en vele wonderen in Uw naam verricht? En dan zal Ik hen verklaren: "Ik heb jullie nooit gekend: ga weg van Mij, jullie die wetteloosheid beoefenen!"" (Mattheüs 27:22-23, Lucas 13:25-27)

Een reden waarom een niet-christen gered kan worden, is dat hij van zijn buurman kan houden. Iedereen die oprecht van zijn naaste houdt, houdt ook van Christus, hoewel hij het misschien niet beseft. Jezus zei: "Voor zover jullie een van de minste van deze Mijn broeders hebben bediend, hebben jullie dat met Mij gedaan". (Mattheüs 25:40)

Geloof in Jezus, zonder liefde voor de naaste is zinloos.

"Hoewel ik alle vertrouwen heb, zodat ik bergen kan verwijderen, maar geen liefde heb, ben ik niets." (1 Corinthiër 13:2)

Echte liefde daarentegen is een teken dat iemand de Heer in zijn hart kent, ongeacht de religie die hij naar buiten toe belijdt.

"Liefde gelooft alle dingen." (1 Corinthiër 13:7)

"Wie goed doet, is van God, maar wie kwaad doet, heeft God niet gezien." (3 Johannes 1:11)

"Laten we elkaar liefhebben, want liefde is van God, en iedereen die liefheeft is uit God geboren en kent God. God is liefde, en iedereen die in de liefde blijft, blijft in God, en God in hem." (1 Johannes 4:7-11)

Samenvatting:

Sommige christelijke kerken leren dit: Alleen christenen worden gered.

Wat de Bijbel eigenlijk zegt (en wat de Nieuwe Christelijke Kerk leert): Goede mensen van alle religies worden gered.

Enkele referenties uit de leerstellingen voor de Nieuwe Christelijke Kerk : Hemel En Hel 318-328, Gods Voorzienigheid 326

Gebruikt met toestemming van John Odhner, de auteur van deze zeer nuttige site: http://whatthebiblesays.info/Introduction.html

"By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples." (John 15:8)

A theme found throughout the Testaments is that of bearing fruit. The Lord wants us to be productive. He charges us to be fruitful and multiply. The ancient Israelites had to work hard for survival. Not only is farming, their primary occupation, difficult labor, but following the commandments of Jehovah often required specific sacrifices and duties. In the New Testament the Lord often linked salvation with our effort.

"For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works" (Matthew 16:27).

And not producing fruit was a curse. The barren fig tree was condemned, for it was not doing what the Lord required of it.

This theme of productiveness can also be found throughout the created universe. The Lord did not create anything that is without value or use. The fertile soil of the earth is the seed-bed from which vegetation springs. Plants serve for food, and constantly seem to be producing many more seeds than can possibly come to fruition. Animal life also strives to reproduce itself, to create more of its own. The urge to grow, to build, is universal.

We should not be surprised by this. For it is but a reflection of the Lord's nature. His love is the most productive love of all. It is always reaching out, striving to create, to produce what is good. This is why the universe was created. This is why we were born. Our existence is evidence of His love.

And to us He holds out the opportunity to join with Him in being productive. He is the vine, we can be the branches. From Him we can bear much fruit. We can be touched by His love, and share it with others. We can affect all those around us, producing in them happiness and joy.

How do we become branches of the Lord? We begin by following in His path. We cannot be offshoots of His unless what we do comes from Him. He has given us the Word (the way, the truth, and the life), that we might know what is required of us. As He said in John, "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love....This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you" (John 15:10, 12).

Heeding His Word means walking in His ways. We cannot very well touch others with love if we ourselves are not acting the ways of love. Can we in anger, command someone to be good? Can we from contempt look down on others and say all men are brothers? This is what the Lord commanded in Ezekiel, saying:

"If [a person] has walked in My statutes and kept My judgments faithfully - he is just; he shall surely live!" (Ezekiel 18:9)

Good fruit is not produced by diseased plants or trees. To be the Lord's branches requires us to keep His commandments, so that His love might exist in us to be shared with others.

But how are we to produce the fruit of loving our neighbors? The Lord had given us the way of serving others, being useful to them. As He said, "Whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant" (Matthew 20:26-27).

If we consider it, it is almost impossible to avoid being of service to others in this world. The Lord established a system that virtually demands we devote much of our lives to others. The only way to avoid serving others is to live separated from all others, not receiving anything from them, and not giving them anything in return. Such a hermit's life is almost inconceivable. Even Johnny Appleseed, who stayed as far away from civilization as possible, was of tremendous service by planting apple trees and spreading copies of Heavenly Doctrines of the New Church.

The reality for us is that we will serve others. As children and students, we are under the supervision of others who give us much to do. As young adults we seek employment to earn a living. As spouses we will care for our mates and do household duties. As parents we will take care of the many needs of our children. As friends we will lend a hand to our peers. As senior citizens we will be the anchors of family and cultural values. At whatever age, the Lord would have us be of use to others, branches of His vine, bearing much fruit.

The alternative to being useful is not very attractive. Imagine what it would be like to be deprived of the opportunity to serve others? Without work to do, would we not begin focusing more and more upon ourselves? Would not the frustration break out in anger towards others? Is this not why long hospital stays, unemployment, and retirement without other interests are so devastating? Is not part of the pain for a couple having difficulty conceiving a child, the fact that they are being denied the opportunity of serving as parents? And for the single person, the lack of being useful in a marriage relationship detracts from the service he or she might be. Although the Lord insures that any one can be useful to others, when we are denied the possibility of being useful in even one way, there is a sense of loss, of incompleteness.

There are numerous ways to be of use in this world. One way is by our occupations. Be they chairman of the board or janitor at an all night cafe, the time we spend at our jobs is a way to serve our neighbors, to love them. Another critical way to be of use is in our families. As we relate to our spouse, raise our children, and manage our homes, we are providing a tremendous benefit to our neighbors. Not only are we establishing a foundation for society in our marriages, we are preparing young people to be productive members of society and angels in heaven. These two uses, formal occupations and home life, are perhaps the most important uses we can do, for we spend the most time with them during our lives on earth. As we perform them to the best of our abilities, we are bearing the fruit which makes us the Lord's disciples.

Some of the other uses that the Lord calls upon us to do involve our responsibilities in our communities and our church. To love our neighbors requires us to take an informed interest in what is going on, in our local community and in the world community. Although only some will become directly involved, all can form opinions and participate in electing representatives.

We can also be useful in the setting of our church. Here we have wide-ranging opportunities to enable people to worship their God. From serving on committees or contributing money, to just being present for Sunday morning worship, there are innumerable ways to become branches of the Lord's vine, bringing forth much fruit.

Now, it may seem that all we must do is follow the commandments and do certain good acts and we automatically become angelic. Since it is relatively easy to avoid breaking laws and perform certain actions, all should be saved, right? Well, not exactly. Being useful involves something more than mere adherence to laws and performing our duties. For a person can be very selfishly inclined and do these things. Someone could devote a great deal of energy to serving the neighbor so all will think him a "good" person.

This is of providence, for the Lord insures that all people, both those who truly care for others and those who primarily care for themselves, can serve others. As His rain falls on the just and the unjust, so this world is designed that all will be useful.

But for the fruit we bear to be nourishing, and not rotten within, our motives must stem from the Lord also. Being of use requires that the good we do for our neighbors be good in both essence and form.

How do we bear good fruit? By quietly and secretly shunning evils as sins. As we periodically look at our lives, both what we are doing with our time and our inner thoughts and feelings, we are to identify whatever seems to come from hell. If we place more importance on the things of this world, or our own self image, than on sincerely caring for others, we can see something is wrong.

Perhaps we will recognize that we are working primarily for the money or prestige we receive. Perhaps we will not take a particular job if it will not increase our income enough, or we shy away from aspects of our occupation that will not result in others praising us. What should we do? How do we shun these selfish motivations? Recognizing them as wrong and asking the Lord's help is a start. Then one way to shun these evils is to force ourselves not to think about how much we are making. Perhaps we might also seek for some mundane jobs which are not likely to bring us to the attention of our supervisor.

Whatever we do, it is important that we not give up our jobs. One reason the Lord has provided so many uses is that we continue working even if our motivations are selfish. No young person entering the job market is immune from desiring a large salary so he can spend money freely. He should not seek a low paying job to punish himself, for it is by the very means of working that the Lord can gradually purge away an orientation for self and replace it with a genuine concern for others.

In all the ways we are useful to others, from occupations to child rearing, the Lord can cause us to bear fruit as we become ever more sensitive to what is of hell within us, and attempt to change. Being useful, even if our motives are not pure at first, teaches us, trains us, to care for others. As we perform as well as we can in our roles as friends, spouses, parents, and employees, then the Lord can gradually cause us to see and appreciate the fruit that can be produced from His vine. Love for the neighbor grows as we learn to care by serving others and not just self.

It is not too surprising that most of our sense of self worth comes from our jobs and our home life: where we can be of most use. As we put away excessive concern for ourselves and the world, we grow ever stronger as branches on the Lord's vine. As this happens, our sense of joy and happiness can increase many fold. For as we are truly useful to others we are participating in the Lord's work. We are becoming angels for we are doing His will. It is His love, His happiness, that we are sharing and thereby making our own. With Him as our vine we can bear much fruit, and become His disciples indeed.