@rickwarren’s Tweet on Thursday got me thinking: Some subgroups of Christians will be shocked when they see who is in heaven.”I have sheep that arent of this fold”- Jesus

First, I’ve got nothing against Brother Rick—he once bought me mini doughnuts and a pint of milk, and told me he was a Bapticostal, thereby securing my affections. I’m not even sure exactly where he was going with the Tweet, but I know that the passage he cited has often been interpreted as an inclusivist text:

“I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.” – John 10:16

On a daily basis, Jesus reveals Himself personally in visions to Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and animists—without the help of a missionary—and they experience radical conversion. But inclusivists believe there may be people in other religions who are saved apart from putting faith in Jesus. In other words, Jesus saves them without their knowledge.

Of course, these are not the Hitlers, Pol Pots or Idi Amins of their respective religions we’re talking about here. They are the sweetly ignorant savages who have good hearts but are geographically isolated from the gospel. That would be so cool if it weren’t so Pelagian.

Does the context—and the meaning—of John 10:16 really support the idea that people can be saved apart from putting conscious faith in Jesus?

One of the world’s favorite evangelicals (Rick Warren) will be visiting one of the world’s least favorite nations (North Korea) to meet with church and business leaders to prepare for a return visit to preach to some 15,000 people in March 2007. Soon after the announcement, the Web lit up with criticisms of Warren–that he was “condoning” and “legitimizing” the North Korean government by accepting the invitation to preach there … that Kim Jong il will use Warren as a shill to put a kinder, gentler face on the Asian dictatorship … that Warren’s arrival will draw Christians out of the woodwork, only to be persecuted once he leaves the scene.

Warren admits that this is a possibility (“I know they’re going to use me. So, I’m going to use them.”) But he defends his decision in his blog: “Regardless of politics, I will go anywhere I am invited to preach the Gospel. My hope is that these visits will promote religious freedom in a country where the practice of individual faith has been tightly controlled and virtually prohibited since 1945.”

This is not the first time an unusual door of opportunity has opened for a high profile leader to penetrate a “closed country” with the gospel. In 1984 Billy Graham was vilified for visiting the Soviet Union, because he was only allowed to preach in the state-sanctioned Russian Orthodox church–a “compromise” some felt should have precluded his visit. Now, 20 years later, as we observe how ineffective the Soviet Union was at snuffing out authentic Christianity, the criticisms against Graham seem irrelevant.

Is it suspicious that a notorious madman like Kim Jong il is considering allowing an evangelical pastor into his country for a crusade? Absolutely. But I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who has prayed that North Korea’s doors would eventually open to the outside world–if even a crack.

So, should we wait until North Korea is removed from the Axis of Evil before we pursue any opportunities to preach the gospel or bring encouragement to its persecuted citizens? Is our nation’s diplomatic approval a prerequisite for the fulfillment of the Great Commission? Of course not. Like its 20th-century predecessors, when the oppressive regime of North Korea finally topples, it won’t be because of the machinations of human governments. Whether in ancient Rome, 20th-century Moscow or (dare I say) 21st-century Beijing and Mecca, it is Kingdom yeast and martyr blood that are the ingredients of true revolution.

by Matt Green
from The Ministry Report
July 11, 2006