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Mark 9:38-41 - Anyone not against us is for us (titled by ESV Bible)

I had to say this was titled by the ESV Bible. It seems a rather secular looking concept, but Jesus makes the same stand here.

John tells Jesus that he saw a person casting out demons in Jesus's name, and tried to stop him because he was not part of Jesus's direct disciples. However, Jesus tells John not to stop such people, because those who serve Jesus will not be able to speak ill of Him, and will not lose their reward in heaven.

Apply this today.

What does it mean to serve Jesus?

A person who serves Jesus must know the full gospel of Christ - from Creation, Sin, Death, Redemption, Resurrection, and Judgement. He must be committed to serving Jesus as Lord of his life.

So, the question is, how about people with different practices?

Example 1: Catholics.
Q: Are Catholics true servants of Jesus?
My answer: No. The proclamation of Jesus's death is often tied too closely with the call to acts to earn salvation - failing to do justice to the completeness of payment in Jesus's death.

Example 2: Other denominations. (I am Baptist)
I'm not too sure about other denominations, but generally be it Methodist, Presbyterian, Anglican etc... Most denominations in general which are accepted as evangelical are of sound doctrine.

Example 3: Cults (as defined by the general society, e.g. Mormons
No. Quite clearly they have doctrine which is non-Biblical and over-emphasized to the point of equality with the Gospel (in general). Some even consider Jesus a mere man who was chosen by God to be a sacrifice. Completely off target, and definitely we shouldn't be supporting their ministries.

Example 4: Churches with controversial teaching. e.g. New Creation / City Harvest etc.
These churches have hit the headlines in recent days, and there is often discussion over whether we should be supporting them. Where in general they do have the gospel of Christ correct, there is a tendency to add on to the salvation that Christ brings with good exam results, high paying jobs... and the like. It tends to appeal to the materialistic side of man to make them believe in God.
My stand is no - not because they are against the gospel of Christ, but in supporting these ministries we are condoning their teaching. However, I do not believe we should deter them from ministering, but instead be corrective of it.
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