You may have heard of the furor caused by a denominational preacher in Florida, threatening to burn copies of the Koran. His determined stance on following through with doing so was opposed by the State Department, the President, our military leaders, and almost every nation who got wind of his plans. The fear of radical Islamic militants using this to retaliate against US troops, to recruit new insurgents, and to revive terror attacks in our borders, has caused pleas for this “remembrance of the attacks of 9/11” to be put aside. Late this past Thursday, the Koran burning was called off.
I am not sure what Mr. Jones thought he might accomplish by burning copies of the Koran, outside of the publicity it generated. It is doubtful if any Muslims would convert to Christianity by such actions. Typically, such things tend to polarize feelings and beliefs and fix them even more firmly in those who hold them. Persecution, which this would have been interpreted as, would have just solidified them and their beliefs.
Certainly God “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4). However, God has created us all with free will, giving everyone the choice of whether to believe or not, to obey or not. Jesus is clear more will reject God’s loving offer of forgiveness through His sacrifice than will accept it (Matt. 7:13-14). If one wants to believe something other than the truth of the gospel, while the consequences of that choice can lead to condemnation, God allows it. Even in Micah’s day, the prophet wrote, “If a man should go about and utter wind and lies, saying, ‘I will preach to you of wine and strong drink,’ he would be the preacher for this people!” (Micah 2:11). As Adam and Eve chose to believe the lies of Satan over God, it is no different today.
Since people can exercise free will, what is our response to those who would promote error? Truth! The way to peace is through the gospel, through believing and obeying the truth of the gospel, to letting go of those things that are in error and embracing truth. To the Jews and Gentiles of Paul’s day, and the division that existed in them, he encouraged, “For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility” (Eph. 2:14-16).
Knowing the truth, living the truth, and proclaiming the truth can make a difference in the world. “ For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek. For in it God’s righteousness is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith” (Rom. 1:16-17). Christ and the gospel are the answer to all the woes in our world. “So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,
and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free’” (John 8:31-32). “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).
Robert Johnson
