When the Gentiles heard this, they began to rejoice and praise the word of the Lord, and all who had been appointed for eternal life believed.
Acts 13:48
You may often wonder, “what does God think about other religions? Will people who aren’t Christians, but practice other faiths – be saved?”
The Bible tells us in 1 Peter 2:12, “Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.”
In other words, we are supposed to maintain a good fellowship with other nations and other faiths.
While we need to show respect to the faith of others, most importantly – we need to adhere to our own Christian faith and not partake in other faiths ourselves.
We should not get involved in a potpourri of faith, where we follow a little of this and a little of that.
In 1 Corinthians 8:5-6 we are told, “For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.”
Therefore, we can be accepting and tolerant of other faiths, but for ourselves – there is one God and one true Lord, Jesus Christ.
In Acts 17:16-34, the apostle Paul was visiting the city of Athens, famous for its welcoming attitude towards learning and philosophy. The learned men of Athens were especially interested in anything “new.” Their faith seemed to be a combination of all sorts of religions.
“Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols.” Acts 17:16
An important lesson we can learn from Paul is that of his ability to find common ground with people of different beliefs.
Paul used common ground to wisely introduce the learned men of Athens to Jesus, as told in Acts 17:23-24:
“For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.”
Our job as Christians is to remain steadfast in our faith to Jesus Christ and to spread the good news to others.