The Roman Catholic church recognizes that there are differences in belief between themselves, Orthodox Christians, and Protestants, yet it can see them all as brothers in Christ.
one cannot charge with the sin of the separation those who at present are born into these communities [that resulted from such separation] and in them are brought up in the faith of Christ, and the Catholic Church accepts them with respect and affection as brothers . . . . All who have been justified by faith in Baptism are incorporated into Christ; they therefore have a right to be called Christians, and with good reason are accepted as brothers in the Lord by the children of the Catholic Church."
Similarly, even those Protestants who have been most vocal about the errors of Romanism don’t deny that there are true Christians to be found there. Boettner said that the Roman Church “teaches the inspiration of the Scriptures, the deity of Christ, the virgin birth, the miracles, the resurrection of the body, a future judgement, heaven and hell, and many other Scripture truths.” And these are truths that were denied by many mainline Protestant churches when Boettner began writing, churches that had adopted liberal/modernist views and essentially denied the faith. And John R. Rice wrote, “Any who have personally repented of their sins and have trusted Jesus Christ to forgive their sins and save their souls are saved. In spite of the trappings and forms of Romanism, some, no doubt, have in their hearts found the Saviour.”
Even in Apostolic times there were differences in belief among Christians. Some were corrected by the apostles in their writings (the Judaizing and Gnostic heresies), while others weren’t so important.
4 Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.
5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
6 He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.
Matthew Henry commented on Luke 9:49-50 (And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us. And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us.) by saying:
“If ever any society of Christians in this world, had reason to silence those not of their own communion, the twelve disciples at this time had; yet Christ warned them not to do the like again. Those may be found faithful followers of Christ, and may be accepted of him, who do not follow with us,” and added in the parallel passage in Mark, “If sinners are brought to repent, to believe in the Saviour, and to live sober, righteous, and godly lives, we then see that the Lord works by the preacher.”
For you, all that seems to matter is your belief in the authority of the Roman Catholic Church, and that no other church has the right to express its faith or beliefs except in expressions of acceptance of that same authority, but I see the Lord working by the preachers of many different denominations. Yes, churches disagree about what the Bible teaches on certain things, and yes, it’s true that many of these differences don’t seem terribly important to me. I’m more interested that, regardless of denominational differences, people accept the gospel.
Paul puts the gospel in a nutshell: Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, He was buried, and He rose again the third day (see 1 Corinthians 15:3–4). . . The gospel is the message that God will give us pardon from our sins and eternal life with Him in heaven, if we will turn away from our sins and turn to Him, accepting His Son, Jesus Christ, as our Savior and Lord. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). This simple message is for all the world.
harvest.org/knowgod/new-believer/foundations-for-living/gospel.html
