“. . . for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” The Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares, “I will gather yet others to him besides those already gathered.” (Isaiah 56:7b-8)
In our day many Christians and Christian churches proclaim a false gospel of ecumenism. This ecumenism proclaims that all religions are equal, that all lead to God. While the Kingdom of God is open to people of all nations and ethnicities, it does make certain demands. As Isaiah points out, all who join themselves to the Lord must hold fast to His covenant. They must keep His commandments and love and serve only Him. In terms of the New Covenant all must have faith in the righteousness of Christ alone. Only those in Christ are worthy of the Kingdom of God because they have been made worthy by Him.
Human religious works and pious deeds do not qualify anyone to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. They are the result of faith, not the cause. Thus any religion which proclaims that humans can make their way to heaven by doing good works is false. Yet too often the people of the Lord have neglected faith while promoting self-righteous works. Religion, law keeping and moralism have preempted living by the Spirit and the extending of love, justice, understanding and mercy to those enslaved in wickedness. The Lord counsels us that we should be more willing to accept the sinner and the outcast, even though the law of Moses prohibited such unclean individuals from appearing before the Lord. Such were all of us before the Lord called us. Thus the Lord wants us to accept such into full fellowship in the Kingdom of God.