How Much Truth Is Enough?

In my rather unsystematic excursion through the second century, I came across the life and works of Bardesanes, the Syriac poet and author from Edessa. Although we have little of his work extant, what we know about his life and his writings certainly makes him an intriguing figure. Depending on whom you consult, the various influences of astrology, Christianity, and Valentinian Gnosticism land Bardesanes a place among the faithful, the fallen, the heretical, or the badly confused.

This leads to a question with which Christians of all stripes have to wrestle, and which does not lend itself to an easy answer: How much truth is needed to lead to an authentic faith? I am not one to teach that the content of faith doesn't matter, just the sincerity of the seeker. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life," and it is not for us to say otherwise. So the question becomes, "What does it mean to have faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord?"

Maybe another way to put it is, Is Bardesanes [or your favorite questionable figure] a believer?" Christianity took some unusual forms in the second century, and it takes some unusual forms today. Which of these forms retain enough of the truth to ensure the salvation of their adherents?

We often put this question into a denominational form: Are Baptists/ Catholics/ Lutherans/ Episcopalians/ Orthodox/ Pentecostals/ whomever truly saved? The answers range from the fanatical assertions that the only true church is "us" to the extremely broad "God loves everyone." As a student of church history and a friend of Christians whom I believe are born again even though they belong to a denomination other than mine, I want to answer this carefully.

In the end, only God knows for certain who are His. I believe that we need to walk a fine line between recognizing that He may work in many different ways and through many different groups to draw people to Jesus and remaining faithful to Jesus' own teaching that He is the only way. I believe that those whose faith is in Jesus (not the church, a denomination, a particular teacher, or a vague notion of God) are bound for heaven, even if we are not exactly correct in every point of doctrine. This doesn't excuse us from studying and seeking to refine our beliefs to conform to the Bible, but it does provide some needed humility.

So was Bardesanes a Christian? Will we see him in heaven? My opinion (and it is just that) is that yes, he was a genuine believer who tried to fit what he knew to his faith, sometimes stumbling. (As opposed to someone like Valentinus, who I believe was not a Christian despite the Ehrman/Pagels arguments, but whose belief used Christian terminology to cloak something entirely different.) I'll find out someday, when I get to heaven and join all who truly trusted Jesus around His throne.