How can it be two different religions and yet the same gospel?
…believers… from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and proclaimed the message to Gentiles… telling them the Good News about the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s power was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. The news about this reached the church in Jerusalem, so they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw how God had blessed the people, he was glad and urged them all to be faithful and true to the Lord with all their hearts.
(Acts 11:20-23)
Non-Jews responding to the Messiah in large numbers was new! (Not that it wouldn’t have happened earlier but at that time Jewish believers were only reaching out to fellow Jews.) Being the big news that it was, the church in Jerusalem sent their very best to see what exactly was happening.
Once in Antioch, Barnabas discerned that the Spirit of God was at work in their midst. Was it because of what they were doing? Or how they dressed? Or what words they employed? No! How could any of that be similar to what he had lived in Jerusalem? The cultures were completely different! And yet Barnabas was able to look beyond all those externals. What did he see? Scripture doesn’t say, but one can imagine something along the lines of the following:
…the Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control.
(Galatians 5:22-23)
Should different religions being rooted in the same gospel come as a surprise? Or is it possible that Jesus was referring to this very thing in one of his many parables?
“[No one will] pour new wine into used wineskins, for the skins will burst, the wine will pour out, and the skins will be ruined. Instead, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins, and both will keep in good condition.”
(Matthew 9:17)