Church is for believers

There is something in this entire thread that no one mentioned: Jesus Himself took time off from His ministry to go up on a mountain to be alone with the Father. He also became weary and needed refreshment on a spiritual level.

The Holy Spirit indwells each born again believer. We DO need a bit of time each week to get together and worship together and pray together and listen to Bible together. It's a battery re-charge, if you will, much like a good night's sleep is for the body. There is nothing selfish or hateful about this; it is a necessity. That is the reason -- or at least one of them -- why we are not to forsake gathering together.

We have a Bible study that meets here on Wednesday nights. About ten people is all. But each is a real Christian who loves and worships our Lord Jesus Christ. We try to end by 9:30, but sometimes don't make it. At the close, we are all needing to go home and go to bed, but there is a joy and a sense of revival (not the 'historical' kind, but the 'shot in the arm' kind) in each of us. And no, unbelievers are not invited. This two hours is for us to dig in and study and pray and enjoy each other's company.

It is not selfish. It is preparation.

Church is more public, but Christians still need that time -- that couple of hours once a week, to be revived and refreshed with one another. If an unbeliever wishes to attend, great! If you feel he or she would benefit, invite him or her. But do not expect the minister to do your job of ministering! The minister is there to minister to the body of Christ so that we can minister to the unsaved neighbor. That neighbor is not the minister's responsibility, he is ours.

The Christian church is for Christians. Is that a novel idea? It is not an outreach center. That is what our very lives should be. Church is the place where we can rest and be with like-minded people and pray and worship with them. Sure visitors are welcome and that cup of tea or coffee is easy to offer and it is great to make them feel welcome. But church is for the believer at its core.

 

Amen!

IMHO churches that focus on bringing unbelievers into church have the Great Commission backwards. The Church is supposed to help equip the "saints" for spreading the Gospel. How can you focus on "meat" if you keep going over the "milk" because you have so many unbelieveres in your midst?

Now should we avoid bringing unbelievers to church? That is a tough question. I don't think it should be the first tool we should be using in evangelism. If they ask to go to church with you, I wouldn't turn them away. But the worship service is not for the unbeliever. An unbeliever cannot worship a God they do not know.

Sometimes we have programs at our church that are more unbeliever friendly, but they are never during the main worship services. Usually they are around Christmas or Easter when unbelievers are more likely to attend a church.

 

Tom Butler quote: CLICK HERE
</font>[/QUOTE]Wait a sec...some of you guys have made a jump in logic. The quote says "Worship is not for lost people," and everyone is discussing "church is not for lost people." Although worship is a central facet of the church, those words are not synonymous.

Of course worship is a function of church life that is for believers. Granted, some come to know God through worship...but yes, it is for God's people to acknowledge His worth and sit at His feet. But...ministry? Fellowship? Evangelism? Other aspects of "church?" Of course...much of that is for the lost as well as the "found."

I think we should focus less on "going to church." And instead, we should focus on "being the church."

 

CHURCH IS FOR BELIEVERS NOT UNBELIEVERS.(not that unbelievers cannot attend)

1) The word CHURCH means assembly of believers

2} The saved are called SHEEP, the Pastor of a church is called a SHEPHERD. His job is to care for his sheep by feeding them the word, admonishing them, guiding them in truth, teaching them to mulitiply and reach the lost through their relationships OUTSIDE the church adding them to the fold, etc. EPH. 4:11-12. ACTS 20:28

3) Church building is there for WORSHIP and EQUIPPING of the saints.

Problems accur when church leaders have the wrong view about the purpose of the church buliding. If leaders have the proper view of their church buliding and it's congregation it should go something like this.

My job as a pastor is to teach and lead by example and by Gods word TRUTH. I take on the job of being a shepherd to my flock feeding them and teaching them to go outside the church to reach others, they get saved and baptized then added to the flock. MATT.28:18-19-20.
Focus as a pastor is to produce HEALTHY sheep. If a member is sick, injured or unhealthy in anyway, he or those he has disignated should do what they can to make them better, so they can be all God wants them to be. HEALTHY. The church should be an environment that causes a believer to worship God both in spirit and in truth. through worship music, edification, like minded fellowship, prayer and preaching.

A church that has the wrong view of what the building is there for, is more focused on numbers and fellowship "social group" and feeling good or comfortable.
A new trend has swept America in the last 30 years called SEEKER SERVICES, where the focus is on using the church to win the lost.
The danger of seeker services churches are.

Compromise in order to appeal to the world the unsaved, compromise on music, dress, preaching sin, church discipline, compliancy, no accountability to win souls personally, the church will do it. having unsaved in the church thinking they are saved when they are not because sin is no longer preached on.

It is each individual who is responsible to win souls through their relationships outside the church, not the churches job to get them in so they will be saved. If an unbeliever happens to go to church either on their own or through a friends or family members and get saved GREAT! but that shouldn't be the main focus feeding and equipping the saints should be.
2 TIM. 3:16

[ March 14, 2006, 04:36 PM: Message edited by: Frenchy ]

 

Show me one place in this discussion where anyone has said that we should avoid allowing unsaved people into our churches. I missed that.

 

Show me one place in this discussion where anyone has said that we should avoid allowing unsaved people into our churches. I missed that. </font>[/QUOTE]Posted by Gina in the OP

 

hmmm, hope must have missed that one.

 

This is all I was arguing with. I agree that we shouldent change our churches. We shouldent try to make them more worldly to bring people in. I agree with Helen that we need time to prepair and pray by ourselfs. A Wed night Bible study for believers only is great. Go into your prayer closet and pray alone, great.

But, We should NOT avoid bringing unsaved people to church on Sunday.

BTW.

I am sorry if I was arguing out of emotion with some of you last night. I was having a real bad night and may have taken some of the posts to personal.

Sorry.

 

Gina

There have been some good points made on this thread. I still disagree with the premise that we should avoid purposly bringing unbelivers into church.

However, bring somebody to church does not replace our duty to personaly explain the Gospel to them. I can see where it would be easy to think that by inviting people to church and not witnessing to them a person can feel they are doing what they are charged with doing, without taking the risk of actuly shareing Jesus.


I would say it is our duty to explain the Gospel to individuals. To share the good news. I would then say it is a good idea to invite that person you shared the Gospel with to church so they can see for themselfs that people who are born again are different.

Who is to say that the Holy Spirit can not use the church enviroment to make the knowlege you gave to the person grow. To make the words you gave them real in their hearts.

 

This is the natural response from one who accepts the theology of grace. There is a lost world out there. The Great Commission is in my Bible.

I'm disgusted with this thread as well. I nevere thought I'd hear a professing Christian say we should try to discourage and prevent the unsaved from coming to church. You need to pick up your Bible and read it and rethink this disatrous theology that's become so popular today. I'll give it to you through. It is easy. You don't have to DO ANYTHING.

 

Why not allow your daughter to marry an unbeliever while we're at it?

 

Well, it was certainly clear enough for me to understand what you were saying. I've never understood churches that preach to the unsaved, while there are plenty of sheep that need feeding.

 

How in the world did you jump to that. Oh I guess this is like the argument of anybody who disagrees with you worships the devil and does not love their children.

You disagree with me. Why dont you tourture small puppies while your at it.

That was the worst argument I have read on this board to date.

By the way. If your daughter is old enough to be married then you dont let her do anything. You accept or dont accept her choices. But you have not legal way of allowing or disallowing her to do anything. So this argument was stupid on many levels.

 

Maybe this needs repeating, can anyone find anything biblically wrong with what i wrote below? i mean shouldn't the bible be our source for answers instead of personal opinions?

CHURCH IS FOR BELIEVERS NOT UNBELIEVERS.(not that unbelievers cannot attend)

1) The word CHURCH means assembly of believers

2} The saved are called SHEEP, the Pastor of a church is called a SHEPHERD. His job is to care for his sheep by feeding them the word, admonishing them, guiding them in truth, teaching them to mulitiply and reach the lost through their relationships OUTSIDE the church adding them to the fold, etc. EPH. 4:11-12. ACTS 20:28

3) Church building is there for WORSHIP and EQUIPPING of the saints.

Problems accur when church leaders have the wrong view about the purpose of the church buliding. If leaders have the proper view of their church buliding and it's congregation it should go something like this.

My job as a pastor is to teach and lead by example and by Gods word TRUTH. I take on the job of being a shepherd to my flock feeding them and teaching them to go outside the church to reach others, they get saved and baptized then added to the flock. MATT.28:18-19-20.
Focus as a pastor is to produce HEALTHY sheep. If a member is sick, injured or unhealthy in anyway, he or those he has disignated should do what they can to make them better, so they can be all God wants them to be. HEALTHY. The church should be an environment that causes a believer to worship God both in spirit and in truth. through worship music, edification, like minded fellowship, prayer and preaching.

A church that has the wrong view of what the building is there for, is more focused on numbers and fellowship "social group" and feeling good or comfortable.
A new trend has swept America in the last 30 years called SEEKER SERVICES, where the focus is on using the church to win the lost.
The danger of seeker services churches are.

Compromise in order to appeal to the world the unsaved, compromise on music, dress, preaching sin, church discipline, compliancy, no accountability to win souls personally, the church will do it. having unsaved in the church thinking they are saved when they are not because sin is no longer preached on.

It is each individual who is responsible to win souls through their relationships outside the church, not the churches job to get them in so they will be saved. If an unbeliever happens to go to church either on their own or through a friends or family members and get saved GREAT! but that shouldn't be the main focus feeding and equipping the saints should be.
2 TIM. 3:16

 

Frenchy

There is nothing wrong with what you posted. There is not doubt that Church is for belevers and the pastor is to sherard his flock. Yes the church is an assembely of believers but it is not forbiden to have guests into our assembely.

Also we have delt with should the church compomise to get people to attend. The anser was a unanimous, no. So no need to revisit that.

This debate has focesed on one sentence made in the OP that, a person should avoid bring an unsaved person to church on sunday.

I find it interesting that those who agree with this sentence like to sit on the fence. What am I talking about. Well I have seen something like this statement in several posts.

We would not keep unsaved people out.
Not that unbelievers cannot attend.
We would not turn them away.

Contrast that with the original statement.

We should avoid bringing unsaved people to church.

Either unsaved people belong in church or they do not. Jump onto one side of he fence or the other. If an unbeliver disturbes worship on Sunday then they do not belong wether they were invited, brought or walked in off the street. So this makes no sence. take a stand. does an unsaved person belong in our churches on sunday, or should we turn them away.

As far as Scripture is concerned. It does not say to bring unsaved people to church. It also does not say to avoid bring unsaved people to church. However the whole of the NT is consistent with loving your neighbor. I can not think of many better ways of loving my neighbor then to first share the Gospel with them then to invite them to church. Because I can see that they need Christ in their lives. I can also see that they need to be around people who have Christ in their lives.

 

Well, it was certainly clear enough for me to understand what you were saying. I've never understood churches that preach to the unsaved, while there are plenty of sheep that need feeding. </font>[/QUOTE]Paul preached to the unsaved and there were also sheep that needed feeding. Seems we should be doing both. If we can not both feed the sheep and preach to the unsaved then we are failures. We are tasked with doing both.

It is sad if you are saying that your church does not preach to the unsaved because it is feeding its sheep. I bet your church both preaches to the unsaved and feeds its sheep.

 

Amen I agree

The way I see it if an unsaved person comes to a good bible believing preaching church, it won't be long before they will get saved, otherwise they will feel to uncomfortable and leave.

 

Amen I agree

The way I see it if an unsaved person comes to a good bible believing preaching church, it won't be long before they will get saved, otherwise they will feel to uncomfortable and leave. </font>[/QUOTE]

I agree.

 

Show me one single example of Paul bringing unsaved people into the church meeting to preach to them. He didn't.

The church, by definition, is for those who are believers.

When I preach, I preach from the Bible, to believers. Sometimes, there is an unsaved person who wanders in, but usually, an unsaved person is present because someone evangelized him (sometimes me, sometimes others) and invited him. If he sees something he wants, I will take the time to preach the message of spiritual salvation to him one on one. I will not preach the message of salvation to a buiding full of Christians. (Although, sometimes, I do delineate between salvation and rewards or inheritance, so salvation does get taught.)

There is a church here in town that preaches to the lost. They get a few people wander in, who hear the message of salvation, they accept this free gift, then after a few more weeks of hearing how to be saved (which they already are), they wander off. Sometimes to my church, sometimes to another one, but often back to the bars and streets, because that's not the purpose of church.