The lost in our homes

Have at it Roger! You're doing good. :thumbsup:

It's the same in Japan, another Gospel-resistant country. If we didn't love the lost to Jesus by having them in our homes, few would be saved. I'll sit down and drink tea (even that green stuff) any day with a lost person if it means they'll let me give them the Gospel.

Mr. Ueno and Mr. Uematsu got saved that way. On Dec. 16 we're going to have a Christmas party in our home--and whaddayknow, lost people will be there! :thumbsup:

 

Righto, Roger.

My wife teaches English to Japanese ladies, a very common missionary effort in Japan. (Don't suppose that would work where you are, Roger! :laugh We have had ladies' Bible studies in our home in past years, and are fixing to start one again. And it goes without saying, to me, that you should invite lost ladies to these.

On the other thread, it was stated that Jesus apparently never had a lost person in for tea, or something like that. Just a quick search of "sinners" on my Power Bible CD produced several relevant passages, but the first passage I looked at was in Matthew 9 where Jesus calls Matthew to be His disciple, goes to his home, and the following happens:

"10 And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? 12 But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick."

To me, this is very strong evidence that Jesus is entirely in favor of having lost sinners into the home to seek to win them to Him. :jesus:

 

This verse seems to bring some clarity to this issue...

1 Corinthians 5:9-13 (New King James Vers

9 I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. 10 Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person.
12 For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? 13 But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.”[a]

Paul seemed to have no problem having the lost in his house, ie. keeping company with them. He instructed us not to eat with one who calls himself a brother and was acting like the devil.

Bro Tony

 

Ya' kinda sound like ya' believe in planting churches . . .

Gotta wonder if Paul woulda been for that kinda mindset and all. . . ?

Really now . . . wasn't he for the law being the guide . . . ?

Wasn't he for telling them they should turn or burn in the first sentence?

Didn't he preach against using the world (pagan symbology) in our sermon illustrations?

Wasn't Mars Hill just added by the redactors in about 1920?

Seriously, tell the lost about Jesus . . . if ya' ain't tellin' the lost about Jesus, then you're not loyal to the Great Commission. IMHO.

 

I have read 1 John 2 many times and see no prohibition to welcome the lost into our homes in it.

Can someone clarify this? Or provide any scripture to support this idea?

 

I suspect the scripture being referred to is II John 1:10. This says do not let false teachers into your home. Apparently the "Chosen Lady" was helping anyone who claimed to be preaching Christ even if they were false teachers.

 

Aaaah. Thanks for the clarification. That makes more sense, though I still see no prohibition from inviting the lost over to the house, especially in light of our LORD's regular practice of dining with sinners.

 

In short, keep no company with someone who is publicly known by non-church members to be a member of your church and who lives like the heathen, because by so doing the church members unknowingly (or knowingly) approve of his lifestyle and is telling the world "everything's okay, folks, come right in, just be members of this church and go right on living like you came straight from the pits of hell".

It also means separating from members of your church who have diluted the word of God so much even birds to whom water is simply water won't drink it anymore, and have corrupted time honored traditions and practices of your church in order to conform to current, updated, and modern views and practices so they can reach the "lost".

We used to call it "separation" and applied the principle correctly until the ultra-fundamentalists came and began pointing fingers at everybody like they didn't have three fingers crooked and pointing right back at them.

 

Probably my own fault, but I'm afraid I don't understand your message (El Guero) apart from the last sentence.

I'll try and explain my confusion:

1. My understanding of the term "church planting" is of an existing local church setting apart and sending out some of its members to begin ("plant") a new church where as yet there isn't one. If you mean the same sort of thing by "church-planting", I am wondering what the connection is with whether or not we should invite unbelievers into our homes.

2. By Paul seeing the law as our guide, do you mean his reference in Galatians 3.24?:

Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

Again, what is the connection with inviting unbelievers into our homes?

3. I don't know what this refers to: "Wasn't he for telling them they should turn or burn in the first sentence?"

4. I don't understand how the Mars Hill (or Areopagus) incident could have been "added by the redactors in about 1920", because it appears in much earlier translations of the bible, and in commentaries by men like John Gill, Matthew Poole and Matthew Henry, who all lived long before 1920.

Perhaps the answer to my confusion is in the word "Seriously," which begins your final sentence. Did you mean that the earlier parts of the message were a joke of some kind? If so, I am too slow to understand it.

Whatever the case, please rest assured that I'm not criticising in any way

Every blessing,

 

I would not be a very good witness if the lost never came to my house. I actually invite them! <gasp>

Most of my neighbors are unchurched as are some of my relatives.

This year, I am having open house for several days and anyone who likes can come into my home for egg nog, homemade 'goodies', and conversation.

The first thing they will see when they pull up is a lighted nativity scene that spreads out over 30 feet in my front yard (you can see it by clicking on the 'Christmas Page' in my signature).

While inside, they will see scriptures on the walls and hear Godly Christmas Carols playing softly in the background.

If the opportunity presents itself, they will hear how to get saved. If it doesn't, they will receive an invitation to church.

I am the owner of our local Freecycle group and I have opened this up to them (135 members). I would guess about 70% of them are unchurched.

Whether people believe in Jesus or Santa - their hearts are more open this time of the year and it presents a wonderful opportunity for outreach.

And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel [them] to come in, that my house may be filled.
Luke 14:23

Just my 2¢ worth.
§ue (who loves Christmas!)

 

Amen, sister! :thumbs: :jesus:

 

I will not invite JWs into my home. Been there, done that. Before I found out they use a different Bible. Never again.

 

There are a couple of Wiccans in my Freecycle group. It will be interesting if they decide to drop by...

 

It seems to me there is a difference into inviting someone into your home for an event that you plan verses inviting someone in who came to your house with an agenda of their own.

I love your open house idea Sue!

 

Their Bible has some bizzare translations in it. In the Japanese New World Version, they translate "believe" as "make your faith work." And like the Catholics, they are not allowed to interpret the Bible for themselves.

But they can be saved, of course. Some years back, about 50 of them came out of the organization down in Kobe, Japan, and one of them, a friend of mine, is now up on our island as an IFB pastor. :thumbsup:

 

Try and remember when you were still lost, if everytime you saw a Christian they preached at you would you continue to see them? I doubt it.

I have several friends who were Christians long before me and who's example helped to lead me to Christ. However if they "beat me over the head with the Bible" everytime I saw them then I would not have continued to associate with them. If I hadn't continued to associate with them would I have responded to God's call? Maybe, or maybe not.

Don't discount simple hospitality, and friendship as being a tool to spread the Gospel.

Bill

 

Well said, pinoybaptist. :thumbsup:

However, I would call what you have described church discipline rather than separation. IMO it would be separation if we are talking about professing Christians of other churches.