Baptist views of church-state separation

Could you explain and give examples with references.

 

To assume Unitarians and deists are Christians is to assume they are saved and that is universal salvation.

 

Apparently you are unaware that there are SBC missionaries in some the countries you named.

That does not make them Christians. Good ethical practices are in line with scripture too but that does not make the people Christians.

I just thought I would point out where you are a liberal just like you have labelled others as doing.

It has a lot to do with the subject at hand because I do not subscribe to dominion theology as I read about others who do. It is an important subject that has a lot to with how you view the importance evangelism and discipleship in conjunction with politics and what Jesus taught concerning those matters.

Seeing as how you asked: I came from a non-Christian home. I was the first in my family to become a Christian. Not one person I knew from high school who went to church ever told me about Christ or ever invited me to church. One of my friend's dad was a Baptist pastor too. Most of my family and relatives are Christians today. Many others are living for Christ today because of my life in the disciples I have made through the years. Some of them are pastors, missionaries, music leaders in churches, leaders of parachruch organizations, others are working a regular job and making disciples. How about you?

 

As I recall a few times you had named some others as liberals. So, are you suggesting that you are a liberal and calling others "libbies" and "liberals" means something?

 

As I recall it seems that in a few other posts that the very things you accuse me of, you have done the very same thing. So I thought I would have a little fun and point out some of your liberal theology. Perhaps in the future you might have a little consideration for others and debate the issues with some substance and references to support your points of view.

Others can evaluate your understanding by the substance of your posts. If your understanding is at a high level then you can easily debate the issue and stand with sound answers.

 

How does your response fit in with Romans 13:1, "Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God."

 

Read Rev. 2 & 3.

 

I take the position that a liberal is one who is not a doer of the word.

I agree but it has nothing to do with how I conduct myself. In fact in the most liberal areas of America I have had the most ministry because cultural Christians do not exist. The religious folks have their holy huddle and are ineffective. Their churches are dying. Name loyalty means nothing because people who want to grow want to fellowship with those who are growing. The people also see the difference and it is not just a ideological difference. In most places where I have done ministry people are skeptical of Christians until they see and experience a real one.

I take the position that if we did what Jesus taught and were doers of the word we would step on every political side and many churches. Politics today seems all about winning votes and money and that is supported by both sides of the theological fence. Take the lead on evangelism in your community and see how many followers you will have. That will be an indicator of who is more than interested in just an intellectual discussion.

Someone posted that America was founded as a Christian nation when it was not. I do believe the people were ethical and had religious roots. Whether or not America is made up of democrats or republicans will not change how I do evangelism or live for Christ. If our walk and talk do not agree then what good is our talk other than what Satan will use?

Personally I believe there are two many Christians making noise (when Paul writes to make it our ambition to lead a quiet life) rather than praying, doing evangelism and making disciples. Just look at the greedeaters asking for money on TV. What kind of a message does that send to non-Christians. There are two common threads I get from non-Christians about churches when I share my faith with them: the churches want your money and are made up of mostly women.

My wife and I were in a church for 14 years that modelled itself after George Muellers's life. They did not pass the plate for money and seldom ever preached on giving. There was always an abundance of leadership and money and they never owed anyone for anything. At the end each year everything was paid for. I told my wife once that I believed if anything happened to us the church would take care of us. We saw that kind of ministry going on many times while we were there. I remember when a young lady by the age of 18 had lost her entire family and was planning to go to college. The church paid for her education. By the time she graduated she did not owe anyone anything. A family in the church was helped to buy their first home by people in the chruch. Families who needed food and money were helped. There were times when an offering was taken up before the worship service was over to help a family. Every year there was a missions conference. Missionaries were invited to come and talk then. During that time they were given many new clothes and the doctors in the church gave them free medical care and the dentists gave them free dental care. That church started with four at the first service. Two were Christians and two were not. The two who were not became Christians and God used that couple mightily. He owned a concrete batch plant in the city. Toward the end of his life he gave 90% of his income to the church. The man who got me started in business gave 50% of his income to the church. ( I lived win his home for one year before I got married). When he died there were more people than the church would hold and people were standing outside and in the gym. Several businesses shut down during the service. The service lasted close to there hours. Person after person told of how God used that man in their lives. Those kind of people were my examples early in my Christian life.