So then are we being obedient to being the salt of the earth & the light of the world if we dont evangelize to the lost? Are these not Christ's words in the Sermon on the Mount? How bout the Great Commission to go & make disciples of all nations? Isn't this a primary concern for the Lord ....and then as obedient followers of the Master?
Brothers, it is my personal belief as a sincere Christian that if we take the New Testament view of these matters then we must believe that the Homosexual, indeed anyone who is in separation from the Lord, must indeed have a soul to be saved. It is my business as a Christian to be obedient and evangelize to them & the Church should....no MUST support this endeavor. And if they do not, then she is hampering to possible of bringing another soul to Christ & that is sinning & heaven forbid we would ever want that to happen.
Abject apologies.....shouldn't have been directed to you specifically as you get it. some others however..... sorry for the editorial. will shut up now. :laugh:
Actually if you look at Scripture, the church, where the Saints come together to fellowship and worship, is for the Body of Believers. It is NOT for the unbeliever.
We like to invite people to church because we want the pastor to do the evangelizing rather than do it ourselves.
It's also a way to evangelize in that the unbeliever will see the love that the Believers have for one another.
But we have been commissioned to GO!, not bring them to us.
Which is unBiblical because we are told to judge INSIDE the church.
There really shouldn't be any denouncing of homosexuality unless it's being done in the context of denouncing all other sin as well by preaching the word.
That is NOT one of the primary reasons of the gathering together. The fellowship is for the Body of Believers.
The way that a lot of churches do it, it is indeed derisive. But unless they are members of the church, there should be no judgment coming from the church other than showing them that they, like all are sinners, like all in need of a savior. No need to deride.
And THIS is exactly what we do as I've mentioned numerous times in the past. We create modern day lepers rather than loving people and pointing them to Christ.
We are overwhelmingly issue driven and not love driven. It is unrepentant wickedness because we don't think we've done anything wrong.
The world is full of sinners. And if we treated ourselves and our sin as poorly as we treat the abortionist, the drug addict, the child molester, and the homosexual, it would be a pretty bad state of affairs.
Perhaps it is that very reason why Scripture tells us 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. James 2:10
we are all equally guilty of breaking the same law before God. Tell the homosexual THAT rather than deriding them and driving them in the opposite direction of Christ.
The church was established [1] to disciple and [2] toevangelize.
We speak of the church as if it’s an administration or structure but the church is it’s people!
An unsaved person will hear the gospel in our services but the personal witness of Christ by others in our church community is very strong.
We’re friendly and try and make connections – you might be surprised to know that many are saved after the service during these conversations.
There’s a place for judgment but I think it’s often overdone. I was raised and educated in a church environment, attended “confirmation class”, even went to youth events… but I was lost, lost, lost… The Spirit didn’t open my ears to hear the gospel until I was in high school. Since God was patient with me for years, I guess I can show his love to others until they hear and understand the good news of Jesus Christ.
The joy of seeing just one of these lost one come to Christ in our church is overpowering.
And we’ve seen it happen, a joyful event indeed!
We glorify God by loving him and loving others.
The believers where I attend choose to show God’s love by limiting our judgment and accepting others who are searching. We won’t put a time table on how long they can come before we dismiss them.
Well do you deride people.....de·ride
diˈrīd/
verb
gerund or present participle: deriding
1.
express contempt for; ridicule.
"critics derided the proposals as clumsy attempts to find a solution"
synonyms: ridicule, mock, scoff at, jibe at, make fun of, poke fun at, laugh at, hold up to ridicule, pillory;
:laugh: No ....you really dont want to see my ad hominem attack though....or do you? Anyway I was attempting to put this whole thing into a context. I mentioned deriding
as a word to describe what Ive seen in churches in the past but I probably used the word I used earlier:
de·nounce
diˈnouns/
verb
gerund or present participle: denouncing
1.
publicly declare to be wrong or evil.
"the Assembly denounced the use of violence"
synonyms: condemn, criticize, attack, censure, decry, revile, vilify, discredit, damn, reject;
You pick whatever you want to use..... no skin off my nose.
A church in our town (thankfully not Baptist) is in turmoil right now.
They, too, did not want to deride anyone.
Wanted to be a safe place for all.
Wanted to show God's love to all.
And now, after years of that soft sort of preaching, a lesbian couple has asked to have their long term relationship blessed when civil unions become legal here in May.
Part of the church wants to do so rather than "hurt their feelings."
Some have flat out left, wanting no part of a church that would even consider this.
Nah, stomp on my toes for my sins when I need it.
And yours.
And theirs.
In the light of eternity, it might just be the most loving thing we can do.