Results 1 - 4 of 4
|
|
|||||
Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Should "lost" people come to church? | Luke 5:31 | fallen4shell | 218652 | ||
Where in the Bible does it ever command/imply that "lost" people should be part of the church (church specifically referring to a group of people coming together to worship OR collectively referring to the body of believers in any given area)? In old testament times were the heathen allowed to sacrifice (or worship their own gods) in the temple? Have you ever seen a verse in the new testament where Paul or Peter or any of the apostles talked about recruiting unbelievers to come and worship with the believers? In fact, is not the very DEFINITION of the church a body of believers? How then can a professed "unbeliever" be in any way part of something that, by it's very definition, excludes him. It seems to me that bringing someone who does not believe in God to a service which is [supposedly] set aside to WORSHIP God is, to say the least, counterproductive for both us and them. So why do we do it then? Well, I suppose that the easiest and most common answer to that question is so that they can hear the message of Christ and then [hopefully] accept Him. While that seems at first glance to be a worthwhile goal, we should take a minute to think about what we are sacrificing for it. Have not so many of our "worship" services become solely dedicated to "getting people saved" instead of focusing on coorperately worshiping OUR amazing God? Please understand that I do not question the explicit instructions given for us to preach and teach the gospel of Jesus Christ, but if I remember correctly Jesus commanded his disciples [followers] to GO OUT and preach the gospel to all nations and to GO OUT and baptize, etc. He sent people out with instructions to teach and heal and baptize, not to invite unbelievers to worship with them in the temple (or anywhere else for that matter). What sense does it make for us then to invite the unsaved to come to our worship services? It seems to me that evangelism should be a very active and EXTERNAL endeavor rather than the passive internalization that we have made it. Shouldn't the unbeliever first believe in Christ before they are asked to worship Him? When and why did this whole practice of "inviting lost people to church" become so popular among Christians? Was this ever mentioned as a legitimate strategy for converting people to become followers of Christ? |
||||||
2 | Should "lost" people come to church? | Luke 5:31 | Morant61 | 218660 | ||
Greetings Fallen4shell! You have already received a couple of good responses. I would add on quick note. 1 Cor. 14:23-24 indicates that unbelievers were (at least on occasion) present at worship services. I seem to recall a few narrative examples in Acts as well, but I don't have time right now to track them down. :-) I believe that you have a point if we allow our worship service to be watered down so to speak because of the presence of the lost, but I don't believe there is any Scripture that would not allow for evangelism to be part of our worship service. Hopefully though, we don't take the 'fly-paper' approach to evangelism and make the altar call our only form of evangelism. :-) Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |
||||||
3 | Should "lost" people come to church? | Luke 5:31 | JWteen | 218667 | ||
I'd just like to add that just as the prodigal son's father rejoiced to see him return, it makes our heavenly father's heart rejoice when he sees someone that has drifted away from Him start to come back to the CORRECT and TRUE way of worshiping Him (that includes choosing the right place of worship). Also remember that, just like Acts 10:34 states, God is not partial. | ||||||
4 | Should "lost" people come to church? | Luke 5:31 | Searcher56 | 218701 | ||
God's day to you, JWteen, abd welcome to the SBF, Interesting handle. So does JW mean you are a Jehovah Witness. Also, how old a "teen" are you? If you would kindly let the SBF know, it would be appreciated. Even fill out your profile will help all. Searcher |
||||||