Subject: INVITATION |
Bible Note: Thanks for the response Irish Eyes. Not meaning to be contentious; your suggesting that you would handle the situation in a certain way still amounts to giving advise but Hank has appropriately addressed the giving advise issue. Still concerned though that you may not be considering the scripture I included in my previous post to you as you still do not afford the Christian individual and the Church body as a whole the consideration of what scripture demands. That is, the RESPONSIBILITY of not being unequally yoked with unbelievers. What you are referring to as "legalism in the truest sense" seems to me to be what Scripture demands. That is, taking responsibility that we are not unequally yoked with unbelievers. I'm concerned that your position is based more in the emotion than in Scripture (as the Scripture has already been supplied). At least if you believe I'm misunderstanding you (as I very well may be) please try to address the Scripture references I gave you. Then we will be in a better position to understand each other. If Scripture says what it says (as referenced) where is the legalism you refer to so strongly. Again I may be misunderstanding you but your latests post, to which I am now responding, seems to be one of the truest fallacies of the modern day church. Perhaps it was true to some extent in the early church but there is no doubt that it is a major problem today. Open the doors wide and let anybody in. Not only that, but lure them in and even drag them if necessary. Not the biblical picture of the Church. I'm not saying deny anyone the opportunity to hear the Word, but membership is an entirely different issue. Your wrong, in my opinion, that the time of action is after a MEMBER becomes disruptive or divisive. That misses the whole point. Many of the local churches of today are so full of those types that if there were to be any "sending... from among" some local bodies would shrink to the point those that remained would be very lonely. One reason, again in my opinion, local church bodies refuse to follow the biblical mandates regarding accountability and discipline. Instead, the modern thinking seems to be how many, how fast, and hope that some are prestigious and wealthy enough to build us a really big building (not what your saying; what their saying). If you do respond please provide a biblical argument for your position so that we be productive and not involved in personal opinion/position arguments. God bless, Jeff |