Perhaps, Just Perhaps

Perhaps Just Perhaps we Need to ask God’s forgiveness
          Perhaps, just perhaps, we need to ask God’s forgiveness.

“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” 
                                                                      Matthew 28:18-20.
Matthew 28:18-20 known as the Great Commission. These words encapsulate what we as Christians are called to do. But are we always doing it correctly? Are we usurping our authority?
Jesus said,
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  
For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” 
                    Matthew 7:1,2.
Do you Judge others?
The command from Jesus himself is not to judge others.
There is a time to judge others but only others within the church, within our own faith, the apostle Paul writing,
“What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?  
God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.” 
                                                                                           1 Corinthians 5:12,13.
The reason we can only judge those within our own faith is because we share a common set of moral values.
Even when we judge others within the church we should be very careful and only judge them by rules set down in the Bible.
When we are dealing with those outside the church we are called not to judge but rather love and pray for them. Jesus said,
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’  
But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.  
If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?”  
            Matthew 5:43-46.
We may not like what our persecutors or our enemies are doing to us but we are still called to love and pray for them.
Pray first of all that our persecutors and enemies will accept Christ into their heart. For only He can truly change their lives.
Pray even that our enemies and persecutors at the very least, leave us in peace.
Jesus said,
“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” 
                   Matthew 10:16.
The way I read Matthew 10:16 is that we are to being sent into a very hostile world. Therefore we must be very aware of the world around us and use wisdom in all we do. Above all however be completely innocent in all our actions.
Read Matthew 7:1,2 again,
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  
For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” 
                    Matthew 7:1,2.
I have watched many preachers and Christian groups both in and outside of the media judge those outside the church.
The other day I heard a well known Televangelist preaching against something. I agreed with what he said. He was completely right.
The problem was the group he aimed his comments at were outside the church. He judged them when it wasn’t his place to do so. They didn’t believe in the Bible or that they had to follow what it said.
He was an honest Christian who went about witnessing all wrong.
If you want an example of how to truly witness to non-believers look at how the apostle Paul witnessed in Athens, Act 17:17-34.
Athens was undoubtedly equal to any major city in the world today. It was a city of culture and vast diversity.
Athens had a myriad of temples to various gods. There would have been many things happening, many practices within Athenian society that Paul would not have agreed with. Yet he didn’t criticize them.
He was invited to speak by Epicurean and Stoic philosophers, not Christians, or Jews, to a meeting of the Areopagus , a place where ideas and philosophies were discussed.
It was the way Paul had presented the gospel in Athens itself they wanted to know about his teaching. Thus the invite.
This is how it should be today. We should be preaching the Gospel of Christ in such a way as to make people want to listen to us.
We need to use wisdom in how we speak especially when we are speaking in the media be it a humble blog,  from the pulpit of a large church, or anything in between.
Our job is to reach the lost not judge the world.
The American evangelist Tony Campolo said,
“We ought to get out of the judging business. We should leave it up to God to determine who belongs in one arena or another when it comes to eternity. What we are obligated to do is to tell people about Jesus, and that's what I do.”
                                                           Tony Campolo
We as Christians need to humble ourselves and pray. We need to ask God if we are witnessing for Him in the best possible way.
We need to ask him if we are judging others more than loving and praying for others.
We need to ask God to show us how the secular world sees us and ask Him how to better reach that secular world.
Think about it.