Away from the Way

Away from the Way

“An aged man, whom Abraham hospitality invited to his tent, refused to join him in prayer to the one spiritual God.  Learning that he was a fire-worshipper.   Abraham drove him from his door.  That night God appeared to Abraham in a vision and said: ‘I have borne with that ignorant man for seventy years: could you not have patiently suffered him one night?”
                                                                                                            The Talmud.
Do you drive people away from God. It is very easy to do so. Christians I think do it all the time. The principle reason they judge others. The other reason is we don’t see them as “normal” or “like us” or that their “lifestyle” is different from ours.
That’s what Abraham essentially did in the quote from the Talmud.
Jesus made it clear we are not to judge.
Matthew recording,
“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.
Jesus said,
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor 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
If we as Christians are judging anyone, especially those outside the church we cannot expect to win them to Christ.
Paul states,
"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.
We live in a secular society, with a secular government. It is that government that God allows to govern, that gives us our rights and freedoms. It is that same government that allows other groups we disagree with to have the freedoms they have.
We should never be doing anything to that will restrict another person or groups freedoms.
We are not to judge. We have no right to say who gets to heaven or who doesn’t
Jesus said,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
       John 3:16,17.
Matthew records,
“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.
Our job is to point people in the direction of heaven. To do what Jesus would want us to do.
Tony Campolo an American evangelist wrote,
“These issues are biblical issues: to care for the sick, to feed the hungry, to stand up for the oppressed. I contend that if the evangelical community became more biblical, everything would change.”
        Tony Campolo.
When the disciples went out into the world particularly as they moved into the greater Roman empire, they must have seen things that to them as Jews were morally appalling.
Yet we have no record of them ever trying to impose their beliefs on others. They simply presented their beliefs to others and let them decide for themselves.
Paul speaking to the Athenians as recorded in Acts 17 is a classic example of how Christians should present the gospel.
Paul wandered through Athens and seen temples to every conceivable god, yet he didn’t criticize. Instead he met them where they were at and presented the gospel. The result was some believed and some wanted to ask him back.
This is how we should be as Christians. Presenting the Gospel of Christ in a none threatening way in a way that makes people want to think.
Our message should never change. We should not be judging people because of their life style, or whether or not they are like us.
We should be showing love even to our enemies, neighbours, and friends alike.
We should be keeping watch within our own church congregations to see that no evil is going on.
Should we find evil within the midst of our congregations we should be expelling it as Paul said.
We should never be judging those outside the church. The churches job is to reach the lost souls of this world for Christ.
Think about it.