The Christians job
I believe truth is truth no matter where you find it. On truth Christians should think about comes from the Talmud. It states,
“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.
I can relate to Abraham at times. My siblings and I have a good relationship. However they don’t know Christ. When the topic comes up they ignore it or make various excuses why they shouldn’t follow him. At times I wonder if I should bother even telling them.
At times I think like Abraham I’d like to drive them away. However I know I should never do that.
As Christians we should be ever so careful to keep a dialogue open between ourselves and non-believer.
Jesus tells Christians,
“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.
Note Jesus said go an make disciples of all nations. He didn’t say to force them into becoming disciples. We are to present the gospel of Christ to all people and let them decide.
We should show love and extend the hand of friendship to all those around us whoever they are. We should never drive them away because we disagree with their religion, lifestyle or actions.
The only way we can reach people is as I said by having a open dialogue and an exchange of ideas.
We should be willing to listen to others as much as we want them to listen to us. We should present Christ in a none threatening way. With language they can understand.
As good as the old King James bible is few people today use thee’s and thou’s when they speak. Some terms in the old King James have different meanings today. The classic example is the word Charity. Today it means giving to the poor. In the old King James it means love.
Reaching people for Christ means talking to them in language they understand. If that means using the Good News Bible, the New International, or what ever other translation works we need to be doing it.
Remember king James English was not the language of Jesus and the apostles and it is not the language of most of the world today.
As I see it from my perspective. The perspective of a teacher of the Bible for over forty years now, there are several things Christians need to do to win souls for Christ in the twenty-first century.
1. Pray that God will show you the best way to reach people.
2. Reach out in love to those around you without being pushy or aggressive.
3. Be respectful to those you are witnessing to. They have their beliefs and you must respect them whether you like them or not.
4. Do not judge them, be it because of what they believe, their life, or their lifestyle. The apostle Paul tell us, “What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?”1 Corinthians 5:12.
5. Persevere, again without being pushy or aggressive. Remember your job is to present the message of Christ to people not force them to make a decision. Let God through the Holy Spirit show them the truth.
As Christians, we can at times, be like Abraham and get frustrated that they are not followers of the one true God despite all we have told them.
Remember Salvation is a personal thing between the person and God. It is up to the individual to decide who they will serve.
Finally and I can’t emphasise this enough in all that you do Pray, Pray, Pray.
And that should not need thinking about.
I believe truth is truth no matter where you find it. On truth Christians should think about comes from the Talmud. It states,
“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.
I can relate to Abraham at times. My siblings and I have a good relationship. However they don’t know Christ. When the topic comes up they ignore it or make various excuses why they shouldn’t follow him. At times I wonder if I should bother even telling them.
At times I think like Abraham I’d like to drive them away. However I know I should never do that.
As Christians we should be ever so careful to keep a dialogue open between ourselves and non-believer.
Jesus tells Christians,
“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.
Note Jesus said go an make disciples of all nations. He didn’t say to force them into becoming disciples. We are to present the gospel of Christ to all people and let them decide.
We should show love and extend the hand of friendship to all those around us whoever they are. We should never drive them away because we disagree with their religion, lifestyle or actions.
The only way we can reach people is as I said by having a open dialogue and an exchange of ideas.
We should be willing to listen to others as much as we want them to listen to us. We should present Christ in a none threatening way. With language they can understand.
As good as the old King James bible is few people today use thee’s and thou’s when they speak. Some terms in the old King James have different meanings today. The classic example is the word Charity. Today it means giving to the poor. In the old King James it means love.
Reaching people for Christ means talking to them in language they understand. If that means using the Good News Bible, the New International, or what ever other translation works we need to be doing it.
Remember king James English was not the language of Jesus and the apostles and it is not the language of most of the world today.
As I see it from my perspective. The perspective of a teacher of the Bible for over forty years now, there are several things Christians need to do to win souls for Christ in the twenty-first century.
1. Pray that God will show you the best way to reach people.
2. Reach out in love to those around you without being pushy or aggressive.
3. Be respectful to those you are witnessing to. They have their beliefs and you must respect them whether you like them or not.
4. Do not judge them, be it because of what they believe, their life, or their lifestyle. The apostle Paul tell us, “What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?”1 Corinthians 5:12.
5. Persevere, again without being pushy or aggressive. Remember your job is to present the message of Christ to people not force them to make a decision. Let God through the Holy Spirit show them the truth.
As Christians, we can at times, be like Abraham and get frustrated that they are not followers of the one true God despite all we have told them.
Remember Salvation is a personal thing between the person and God. It is up to the individual to decide who they will serve.
Finally and I can’t emphasise this enough in all that you do Pray, Pray, Pray.
And that should not need thinking about.
No comments:
Post a Comment