so saturday i went to this little thing about evangelism. Now i am a christian, and i strongly believe in sharing your faith with others. . . it's good, it's biblical, it brings joy to their lives. All good, great, yea. But, I was so upset after this meeting about some of the things i was being "trained" to do and say to people to "get them saved". Here are a couple verses on evangelism:
Isaiah 55:5
5 Surely you will summon nations you know not,
and nations that do not know you will hasten to you,
because of the LORD your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
for he has endowed you with splendor."
Matthew 4
18As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 20At once they left their nets and followed him.
Matthew 9
35Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
So yes, we are called to share our faith. However, there are methods out there such as the one i was taught yesterday to create or establish a fear of God in a person so they will be come a "born again christian", for according to them 86% of americans claim to be christian but only 7% born again (which they considered true christians). So the way to save the majority of the population was to first, assume they are a careless sinner, but the fear of God into them, pray with them, and encourage them to find a church. 1, 2, 3. done, another soul in the bag for the kingdom.
I was appaled that they actually teach this to people! and when i brought up the difference between fear and revere god, he said he wouldn't want to re-word it because that's how the bible worded it.
*This is bad theology, and bad theology will hurt you.
God loves you, as he does everyone else on the planet, they are all his children. It is not for us to judge others. We, as christians, do not do good things like follow the 10 commandments to not go to hell, BUT BECAUSE we love God and want to serve him out of that love, not out of fear. Repect yes, he is holy, he is unconcivablly wonderful, revere him, but fear??
So on that note, i encourage you to share your faith with anyone you meet. I believe God loves us all, i understand that i mess up, but the great thing about God, is that he has made it possible for us to be forgiven and still be a just God. Praise God!
God Bless!
your sister in Christ~Erin
2 comments:
mmm erin! i agree. I think you have a lot of really good points--One thing I hate, is if anyone ever preaches to someone evangelically w/ their largest point being, "do this--or you're oging to hell! if you don't stop this, you're going to hell! Sinner! You're going to hell! repent and......"etc. granted, it can be done in a non-abrasive manner... that just always irks me quite a lot. luv you :o) holly
That's what I like about being a United Methodist. We remember GRACE!!!! Next time ask them about whether or not they believe in a Gracious God and what does that mean. What about the forgiveness of sins? I'm studying Augustine right now and the Donatists. Look back at our early founders of the Christian faith and you will see where some of this fundamentalism comes from. The problem with this is that they teach intolerance and if that were the case with our God, then why is there story after story in the bible about people finding grace with God, despite all their downfalls and shortcomings. Look at David - he was a murderer and rapist, and he still found favor in God's eyes. Jesus spent his time with sinners, keep in mind he wasn't just trying to 'convert' them. He was trying to show them a new way of life. Not a new label for God, or their 'group.' Jesus was a JEW! And he knew he was a JEW! He came to share with the people that it wasn't just about the systems and the rules that they created in order to revere their God, but rather that it was taking people's lives, humanity seriuosly. My personal frustration with these groups is that they get so caught up in 'saving' people that they forget to feed the hungry, cloth the naked, share God's love with the least of these, even those stinkin sinners! Remember God's GRACE, my friend.
Hugs - Amy
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