quote:
Originally posted by O No!:
And by the way Bill, getting back to your original post, MY way of sharing God's Word is to show by example that He gives us peace and joy. Once again, it is GOD'S place to judge, not mine. If you go around criticizing everyone and telling them God will be angry with them, they are likely to turn AWAY from God. If you treat people lovingly, and let them see that your loving attitude comes from God, they just might get curious and look into His word themselves.
Hi O,
What you say is true; we must show Christian love for all people. And, there are times when we do that only by being with them and helping them through whatever difficulties they currently are experiencing.
An example of this is exemplified by two of my Friends, a missionary couple. They are missionaries to a very tight knit Muslim community and any sharing of the Gospel would immediately drive away the leaders of this group -- and they would forbid their people from any association with my Friends.
So, for several years, my Friends have been helping this group, driving them where they need to go, helping them with paperwork such as immigration, banking, etc. -- and, just, in general being there for them when needed. My Friends are displaying the love of God through their lives.
But, the ultimate goal of my Friends is to, one day, be able to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with these people. And, that should be the ultimate goal of all Christian believers.
However, the situation my Friends are in -- and the situation on the Religion Forum is not the same. On the
TimesDaily Forums, we have almost 11,000 registered members -- and, only God knows how many come here to read only, but, do not register. So, let's guesstimate that a few thousand read the Religion Forum. Of that number, only a few are atheists, secularist, and from world religions and cult churches.
Should we allow that small handful of non-believers free access to those thousands of folks, allow them to teach their world religions and false teachings -- without we Christian believers stepping forward and refuting those teachings -- by sharing the Truth of God's Bible? No. In no way should we allow the predators to freely roam among the sheep, i.e., the people -- freely and without some restraint. Our refutations are those restraints.
So, yes, show the love of God to all people -- especially those we are trying to reach with God's Word. But, at the same time, be vigilant, like the shepherds watching the flocks in Biblical times -- to ward off false teachings and false teachers.
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill