The Gospel gets reaction. Some is positive, some negative; but there will be some reaction when people are faced with it.
In Acts 7, Stephen preached forcefully to the Jews. Read verses 51-53 where he comes down hard on them. They could have been positively moved, but we see in verse 54, "they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth." They killed him. This is the first recorded Christian martyr.
In Acts 2, Peter preached much the same lesson, though shorter. In Acts 2:37, "Now when they (Jews) heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said.....'what shall we do?' And Peter said to them, 'Repent, and let everyone of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Here, in contrast to the story of Stephen in Acts 7, when challenged with the Gospel, people reacted with, "What shall we do?"
We see a similar contrast in Acts 17 where Paul and companions go to Thessalonica only to find trouble awaiting them. When they leave and go to Berea, the reception is completely different. Acts 17:11 says, "These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so."
That needs to be us; fair-minded, searching the Scriptures daily, believing...and following. Let's serve God and go to heaven together. Maybe I'll see you there soon......or maybe we'll just meet back here next week. In either case, feel the love.
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Hi Mike,
ReplyDeleteIn reading your lesson today, it dawned on me that maybe I've been using an incorrect word of "tolerance" in my prior questions. The better "words" may be "Christians being judgmental".
The question of Christians "being judgmental" is a complicated one (in the context of my questions) as it involves our actions (as Christians) inside the fellowship of "Belivers in Jesus Christ" and outside this circle in a secular world.
Can we find any lessons in God's Word that perhaps Stephen used a "wrong approach" and that Peter used a "better approach" in preaching the same message?
Could Paul's approach at Thessalonica been better? (where he was more effective at Berea).
One of the things thats always troubled me is Paul's writings in 2nd Timothy. Here we have the greatest Writer of our New Testament, and yet at the end of his life he is so lonley. Almost all his friends have left him. As a Roman citizen Paul is not in a prison per se, and can send letters and see people. Clearly (in my opinion) Paul has alienated quite a few people that were his friends through his actions.
As to our "actions" in the secular world, things get tough. Let's use homosexuality just as an example. I do not support proposed laws on gay marriage, as I strongly believe that the Bible clearly teaches us that marriage should be between a man and a woman. But, I also support laws for "civil unions" (a secular law) that gives gays rights in society such as insurance, property rights, hospital visitation, etc.
But you know that my opinion is NOT shared among most Christians in their actions at the secular ballot box in voting.
I have a nephew that is gay that I love very much. I've always thought -- how can I walk the talk of saying I love my nephew if I take actions that say he shouldn't have "civil rights" based on his sexual orientation?
One thing that has always bothered me is the selectivness of Christians in their actions towards sin. For about 5 years Dr. Charles Stanley was my pastor at Atlanta First Baptist Church. Charles went through an extremely painful divorce that was reported "blow by blow" in the Atlanta newspapers -- where Charles' wife (of something like 30 years) was giving interviews saying things like "Charles does not get ulcers, he gives them".
I believe the Bible is absolutely clear on divorce and pastor (especially the writings of Paul on the subject) -- that if a pastor can not manage his own family, how can he be a good sheppard of the Church's flock?
But in a vote of the elders at Atlanta First Baptist, Charles was retained as the pastor. The reason given was that Christians should not be "judgmental".
This has always been confusing to me how on gay rights Christians' ACTIONS are indeed judgmental -- But with certain sins like Charles Stanley's divorce, Christians say they should not be judgmental.
Please pray about this subject and help me and others understand what God expects of us in the consistency of our actions both within and outside the Church.
One thing that always makes me feel so bad are bumper stickers of gay supporters targeting Christians with the slogan "Hate is not a family value". With such an attitude, this makes trying to reach out to Gays with the "Good News of Jesus Christ" very hard.
Steve
Wow! You asked a basic question on being judgmental, but there seems to be a lot of questions buried into it. There is no way that I am going to do a great job of this. First, I would like to give Bible answers, not my opinions. But with so many issues, I'm more likely going to have to give some of this on my own. On the basic question of being judgmental, I will plan to do a blog entry on this soon. It is an important question. Maybe next week.
ReplyDeleteAs to Stephen using "wrong approach" and Peter doing better, or Paul doing a better job in Berea than in Thessalonica, I don't see that. The Bible gives us these examples to show us great men doing a great job; then we see how people react to them. When the Bible gives us examples of not so great actions, then the point is made clear. In the case of Stephen, he made an amazing speech, convicting them powerfully of their wrongs, only to get himself killed. This seems to us like a terrible ending and maybe even a mistake, but it wasn't. We should only be so lucky to die for our Lord and be where Stephen is.
As to Paul being alienated, I don't see that. Paul was taken off to Rome, a long, long way from home and from most of those who knew and loved him. While he had some freedom, he was under arrest. I'm sure that he had alienated some people, as you say, but he gave us a good example of someone who keeps on keeping on.
As to rights for homosexuals, that is a complicated issue that I can't solve. I do know that the Bible gives no respect to practicing homosexuals. It is true that "sexual orientation" exists, either by choice or circumstance. But it is safe to say Biblically, that no one has a right to practice homosexuality. God made it so clear what He is going to do with them when the time comes. What we do with them in this life is up to us. That seems harsh, but the Bible states it clearly.
The subject of "pastor" needs to be addressed, but I will try to get back to this at a later time. Hopefully this will be a future blog entry. Thanks for the question(s); more answers to come. Keep reading.
p.s. Sometimes questions plague us. Sometimes we are plagued by actions of Christians from the past. Sometimes we need to not be drug down in our serving God by the inconsistency of others. It might be better to just wipe the slate clean, wipe these things from our mind, and just serve Him. Jesus said,"Martha, Martha; you are troubled by so many things...Mary has chosen the better part." (That may not be an exact quote, but it is close.) Mary had chosen to sit at the feet of Jesus and not be distracted with all else. We need to do that.