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David Reynolds

PTywama3,

I appreciate your thoughts. But may I ask how you do believe we should witness and share the Gospel? Ray Comfort and Todd Friel have not been the only ones to use the Law and give the bad news to the sinner. There have been many other great preachers that have given a message that wasn't too pleasant to the hearts of the hearers, but it brought conviction of sin! Just as long as the bad news is also followed by the good news. :-) I think a balance is very important here. There have been some good posts on this that I really appreciated.

It is not humanism to weep over the lost because they are going to hell. John Hyde of India (known as Praying Hyde) was known as the man with tears in his eyes. He had such compassion for the lost that that is how the natives knew him.
The front article in the latest Old Path's issue is on weeping, here is an excerpt,

This is what needs to be balanced. Its good to pity and have compassion on sinners on thier way to hell. Its also good to desire to see God get the glory he deserves. God deserves for these people to worship him. When we go out evangelising, (#1) we need to remember that Jesus was moved with compassion for the lost and (#2) that God deserves thier worship and they don't deserve to worship God.

Simple. Without a heart for the lost you can be sure that you're lost. It should motivate us to go and preach. If you saw your mother being burned you'd want to help her. Out of compassion the ones we care about hear the gospel (usually) first from us. We want to see them spared and changed as we've been.

Somebody can be scared to death about hell and not be saved. It's in us to thank God for sparing us from our destruction we deserve. Similarly, we would thank Him for saving our families and children. Not only because of hell... but because we want to see them putting God first and giving Him glory. God will be glorified either by them going to heaven or hell but we want to see lots there with us in heaven. Still never let us come to think that they should look for God only to escaped his wrath, but to glorify Him.

If sinners could choose to either (A.) go to heaven with God or (B.) be obliterated... they'd choose (B.) They'd desire to be apart from God and that's what we want to see change. They should choose God over ALL things! Thats what we desire to see God uplifted in all hearts as in ours. We have compassion for them and what they will face... but we also want to see God exalted in thier hearts.

The worst attitude we can have is to not preach the gospel beacuse they don't deserve to be saved. And if that is your attitude you can rest assured that you are lost. God is merciful and compassionate! Be that way also.

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Kristy

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Denver McDaniel

I don't think either one of these guys completely sees what the others are saying, but man, if Rob Bell has a reverence for Scripture, he's sure on a slippery slope.

Jesus did quite a lot of things, and perhaps the best scripture anyone can quote for this argument is John 21, where the writer (Clement quoting John, maybe, I don't want to get into semantics!) affirms that Jesus did many other things not written in his version of the gospel, but if all written down could not be contained in the space of the world. Love, sin, peace and hope beyond understanding, repentance, obedience, are all there! Why should we not do our best to include everything in our evangelism and our lives (and thus also in movies we make for the public)?

I understand that Rob Bell made this film because he doesn't like the Bullhorn guy, so I'm probably not hearing his whole theology, but I can almost hear him say that there isn't a hell, that evangelism should cater to the emotional needs of people before God's Glory, that people are inherently good.

If he still does hold to the Biblical doctrines (let me paraphrase - the faithfully handed-down witness of Christ's ministry, glorification, and work from Galilee to the end of time), then he must believe that the few (by his own admission)who actually do get up on a soapbox can do more harm to the Body than the millions and millions of Christians who look just like the Billions of the rest of the unsaved, unenlightened world. I just can't believe that, I just can't - however I have seen examples of soapbox preachers who are like the guy he's talking about, even worse, so it's not like he doesn't have a point!

The best thing we can do is to pray that the Lord enlighten us as to His will for us, including Bell and McClaren's Emergent Church, so that we may please Him. I've heard some good things about this group, but some of the things he said in that video lead me to think he's on the edge of heresy, so I think we should all pray. :-)

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Ben Ordaz

"the world hates me because I testify against it that its works are evil." John 7:7

"I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled!" Luke 12:49

That guy is a good example of generational Christianity. I have one friend who was brought up in a Christian home, and school, and everything his whole life and that is all he knows and it is engrained tradition just like the Catholics. It is false philosophy and the only way to counteract such a grand scale of heresy is revival.

Howdy all:

In all the postings that I have seen on this topic over the last couple of years, all that seems to be coming through is the posters view on "how it should be done", based on their preconceived worldly ideals.
Where is the authority of Holy Spirit to "individually" guide the speaker, surely there must be more than one way to present the gospel. Holy Spirit will use whatever means are needed to reach the heart of the lost.
It is also true that a great number of speakers, street preachers, and pulpit preachers, are "NOT" preaching through the power of Holy Spirit, for Gods glory, but rather for some other reason.

Phi 1:18 What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretense, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.

As Paul states if "Christ is reached" let us rejoice, and not bicker about preaching styles.

Blessings Greg

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Greg

That video hit the spot!

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Hal Bachman

[color=33CC00]Phi 1:18 What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretense, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.

As Paul states if "Christ is reached" let us rejoice, and not bicker about preaching styles.[/color]


I think it is a matter more of which "Christ" is being preached.

This is the statement of beliefs of Mars Hill Bible Church that Rob Bell pastors...

[color=660099]Mars Hill is devoted to joining the God of the oppressed in the restoration of all creation.

We believe the Bible to be the voices of many who have come before us, inspired by God to continue to speak to us today. God calls us to immerse ourselves in this authoritative narrative and to continue to faithfully live out that story today as we are led by the Spirit.

God, the author of all things good, created humans in his image to live in fellowship with him, others, our inner self, and creation. God is in a communal relationship with himself and his creation and he created us to be relational as well. Sin entered the world and our relationships with God, others, ourselves, and creation were broken and distorted.

We believe that God did not abandon his creation to destruction and decay, rather he promised to restore this broken world. God chose a people to represent Him in the world. This people started with Abraham and his descendants. God promised to make them into a mighty nation. In time they became enslaved in Egypt. They cried out to God because of their oppression and God heard their cry. He brought them out with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. He brought them to Sinai where he gave them an identity as his treasured possession, a Kingdom of priests, a holy people. The story continues, revealing God’s refusal to give up on his people through their frequent acts of unfaithfulness to him.

God brought his people into the Promised Land. They were blessed to be a blessing and called to put God on display to the nations. They made movement toward this missional calling, yet they disobeyed and allowed foreign gods into the land. In Israel’s disobedience they became indifferent and in turn irrelevant to the purposes God had called them to. They were sent into exile, yet a remnant looks ahead with longing and hope to a new reign like David’s where peace and justice would prevail.

We believe these longings found their fulfillment in Messiah Jesus, born of a virgin, mysteriously God in the flesh. Jesus came to preach good news to the poor, to bind up the broken hearted and set captives free. He lived a perfect life proclaiming the arrival of the Kingdom. He was rejected by many, crucified, buried, and rose again. His death and resurrection bring hope to all creation. Through Jesus we have been forgiven and God is reconciling us to himself, each other, ourselves, and creation. Jesus is the only mediator between God and humans. For all who accept his sacrifice he gives the Holy Spirit who leads us into all truth through a communal life of worship and a missional expression of our faith. The church is called to put the resurrected Christ who lives in and through us on display to a broken and hurting world.

We believe the day is coming when Jesus will return and reclaim this world, the earth’s groaning will cease and God will dwell with us on a new and restored creation.[/color]

Perhaps, I am mistaken, but it just doesn't sound right to me. but maybe it is just the words used...

:-?

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Melissa