I doubt very seriously if Paul stood outside the temple of Artemis and I preached against the evils of that cult. More likely his approach was one on one contacts exhorting people to leave that cult and come to saving faith in Christ.My thoughts.Blaine
The lost are best engaged one on one out of hearts of love. This is our mandate. To preach and reach the lost. Not to preach against the sins if society and thus preserve culture.
I doubt very seriously if Paul stood outside the temple of Artemis and I preached against the evils of that cult. More likely his approach was one on one contacts exhorting people to leave that cult and come to saving faith in Christ.
_________________Oracio
Public open air preaching (street preaching) is the original method of New Testament evangelism, and it has God’s Scriptural stamp of approval.John Bunyan street preaching in the mid 1600'sJohn Bunyan street preaching in the mid 1600′sHere are a few biblical and historical reasons every God-called preacher should practice street preaching…1. The Lord Jesus Christ Practiced Street PreachingThroughout the Gospels, we read the record of the open air preaching ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ.Spurgeon reminds us,“Our Lord himself, who is yet more our pattern, delivered the larger proportion of his sermons on the mountain’s side, or by the sea shore, or in the streets. Our Lord was to all intents and purposes an open air preacher.” (Lectures To My Students, Vol. 3, Lecture 4., “Open Air Preaching And Its History.”)Our Lord Jesus Christ was an open air preacher. He preached the gospel to sinners where they were, and commands us to do so in the Great Commission.2. The Apostles Practiced Street PreachingFrom Peter’s open air sermon on Pentecost to Apostle Paul in his missionary journeys, the apostles faithfully practiced evangelistic street preaching throughout the book of Acts. Here are a few examples of the apostles’ public gospel preaching…Peter preached the gospel publicly to an international multitude on the day of Pentecost. (Acts 2:14-40)Peter preached the gospel to the Jews at their own temple. (Acts 3:1-11, 12-26)Peter preached the gospel before the Jewish council. (Acts 4:1-7, 8-22)Paul and Barnabas preach the gospel publicly to heathen idolaters at Lystra. (Acts 14:14-18)Paul preached the gospel publicly in the Jewish synagogue and in the market at Athens. (Acts 15:15-17)Paul preached the gospel in jail (Acts 16:31-32)Paul preached publicly to the heathen philosophers at Mars Hill, a monument of idol worship. (Acts 17:22-31)Paul preached the gospel “publicly, and from house to house” at Ephesus. (Acts 20:20-21)Paul preached the gospel in court (Acts 22:2-29)Paul continued to preach the gospel while under house arrest. (Acts 28:30-31)The enemies of the gospel accused Peter and the apostles for having “filled Jerusalem” with their doctrine (Acts 5:28). Preacher, could that accusation be made of you, that you have filled your city with the doctrine of the gospel?Note: Preachers Who Were Not Apostles Were Also Open Air Street Preachers.Stephen (not an apostle) preached the gospel publicly to the Jewish council (Acts 7). Philip the Evangelist preached the gospel publicly in Samaria and to the Ethiopian Eunuch (Acts 8:5-8, 30-38).3. Our Baptist Fathers Practiced Street PreachingAmong our Baptist fathers through history, street preaching was a normal ministry. These men were not content to preach the gospel only indoors in a church setting. They faithfully preached the gospel in public.Examine the ministries of some of our Baptist fathers. Here are a few familiar names and groups, all of whom practiced public open air preaching:The Anabaptists across Europe practiced street preaching and were mocked as “hedge preachers” by the Roman Catholic church.John Bunyan practiced street preaching.Shubal Stearns (the father of the Baptists in the south) practiced street preaching. Open air preaching was a common ministry among the Separate Baptists.C.H. Spurgeon practiced street preaching and trained his pastoral students to do so.James A. Stewart practiced street preaching.J. Frank Norris practiced street preaching.Ralph Sexton, Sr. practiced street preaching.Percy Ray practiced street preaching.Rolfe Barnard practiced street preaching.This article doesn’t begin to scratch the surface concerning open air preaching in Scripture and in Baptist history. It simply reminds us that street preaching is a biblical method of evangelism that can be defended Scripturally and historically.from: http://www.gospelfuel.com/evangelism/street-preaching-practiced-by-christ-the-apostles-and-our-baptist-fathers/
_________________SI Moderator - Greg Gordon
maby we are are just talking past one another ,,becasue thats not what im talking about ,,i dont thing greg franklin and oraco are talking about i expect the world to love there sin and be in sin ,,under the sway of satan i would doubt paul was like the west bo baptist cult in his endevours to reach the lost but having said that i dont see where the bible says if you are in a influencial possision on a skool board or in politics you should all quite and go work at macdonalds i think it will be binding on some christians concence to do there best to help poor and needy be it through polatics we are to help the poor and suport missions if the governts restric us in doing the fundementels by restrising our wages ect m,to a point where a person is without the means to share and futher the gosple ,,,then i think we are called to pray that god alows us a sound wage and sound job opatunity to be ablessings an a bundant blessing regarding phical and spirutual needs ,,,,,and to say that god would not use christianised people to create and keep that typ of atmosphera and sosciety ,,to be part of the answer of the pray of the poor and marginisised ,,so that we may quote live a quite and peacefull life ,,and that we amay prosper as our soul prospers end paraquote ,, has no bibical basis..but rather tearing the whole context or scripture in to sects
"Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers." 2 Tim 2:14This thread has some good examples of how easy it is for us to fall away from profitable discussion into quarrels.We may be absolutely right in what we say, yet still be "quarrelsome". The thread was started to encourage believers to not become cowards in these last days as more and more believers are turning away from the truth and not calling out sin for what it is. This is a very serious problem in the church and it astounds me that anyone would nit pick this challenge from Franklin Graham.There are some other issues raised on this thread which are also true. But when it comes to ministry and the calling of God, it doesn't have to always look like something I personally approve of or am personally passionate about. And when a brother sticks his neck out and stands up for righteousness and speaks the truth, just who and what are we siding with when we criticize him like this? For us to suggest that he is doing harm to the body of Christ in any way, just boggles my mind. That's not merely "talking past each other", that is being quarrelsome.Brothers and sisters, when we have risen to the challenge to be passionate witnesses for Christ and are serving the Lord with all our heart, mind and strength...then and only then do we qualify to cast aspersions about the biblical work and biblical message of such a sound man of God as Franklin Graham. And so what if God calls someone to rail about "cultural" or "national" sins? By the way, there is only "SIN" mentioned in the bible...and it is worldwide, not relegated to specific nations or cultures. But so what if God puts slavery or sex trafficking or homosexuality or neglect of orphans or killing of unborn babies on the heart of an individual? If that is not our calling or passion, lets leave them be and go about our own calling! Brothers and sisters I believe if we continue to nit pick to this level like this, I am afraid in the end we will have torn down everything and there will be nothing left!!!
A great and wise word, Mark!It is the Holy Spirit who arouses righteous passion in his people, and stirs them one by one, not all the same. One day the disciples noticed some people "competing" with them, ministering but not with Jesus. Amazingly, Jesus essentially blessed them and did not insist that they come over and get with the "real" program.Jesus Christ continues to amaze me, wonder what He will do next??
_________________Tom Cameron
