I said:
"And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ."
Found in scripture in Romans 10:15-17, authored by the Holy Spirit through Paul.
I add:
"I charge you in the presence of God and of Christy Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort with complete patience and understanding."
Round in scripture in 2 Time 4:1,2, authored by the Holy Spirit through Peter.
You in response to Paul's words in Romans:
Preach in all things you do and if necessary use words
NOT found in scripture, authored by ? through ? If you do a search on this phrase you find that although it is accredited to St Francis of Assisi (not scripture),but he is not known to have said it. After a couple weeks of searching, no scholar could find this quote in a story written within 200 years of Francis’ death.
Summary:
It seems that we have God's Word vs some unknown man's word. The Word of God says the gospel must be preached with words because faith comes through hearing. That is how God has designed it - that we must preach the gospel. And He goes on to say we must preach it in season and out of season, always with patience. That is by His design. But you try to sidestep that by quoting some urban legend, that may sound good, but says, oh, God doesn't REALLY mean we have to preach God's Word. Didn't Satan say the same thing to Eve - God didn't REALLY mean that.
God's Word also says elsewhere that even the pagans know how to be nice to others they care about. Being nice to others that we don't know is not a bad thing, but without giving them TRUTH, it is nothing more than our own works of "righteousness" which are nothing more than filthy rags and will be burnt up.
Perhaps this is why we see many commercials on tv about feeding the starving kids and animals - so send money!Do you know how the terrorist group, Hamas, became so popular with the people? By doing just what you said - serving them through benevolence in order to gain their confidence and spread their poison. Why do the cults often succeed? They prey on the lonely and needy.
Back to original question that you avoided and sidestepped:
You:
...the bottom line is that we are now talking about Jesus in a public forum. Pretty good outreach
To which I answered and questioned:
Why is that the bottom line? Why is that a good outreach? By your own reasoning, then you must think that Mormon or Jehovah Witness forums are also great outreach, as would one by Westboro Baptist church. People talking ABOUT Jesus is not the gospel. It is not worship. Looking at a picture that people may perceive to be Jesus is not the gospel, nor is it worship.
Will directly address the issue this time?
James 2:26
For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
Thank you for your questions and charges as it has served to solidify my belief that I am a field guy for Jesus. Always will be.
One of the problems you and I are having is that there is a missionary culture which is rather different than most people would expect. I had not realized how far inside that culture my wife and are.
Preaching comes in many different forms. Music, formal sermons, action taken to help a person or family in trouble.
For missionaries it is very effective to be of service to others. It causes those people as well others to ask why you are doing these things and at that point we educate them about Jesus and the Bible. Mostly one on one preaching.
Most missionaries have used this tool throughout the last 2,000 years because it works. And I mean it really works.
I have preached short sermons to 250 or so people but that is not where my gifts lie. My gifts are in organization, logistics and most strongly in the area of promotion which is used in bringing Jesus to others and uplifting others in the light of Jesus’ sacrifice. And love for us.
Each believer is imbued with gifts that are to be used for bringing others to Our Lord and Saviour or to edify the church. My wife’s gifts and my own are well suited to the field role.
So as to your charges, I shall not address them directly but simply will refer you to the above.
Your comments about “bottom line” are interesting because they point up one of the differences in cultures. As missionaries who take the Word to people directly we have a lot of bottom line issues to deal with as we are on the practical side of the church:
How do I move 1,000 lbs of food to the event area?
If the sound guy is late, do I have enough time to put up the sound system and test it?
How many pick up trucks will the volunteers bring?
Do I have enough lighter fluid to get the grills going and at what time should I do it?
How do I get enough money to keep a family in their apartment for another month until they get some money? They are flat broke due illness or loss of a job.
One of our neighbors has what seems to be an intractable medical problem that has not been handled well by their doctors. Which doctor in our church will step up and fix it if they can?
My nephew, who is studying to be a bush pilot missionary, will be worrying about whether he can drop his Piper aircraft onto a gravel or sandbar in Africa and take off again. Lots of challenges in this missionary area which are key to introoducing Jesus to others, but which have little to do with apologetics.
The bottom line is that we go after people whose lives will be enriched and whose places will be assured in Heaven by accepting Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord.
Manytimes we have to be satisfied to plant seeds which will grow when watered later in life. Sometimes we are really surprised when they elect to come to Jesus immediately.
One of the key attributes of our mission is to develop a core Christian community inside the secular community. This serves to educate people in just exactly what Christians look like. They look like your neighbor, the really nice couple across the hall.
Another of our objectives is to get people in the pews of local churches in order for them to be with other Christians as well as being exposed to sermons and opportunities to take Jesus to others.
It sort of gets complicated.....but is rewarding. It is a bit of a different culture though.