How to help the unbeliever
Welcome back to my blog. I am honored you can visit. We have been discussing that the church is God's plan to implement His purposes for this time before Christ’s return. It should function efficiently with love and act consistently with God's word. The last few weeks we covered scriptural methods to recognize true and unbelievers (tares) in the church.
This week let’s think how we might help the church-attending unbeliever. It can be a tough sell! How can we bring an unbeliever’s attention to their own unbelief? Next week we’ll provide a few suggestions about how to share your faith with an unbeliever.
What makes helping an unbeliever difficult is if you ask an unbeliever if they are a Christian, they most always will respond “yes.” Are they being dishonest? Consider that there are several levels of Christianity accepted in our culture.
Christian Seeker - These are typically new church attendees who may not recognize that they are not a true believer because they are interested in learning about Christianity. Generally, they are comfortable in the social setting of the church (which often is designed expressly for that purpose). A seeker may say they are a Christian. However, they may be more willing to admit they do not yet believe as their motivation for church attendance may be to seek a solution to their needs, which might be spiritual.
Social Christian - These are individuals, most likely church members or attendees, perhaps longstanding, who would readily indicate they are a Christian. However, when asked to explain their Christian beliefs in specific terms they might be unable to express the gospel, even with prompting. Unfortunately, since they typically are tied to the church and its social structure, they would be embarrassed to admit they are not truly a believing Christian; this would likely affect their self-esteem and social standing. Non-believers would fall into this group.
Evangelical, born-again Christian - These Christians identify as saved by grace, by faith alone in the forgiveness provided by Jesus Christ‘s death on the cross (Ephesians 2:8-9).
What’s the problem? The first two groups are accepted socially and are comfortable within the typical evangelical church setting. Consequently, to confront them regarding salvation may (almost assuredly) produce a defensive posture and perhaps a damaged friendship.
How then can we bring these important church members to be willing to evaluate their own salvation in an objective way? Good question! We don’t yet know from research how to best approach them. Further, the method will likely differ per the individual. Consequently, we must cling to scripture where God reminds us to try to bring the gospel to all people. How to do this? We will discuss this interesting topic in the next blog!
Thanks for joining me today. I look forward to seeing you again next week!
William C. Stewart, MD
For questions or to view more of our research…
Email - info@teleiosresearch.com
Website - http://teleiosresearch.com/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TeleiosResearch
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/TeleiosResearch
Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh6wIbPgxeP0YvypwAn5-9Q
Disclaimer - This blog and its content are provided only as information and are intended for visitors 18 and older. No content on the website should be taken as advice or recommendation to any personal or institutional situation. The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily either shared or endorsed by Teleios. Both the blog and the contents are subject to change at any time without notice. Although I endeavor to ensure that the blog and the content are current and accurate, it may contain errors. I do not represent that the blog or the content is current, accurate or complete, or appropriate for your specific requirements. I do not accept any liability from any person for the blog, the content or any other information (or the use of such information) I provide. I do not have a seminary degree, but I have trained myself in the scriptures to teach and provide this information. For any specific question, I suggest you contact experts in that field and or do your own research into the scriptures.
No comments:
Post a Comment