How to help an 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. In the last few weeks, we covered scriptural methods to recognize true and unbelievers (tares) in the church. 

 

This week, let’s think about 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 true believers 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 Christians. 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

 

Email – info@teleiosresearch.com

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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 alone 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.

 

 

Why is helping unbelievers important?

 

Welcome back to my blog. I am so glad you can visit today. 

 

Over the past few weeks, we have reviewed scriptural methods to recognize true and untrue believers within the church.  Why is helping an unbeliever towards salvation so important? Bringing them lovingly to Christ is vital for the church for two reasons:

Ø  Salvation in Christ is essential for the individual for eternal life.

Ø  Salvation for the unbelieving church member is important for the local church. A congregation needs active members to be effective, so they help and don’t hinder the advance of the gospel and affecting society for good.

 

We'll deal with salvation in upcoming blogs, but let's consider today the influence of the unbelieving church member inside the local church.

 

Scripture stresses the importance of unity in the church (Ephesians 4:1-7). Unfortunately, churches sometimes can be a place of discord with angry splits between groups. No one knows all the reasons for disunity in churches, either on the personal or global level. The causes are probably multiple.  

 

However, an unbelieving church member may pursue an agenda that can be distracting to church unity either by wasting people's time for their disruptive purposes or a deeper discord leading potentially to division. Although I don’t know that this question has been researched specifically, I believe generally an unbeliever could negatively influence the church in several ways, by:

Ø  Building a power base by which they can control a portion of the church ministry

Ø  Seeking attention for their emotional pain or desires - While appropriate biblically (Galatians 6:2) this situation can become draining if the unbeliever is not willing to change to conform to scriptural wisdom, or is solely interested in soaking up people's attention.

Ø  Living a passive Christian life - Even if the unbeliever is not overtly disruptive, they can have a negative influence by merely talking continuously about subjects that are non-biblical or not encouraging others to seek scripture or act in godly ways. Otherwise, they hide the truth by their words and actions.

 

For the church to function productively and for individual Christians to attain the greatest benefit from body life, the effect of unbelievers and other unbiblical agendas must be limited. How to do this?

Ø  Recognize who unbelievers are.

Ø  As we discussed before, bringing them salvation is the best solution!

Ø  Expect unbelievers to conform their life to the Bible. If they do not, then members and leadership should consider:

o   Limiting social and fellowship time with them. 

o   Refraining from giving them spiritual or non-spiritual leadership positions from which they might build their expectations that they could influence the church.

o   Consider corrective biblical action (by the church leaders) if the unbeliever is clearly disruptive to body life (e.g., Matthew 18:15-20, 2 Corinthians 2:5-11).

 

The health of the modern church is vital! Each member should be a functioning, growing Christian who facilitates fruitful and positive teaching, praise, prayer and fellowship and enables the church to have a positive impact on their community. Don’t allow the agenda of a limited few, who refuse to come to Christ or be obedient to Scripture, to diminish the progress of Christ’s church!

 

Next week we will begin talking about methods to bring salvation to unbelievers. Please come back and join us then.

 

William C. Stewart, MD

 

Email – info@teleiosresearch.com

Website – http://teleiosresearch.com

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/TeleiosResearch

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/TeleiosResearch

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LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/teleiosresearch

 

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 alone 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.

 

Who are the people helping the church?

 

Welcome back to my blog. I'm happy you can visit. Last week we discussed how the church is God's plan to implement His purposes for this time before Christ’s return. It should function efficiently with love and consistency with God's word. Attendees who push their own non-biblical agendas, whether for emotional comfort or personal power, represent a danger to the church. How do we recognize these people and what should we do about them? Let us consider the first topic over the next two weeks. We will deal with their treatment afterwards.

 

A bible-believing church is generally started by well-meaning Christians who, because of their lifestyle and biblical teaching, typically attract other people to the church. This makes sense - good message, nice people! Many of these new members will serve and desire to grow in Christ. 

 

However, others may come for alternative agendas, such as seeking fulfillment of their own desire for personal power or emotional satisfaction, with no real intent to grow in their faith. They may or may not be a born-again Christian, but their effect is often the same, at a minimum slowing the church by consuming the time of effective believers or actively damaging the church by causing dissension. 

 

Christ himself said there would be unbelievers (tares) in church who would be impossible to detect (Matthew 13:24-30). However, as best we can, I believe we should try to uncover unbelieving or unfaithful churchgoers to prayerfully help them (as they allow) and to protect the church.

 

The Bible assists us in providing standards for Christians and how to recognize a faithful believer. If we know who is faithful it makes it easier to know who is not (discussed next week). Here are some key sections of scripture.

 

Spiritual growth process

 

1.     Basic measures (1 John 2-4) - This important book describes three major criteria that should characterize a true believer in the process of maturing (i.e., those in the fellowship of Christ, 1 John 1).

·       Love - They have a biblical (agape) love. This type of love is not just an emotional feeling but is primarily based on truth and what is good for the believer, both actions and speech (Philippians 1:9; 1 John 5:2).

·       Proper doctrine - This centers around Jesus and that He: came from God, is Man, is God and is the Christ (our Redeemer, 1 John 2:22; 1 John 4:2; 1 John 4:15; 1 John 5:1; 1 John 5:20).

·       Obedience - A true Christian’s life is generally characterized in following the precepts of Scripture (1 John 2:4-5).

2.     Unity (Ephesians 4:1-7) - The apostle Paul often stresses unity which involves both proper doctrine and love for each other. 

3.     The true disciple (1 Thessalonians 1:5-7) - A true believer is:

·       Saved by faith.

·       Secure in salvation.

·       Accepting of the guiding principles of God's Word in their lives.

·       Imitating scriptural principles and mature believers around them.

·       Influencing others to the faith.

4.     Believer’s growth (2 Corinthians 3:18) - In short, a true Christian changes over time to become more Christ-like, as this verse states ‘from glory to glory’. 

 

Spiritual Outcomes

 

1.   Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) - These are measures of a person's maturity in the Holy Spirit and include: love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, humility, and self-control.

2.   Qualities of an elder/deacon (1 Timothy 3:1-15) - This is a wonderful group of measures we can all use to assess ourselves and include generally: family values, personal attitudes, ability to minister and community reputation.

3.   Controlled by the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18) - This means we think, act and speak as the Spirit would.

 

These scriptures help you assess fellow believers. Importantly, assessment is not judging! Christ judges ultimately at the end of the age (John 5:22). Our job is to consider others so we can better understand them and help know how to love and help them (1 Timothy 4:16; 2 Timothy 2:25-26).

 

Interesting discussion! Let's continue next week by thinking about what a Christian should be doing in the church. Thanks for joining me I'll look forward to seeing you again next week.

 

William C. Stewart, MD

 

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/c/TeleiosVideos

X - https://x.com/TeleiosTweets

TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@teleiostiktok

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/teleiosresearch

 

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 alone 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.