Former President Donald Trump Goes To Dallas, Texas!

[kathymendel]

Exactly. That's why he doesn't belong in a pulpit, which is for proclaiming biblical doctrine--by believers, for believers.

Whoa............ not commenting on Trump..............BUT!!! "The pulpit is for proclaiming biblical doctrine -- by believers, for believers???"
WHAT ABOUT THE LOST who come to the church???????????? Is not the pulpit also for proclaiming the way of salvation to them????????????
If not, then we may as well close the doors of the churches! If the pulpit is only for the believers' ears, then the church has totally failed. And, many
churches have.

 

[Jan51]

Whoa............ not commenting on Trump..............BUT!!! "The pulpit is for proclaiming biblical doctrine -- by believers, for believers???"
WHAT ABOUT THE LOST who come to the church???????????? Is not the pulpit also for proclaiming the way of salvation to them????????????
If not, then we may as well close the doors of the churches! If the pulpit is only for the believers' ears, then the church has totally failed. And, many
churches have.

Actually I believe the New Testament model of the church was, it was believers gathering to do what believers were to do. We do not read of it being the place to bring unbelievers to get saved. That is our present cultural model and I believe it is the cause of many problems in the church today. But yes the gospel should always be preached.

 

[katt]

Actually, Jesus told us to go to all narions and proclaim the gospel to everyone, he never told us to go forth and build churches, I think it's because, members of The Body Of Christ are The Church..

 

[lightofmylife]

Actually, Jesus told us to go to all narions and proclaim the gospel to everyone, he never told us to go forth and build churches, I think it's because, members of The Body Of Christ are The Church..

The body of Christ is the church, and the building is a place where we join together for fellowship.

 

[katt]

The body of Christ is the church, and the building is a place where we join together for fellowship.

Paul did tell us not to give up the gathering of the brethren, for that we need a building, although the early church met in peoples homes, but Jesus never told us to build buildings and stay in them for generations, my point is, the gathering is for the teaching, strengthening of faith and spiritual growth of the already saved, the going forth to proclaim the gospel is for the proselytizing of the unsaved..

 

[Andy C]

Actually I believe the New Testament model of the church was, it was believers gathering to do what believers were to do. We do not read of it being the place to bring unbelievers to get saved. That is our present cultural model and I believe it is the cause of many problems in the church today. But yes the gospel should always be preached.

Romans 10

11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”

12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,

13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?

15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

16 But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?”

17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.

 

[kathymendel]

So, are we not to invite our lost friends and family to church??? Must they hear the gospel message on a street corner or only from a
believer bold enough to share it with them? If so, then no wonder we go to church each Sunday seeing only the same faces, and churches are
withering rather than growing............

Was not the idea of sending busses out to bring the unchurched children in the neighborhood to Sunday School.......or a youth program that draws the
teens to hear the Gospel message at a time in their lives when they need it desperately........... or programs to care for the elderly, the ill, and lonely in our
neighborhoods.............a way to get them to the church to hear the Truth from the pulpit???? These things don't even exist in many churches now. So how
do unchurched people hear????

Jesus didn't come to build church buildings, but to build eternal bonds with fellow believers, and to bring the lost together, with them, to hear the Word.
The believers of Jesus' day invited their lost loved ones and seekers into their homes to learn, repent, be saved ,and to worship Him. Why must we place limits
and restrictions on who is entitled to hear the truth, doctrines, whatever from the pulpit??? Why must we limit God on how He works in our midst??? As Jesus
was inclusionary, so should we be. He never said, " Oh no, you can't come in here and listen to us spout our doctrines..........it is only for us believers and by us believers. Sorry, I know I am on a rant, but this statement really upset me. I will withdraw from the conversation now, so as not to continue to beat a dead horse.

 

[Lovin Jesus]

Whoa............ not commenting on Trump..............BUT!!! "The pulpit is for proclaiming biblical doctrine -- by believers, for believers???"
WHAT ABOUT THE LOST who come to the church???????????? Is not the pulpit also for proclaiming the way of salvation to them????????????
If not, then we may as well close the doors of the churches! If the pulpit is only for the believers' ears, then the church has totally failed. And, many
churches have.

I agree with you on this. The church is Jesus flock of sheep, and we assemble in a sanctuary building for worship, but a sanctuary is a place of refuge and lost unbelievers need refuge, so I believe it's for both, the church and the lost. I went to my neighborhood church sanctuary unsaved and months after attending and listening to the word from the pulpit I was saved and baptized there and then I was part of the church.

 

[Jan51]

So, are we not to invite our lost friends and family to church??? Must they hear the gospel message on a street corner or only from a
believer bold enough to share it with them? If so, then no wonder we go to church each Sunday seeing only the same faces, and churches are
withering rather than growing............

Was not the idea of sending busses out to bring the unchurched children in the neighborhood to Sunday School.......or a youth program that draws the
teens to hear the Gospel message at a time in their lives when they need it desperately........... or programs to care for the elderly, the ill, and lonely in our
neighborhoods.............a way to get them to the church to hear the Truth from the pulpit???? These things don't even exist in many churches now. So how
do unchurched people hear????

Jesus didn't come to build church buildings, but to build eternal bonds with fellow believers, and to bring the lost together, with them, to hear the Word.
The believers of Jesus' day invited their lost loved ones and seekers into their homes to learn, repent, be saved ,and to worship Him. Why must we place limits
and restrictions on who is entitled to hear the truth, doctrines, whatever from the pulpit??? Why must we limit God on how He works in our midst??? As Jesus
was inclusionary, so should we be. He never said, " Oh no, you can't come in here and listen to us spout our doctrines..........it is only for us believers and by us believers. Sorry, I know I am on a rant, but this statement really upset me. I will withdraw from the conversation now, so as not to continue to beat a dead horse.

I'm sorry, I did not say we are not to invite the unsaved or place limits.

I merely stated what the New Testament model was. All believers were given the task of preaching the good news to the unsaved; but somehow over the years we seem to have limited preaching to the preacher and the pulpit.

The early church gathered for corporate prayer, the Lord's supper, and the teaching of the apostles' doctrine. When church is seen as the place for the unsaved to get saved, believers often think their main job is to invite unbelievers to church, rather than give out the gospel themselves. When church is seen as the place for unbelievers to hear the gospel, preaching tends to be mostly milk and little meat, which believers need in order to grow. I have been to churches that basically just preach the salvation message every Sunday, and church is seen as boring and repetitive. Churches start doing things they think will entice unbelievers. This was not the New Testament model.

Or course we can and should invite unbelievers to church. All the programs you mentioned are great! My post was merely about the New Testament church and how things have changed.

I was not putting down church, and I am sorry if my comments came across as offensive.
I just try to compare everything to the Bible.

 

[Andy C]

Churches start doing things they think will entice unbelievers. This was not the New Testament model.

Concur. The role of the church should be to feed the flock a meaty meal of His Word, and anyone else there who may just be grazing.

 

[Amethyst]

I'm sorry, I did not say we are not to invite the unsaved or place limits.

I merely stated what the New Testament model was. All believers were given the task of preaching the good news to the unsaved; but somehow over the years we seem to have limited preaching to the preacher and the pulpit.

Totally understood what you were getting at.