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Of course Elder Porphyrios is using hyperbole to make his point.Of course the world will know we are His disciples by our love for one another.But we must speak and testify,and preach, and argue,and persuade at the appropriate time in our relationship with those we are reaching out to.Jesus preached,Paul preached and told Timothy to preach.But of course it must be in genuine love.
I read out the passage below in my class on evangelism then say to the students that if I met someone who exhibited those traits in their life, if I wasn't a Christian before I would certainly want to become one.
9 'Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.[c] Do not be conceited.
17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”[d] says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.'
Andrew, I agree with your words and of course the bible verses you cited one hundred percent, but I don't think you quite got what Elder Porphyrios is saying. It's not that the world will know we belong to Jesus by our love "for one another". Rather it's that we witness by our love for the unsaved, without trying to force them into a faith that can only come from their willingness.
Evangelism is not a scheduled activity, "do this and get that," but rather a literal moment by moment following of Jesus in the world, testifying of Him through our acts of love (as Porphyrios says) especially for the unsaved, and with words of wisdom, preaching, exhortation and, most of all, heartfelt and sincere prayer.
It is the Lord who directs our every move, not we ourselves. He will do this if we let Him, and if we let Him, then the unsaved will truly know Who it is that is ministering to them and loving them.... not us, but Christ Himself, who is among us.
Great! This is true and beautiful, Dad! Thanks for sharing with us!
ReplyDeleteOf course Elder Porphyrios is using hyperbole to make his point.Of course the world will know we are His disciples by our love for one another.But we must speak and testify,and preach, and argue,and persuade at the appropriate time in our relationship with those we are reaching out to.Jesus preached,Paul preached and told Timothy to preach.But of course it must be in genuine love.
ReplyDeleteI read out the passage below in my class on evangelism then say to the students that if I met someone who exhibited those traits in their life, if I wasn't a Christian before I would certainly want to become one.
9 'Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.[c] Do not be conceited.
17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”[d] says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.'
ROMANS 12
Andrew, I agree with your words and of course the bible verses you cited one hundred percent, but I don't think you quite got what Elder Porphyrios is saying. It's not that the world will know we belong to Jesus by our love "for one another". Rather it's that we witness by our love for the unsaved, without trying to force them into a faith that can only come from their willingness.
ReplyDeleteEvangelism is not a scheduled activity, "do this and get that," but rather a literal moment by moment following of Jesus in the world, testifying of Him through our acts of love (as Porphyrios says) especially for the unsaved, and with words of wisdom, preaching, exhortation and, most of all, heartfelt and sincere prayer.
It is the Lord who directs our every move, not we ourselves. He will do this if we let Him, and if we let Him, then the unsaved will truly know Who it is that is ministering to them and loving them.... not us, but Christ Himself, who is among us.
Thanks for your comment, brother!