How Much To Throw Out?

[HERn]

This morning I fellowshipped with a brother whose dad and granddad served in the Salvation Army. In the town I live the city has set up an area where the homeless can set up tents to sleep in. Previously they were camping in creek bottoms and other places. This brother serves them with the gospel after they have been fed. None of them would be good LSM material, but they are precious to the Lord, after all He came to serve the sick not the well.

[OBW]

Originally Posted by HERn

This morning I fellowshipped with a brother whose dad and granddad served in the Salvation Army. In the town I live the city has set up an area where the homeless can set up tents to sleep in. Previously they were camping in creek bottoms and other places. This brother serves them with the gospel after they have been fed. None of them would be good LSM material, but they are precious to the Lord, after all He came to serve the sick not the well.

An interesting question.

Would anyone from whatever church come and serve them meals, or in other ways, if there was mostly no opportunity to "serve them with the gospel"?

The reason I ask is to discover whether we feel that the consideration of loving your neighbor predicated upon their willingness to listen to our preaching? Or is the general requirement of "justice" reserved only for those situations where we are free to preach?

I have heard some significant push-back from people who discovered that in certain situations they were restricted in their ability to preach the gospel. Isn't that a little like not helping your parents if you declare that what would have been for them is now given to the Tempe (or whatever that thing was supposed to mean that Jesus spoke against)?

I am saying nothing against the particular brother. Rather I am asking this of us.

[HERn]

Originally Posted by OBW

An interesting question.

Would anyone from whatever church come and serve them meals, or in other ways, if there was mostly no opportunity to "serve them with the gospel"?

The reason I ask is to discover whether we feel that the consideration of loving your neighbor predicated upon their willingness to listen to our preaching? Or is the general requirement of "justice" reserved only for those situations where we are free to preach?

I have heard some significant push-back from people who discovered that in certain situations they were restricted in their ability to preach the gospel. Isn't that a little like not helping your parents if you declare that what would have been for them is now given to the Tempe (or whatever that thing was supposed to mean that Jesus spoke against)?

I am saying nothing against the particular brother. Rather I am asking this of us.

I don't know the answer to the question. Today I found out that he does not provide the meal, just the recreation (movie, this week it was War Room). They can can attend the movie and service after the dinner or not if they don't want to. I might attend next Friday night, I'm kind of interested in what goes on. I really enjoyed worshipping the Lord this morning along with the table. It exceeded my LC experience. Our daughter is still on the fringes, and it breaks my heart. She tries so hard and makes gifts for the girls and does things to make them like her. But, when she walks up to a group of them they don't see her and then she walks away. She decided not to go to youth group tonight saying she had too much homework, which was not true but we are going to let her stay home. Other behavioral/physiological things have happened with her at last weeks high school girls bible study that shows she's under a lot of stress trying to be accepted. It's sad, I don't understand God's reasons, and I'm ticked off at Him. I think He'll survive though!! And so will we.

[OBW]

Originally Posted by HERn

I don't know the answer to the question.

And my question was not simply to you about this one brother and one situation. I find that it is a systemic problem with so many evangelicals when they try to do "service." They feel compelled to insist that it either be open to them preaching the gospel or they will have nothing to do with it.

I know many who have moved away from that. And I hope more of us will over time.

We should be willing to love our neighbor.

Period.

No strings attached.

[UntoHim]

Originally Posted by OBW

We should be willing to love our neighbor.

Period.

No strings attached.

Reading some of these last posts I was thinking of the "Good Samaritan". We all know the story. The part that may apply here might be the fact that the Samaritan didn't preach the gospel to the wounded man. (In fact, we know from the story of the Samaritan "women at the well" the Samaritans didn't even have the true gospel to preach anyway.) What he did do is "love his neighbor" in the most practical way possible. He bound up the man's wounds, and even set him up in a place to stay until he got better. As far as what is recorded, the Samaritan never asked for repayment of any kind.

Remember who passed the wounded man by before the Samaritan got there? It was "a priest" and "a Levite". I don't think it would be too much of a stretch to consider them the "evangelicals" of the day. Maybe they didn't consider this fellow as good material, so they didn't even preach the gospel to him.
-

[OBW]

Yes.

And it should be embarrassing that we evangelicals have so often rejected this clear command (and part of the Great command) and then chastised the Methodists, Lutherans, Catholics, etc., for their obedience to it.

[HERn]

Originally Posted by OBW

And my question was not simply to you about this one brother and one situation. I find that it is a systemic problem with so many evangelicals when they try to do "service." They feel compelled to insist that it either be open to them preaching the gospel or they will have nothing to do with it.

I know many who have moved away from that. And I hope more of us will over time.

We should be willing to love our neighbor.

Period.

No strings attached.

I guess we should do all the good we can to all we can. If it involves food, a listening ear, giving people rides great; if at times the gospel is also provided along with those things that's good too.

[HERn]

Originally Posted by HERn

I guess we should do all the good we can to all we can. If it involves food, a listening ear, giving people rides great; if at times the gospel is also provided along with those things that's good too.

Brother John Wesley says it better.

“Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.”


― (attributed to) John Wesley

[HERn]

Originally Posted by HERn

Brother John Wesley says it better.

“Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.”


― John Wesley

Well, after some research it turns out that Wesley really never said this! One researcher says it was first attributed to Wesley in 1903. I'm throwing out the first hits from Google claiming the author of a quote!