tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post8046514657585444124..comments2024-03-10T10:40:32.319-07:00Comments on Pyromaniacs: When "contextualization" is made a dodge (NEXT! #12)Phil Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00649092052031518426noreply@blogger.comBlogger92125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-61586227177981456472009-05-21T04:28:31.959-07:002009-05-21T04:28:31.959-07:00The bottom line: we should be fishermen. Fishermen...The bottom line: we should be fishermen. Fishermen learn what trout are biting on, they go where the trout are, try not unnecessarily to spook them — but they don't jump in and try to breathe water and eat worms.<br /><br />The goal is to <I>catch</I> fish. Not <I>become</I> one.DJPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16471042180904855578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-50165998672799487852009-05-19T06:18:00.000-07:002009-05-19T06:18:00.000-07:001 Corinthians 9:19-23
For though I am free fr...1 Corinthians 9:19-23<br /><br /> For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, that I might win the more. 20 And to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law, though not being myself under the Law, that I might win those who are under the Law; 21 to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, that I might win those who are without law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some. 23 And I do all things for the sake of the gospel, that I may become a fellow partaker of it. <br /><br />Should We Imitate Paul's Strategy? <br /><br />The first question to ask is whether this remarkable testimony of Paul is something we should imitate, or is this just something that apostles did—or that missionaries do who must adapt to other cultures?<br /><br />The answer comes from one of the clearest commentaries on these words that Paul himself wrote in the next chapter. Look at 1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1. Here the issue is exactly the same as in 9:19ff., namely, how to relate to Jews and Greeks so as to win them for Christ. He says,<br /><br /> Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 32) Give no offense either to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God; [in other words, adapt as much as you can in non-sinful ways] 33) just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of the many, that they may be saved. [That's the same as 9:22, "I have become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some." Then comes the answer to our question, in 11:1.] Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.<br /><br />So that answer is: No, this is not a specifically apostolic or missionary way of life. It is something that he meant for all the Corinthian believers to imitate. He was imitating Christ, and he wants us to imitate him. So hear this message this morning a Word from God for you particularly and not just for someone else. Ask how you, in your sphere of life, can use your freedom the way Paul and Jesus did, if by any means you might save some. <br /><br />John Piper<br />From his sermon titled "Becoming All Things to All Men to Save Some"<br />http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/sermons/bydate/1996/945_Becoming_All_Things_to_All_Men_to_Save_Some/Alexander Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15951930209106057127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-80998495840299240952009-05-18T23:32:00.000-07:002009-05-18T23:32:00.000-07:00Kirby Wallace -
I don't know if you'll see this,...Kirby Wallace - <br /><br />I don't know if you'll see this, but your comment hit me between the eyes!<br /><br />Despite a lifetime of Christianity, it wasn't until know that I made that connection. If Jesus is God, and Jesus was present at the very creation of the world, and if he is really the fulfillment of the Law, and "if you have seen me, you have seen the father," then the words of Jesus are the words of God, and EVERYTHING in the bible, to include the old testament, which we ascribe to divine inspiration, is essentially "what Jesus said."<br /><br />Wow and double wow!Steve Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11798539672493222588noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-32914175594129977762009-05-15T21:56:00.000-07:002009-05-15T21:56:00.000-07:00Brief detour, 'cause I missed this one:
Challenge...Brief detour, 'cause I missed this one:<br /><br />Challenge: Jesus never said anything about homosexuality.<br /><br />Response: Sure He did: <I>thou shalt not lie with a man as with a woman. It is an abomination</I> ... <br /><br />We have to remember who Jesus IS!<br /><br /><br /><br />As for this challenge, Dan's response IS my response!Kirby L. Wallacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01825673333919420557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-75833509312651234232009-05-15T21:54:00.000-07:002009-05-15T21:54:00.000-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Kirby L. Wallacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01825673333919420557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-90924914013470998542009-05-15T18:26:00.000-07:002009-05-15T18:26:00.000-07:00Will said:
"So Jesus didn't spend time with peopl...Will said:<br /><br />"So Jesus didn't spend time with people until they were converted? Is that really your point?"<br /><br />No Will, that really wasn't my point, at all.Willyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00071705854122488693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-26952775265457342302009-05-15T12:00:00.000-07:002009-05-15T12:00:00.000-07:00What exactly is being dodged by the challenge? Hol...What exactly is being dodged by the challenge? Holiness?<br /><br />Can we get a NEXT on when "holiness" is made a dodge for evangelism?Garyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05789615082333952443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-89355947239438368362009-05-15T08:13:00.000-07:002009-05-15T08:13:00.000-07:00True dat; but it would be thoughtful if they didn'...True dat; but it would be thoughtful if they didn't "clarify" things beyond the designedly narrow aim of the post.DJPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16471042180904855578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-30736663486718299392009-05-15T08:11:00.000-07:002009-05-15T08:11:00.000-07:00Dan, so would the comments section be the right pl...Dan, so would the comments section be the right place for readers to add some clarifications they feel are important? <br /><br />:)willhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04808142454221048311noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-78328673740785180812009-05-15T08:03:00.000-07:002009-05-15T08:03:00.000-07:00If you had read the title, Will, do you think that...If you had read the title, Will, do you think that would have made a difference?<br /><br />A WHOLE MAJOR POINT of this entire series is that each post is <I>brief</I>. Brief = can't say everything that can be said on the topic.DJPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16471042180904855578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-60750035226210004042009-05-15T08:00:00.000-07:002009-05-15T08:00:00.000-07:00So Jesus didn't spend time with people until they ...So Jesus didn't spend time with people until they were converted? Is that really your point? <br /><br />My concern is this: I have spent too much time in Christian clubs. I know too many Christians who spend all of their free time in a Christian bubble and who have no clue how to relate (let alone offer a rebuke that may actually be considered). I think that there are plenty of people that will justify this clearly anti-Biblical approach to life by claiming that they are just trying to live holy. <br /><br />The fact is that Jesus was not concerned about appearance when he spoke with the woman at the well. He got a bad rep because he hung out with Tax collectors and sinners (and he was fine with that).<br /><br />My concern with this post was that it might be interpreted by the Christian club folks as one more justification to stay insulated.willhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04808142454221048311noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-3584415036175888832009-05-15T07:37:00.000-07:002009-05-15T07:37:00.000-07:00Will,
“…as you are going, make disciples…”
The qu...Will,<br />“…as you are going, make disciples…”<br /><br />The question is not whether Jesus ate with tax-gatherers and sinners, it is whether he just hung out with them. What was His priority?<br /><br />Mt 9:10 “then is happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table…”<br /><br />How did that come about? What immediately preceded this?<br /><br />Mt 9:9 “And as Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man, called Matthew, sitting in the tax office; and He said to him, ‘Follow Me!’ And he rose, and followed Him.”<br /><br />Jesus commanded and Matthew responded – THEN they ended up dining at the table with many who were like Matthew also there (likely associates of Matthew?) You can bet there was some serious teaching going on there.<br /><br />See, I wouldn’t call that ‘hanging out’ in the sense that my kids mean by it. They mean spending their time just having fun and participating in the lifestyle of the people they are with. Jesus was purposeful, He came to do His Father’s will, He came to call sinners to repentance.<br /><br />In your original post you said:<br /><br />“I think that this post is both right and misleading at the same time.”<br /><br />And<br /><br />“My problem with the post is that it seems to minimize the truth that Jesus spent much time with the people that made the church ladies of the day nervous.”<br /><br />If you merely want to point out that following Christ happens in real life, with real people, and it is in such a context that we “beg on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” – good. But you have a problem with the statement that Jesus’ purpose was to change them, not affirm them as they were. <br /><br />Perhaps you can explain what you find misleading about “…and called them to repentance, so they became exes”Willyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00071705854122488693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-69993270279011925612009-05-15T07:20:00.000-07:002009-05-15T07:20:00.000-07:00Will,
Dan’s original post back at ya:
" ...and c...Will,<br /><br />Dan’s original post back at ya:<br /><br />" ...and called them to repentance, so they became exes. Correct.”Willyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00071705854122488693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-21730874802855967622009-05-15T05:25:00.000-07:002009-05-15T05:25:00.000-07:00Willy:
>>Was Jesus just'hanging out'...Willy:<br /><br />>>Was Jesus just'hanging out' with them? <br /><br />Mat 9:10 "Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples." I don't know....I would call that hanging out. <br /><br />>> Just what does a 'teachable moment' look like at Benigans, the local bar, Hooters? Do we share in the coarse jesting and lewd jokes?<br /><br />I like Benigans I have refused to go to Hooters. Course jesting is something that every Christian in the workplace has to deal with. I usually try to change the subject. It has been my experience that as they get to know me, they stop telling those jokes so much. <br /><br />Teachable moments happen all the time. For example, one coworker that I am friends with recently brought up the fact that her sister was diagnosed with cancer and that it is serious. She stated that "I am sure that if there is a heaven she will go - she is such a nice person." This was a huge open door. She knew that I was concerned about her and cared about her sister. So when I challenged her on the theology (I told her that scripture says that no one is good in God's eyes and that repentance and faith are the means by which God saves us), she listened. I have had many similar experiences. It is my experience that if you are bold (yet not crazy and weird) with your unsaved friends they respect you and listen to you.<br /><br /><br />>> How do we avoid getting drawn into that if they know we are Christians and it appears to them that we are already compromising, that our affections are the same as theirs?<br /><br />You don't compromise convictions. Don't tell dirty jokes and don't ogle girls. Drinking beer and telling clean jokes is not something that I have a problem with (its the same thing I do with my Christian friends). <br /><br />>>how do you know you are not putting a stumbling block in front of another?<br /><br />I don't know what sort of a stumbling block I might be putting out there. If I was going to strip bars and sharing in blue humor that would be one thing but I am not.willhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04808142454221048311noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-86361736749405667072009-05-14T23:23:00.000-07:002009-05-14T23:23:00.000-07:00Consider the story of Zacchaeus. Though rich, he ...Consider the story of Zacchaeus. Though rich, he was reviled, and the people muttered that Jesus would eat with such a sinner.<br /><br />And yet, Zacchaeus had a radical change of heart and paid back four times what he owed to those he had cheated.<br /><br />Hanging out with sinners is only HALF the equation. Seeing a radical change in their life is the <I>goal</I> of hanging out...not just being more "seeker friendly" or "relevant."Steve Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11798539672493222588noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-80485846582098238132009-05-14T21:49:00.000-07:002009-05-14T21:49:00.000-07:00Chad:
"Friends?"
Friends.<B>Chad</B>:<br /><br />"Friends?"<br /><br />Friends.Stefan Ewinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05530690016594029847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-60044386085657483612009-05-14T20:14:00.000-07:002009-05-14T20:14:00.000-07:00Heath No sweat. Sometimes things get lost in the ...<B> Heath </B>No sweat. Sometimes things get lost in the communication on blog meta.Chad V.https://www.blogger.com/profile/02478790778245966382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-18126884818144097802009-05-14T19:37:00.000-07:002009-05-14T19:37:00.000-07:00Chad V
Sorry, didn't make myself very clear.
I d...Chad V <br />Sorry, didn't make myself very clear. <br />I do agree with you.Heath The Bloglesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05338368746908190636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-82301774020540710612009-05-14T19:24:00.000-07:002009-05-14T19:24:00.000-07:00Squirrel Wanna come over for acorns?<B> Squirrel </B>Wanna come over for acorns?Chad V.https://www.blogger.com/profile/02478790778245966382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-27144146845809017782009-05-14T19:22:00.000-07:002009-05-14T19:22:00.000-07:00Well, I'm happy to hang with all y'all.
:o)
~Squ...Well, I'm happy to hang with all y'all.<br /><br />:o)<br /><br /><I>~Squirrel</I>The Squirrelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14082708506676251152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-85485216673942415662009-05-14T19:08:00.000-07:002009-05-14T19:08:00.000-07:00Heath Who we hang out with wasn't really my point ...<B> Heath </B>Who we hang out with wasn't really my point at all. I wasn't saying that Christians shouldn't have unsaved friends.<br /><br />My point was that the dodge is nothing more than attempt to excuse carnality disguised as evangelism by perverting the narrative of Christ's earthly ministry.Chad V.https://www.blogger.com/profile/02478790778245966382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-19508384047577117092009-05-14T18:31:00.000-07:002009-05-14T18:31:00.000-07:00That was Acts 11:18*That was Acts 11:18*Penn Tomassettihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04426113620189406498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-5989543658032142142009-05-14T18:30:00.000-07:002009-05-14T18:30:00.000-07:00Hey go out there and serve the Lord of the harvest...Hey go out there and serve the Lord of the harvest by seeking those whom He came to save!<br /><br />Just don't ruin the gospel *of GOD* by making it fit the sinful and carnal pleasures of a God-hating world (via "contextualization").<br /><br />Sinners and prostitutes still find grace in the eyes of the risen Lord! <br /><br />"When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, "Then to the Gentiles also <B>God has granted repentance that leads to life.</B>"<br /><br />I can't wait till the next NEXT Mr. Phillips.Penn Tomassettihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04426113620189406498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-44886174741268261612009-05-14T18:23:00.000-07:002009-05-14T18:23:00.000-07:00Chad V
I see what you are getting at and I agree w...Chad V<br />I see what you are getting at and I agree we need to choose wisely who we "Hang out with". But don't forget the disciples were all sinners and Judas what was he up to?Heath The Bloglesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05338368746908190636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-8471903178121047432009-05-14T18:12:00.000-07:002009-05-14T18:12:00.000-07:00StefanMy one liner was injudicious.
Friends?<B>Stefan</B>My one liner was injudicious.<br /><br />Friends?Chad V.https://www.blogger.com/profile/02478790778245966382noreply@blogger.com