How much confusion and disagreement would an unbeliever searching for God find in this discussion, indeed on any Christian "forum"? How much of the love of God? After reading all posts they would indeed be perplexed. The simplicity of the gospel got lost along the way.
I am by the way criticizing no one. Having been neglected by denominational groups for 33 godless years Jesus had to reach out and save me himself. NO MAN CARED FOR MY SOUL. My thanks to God forevermore to God that came so that I owe my salvation to no man no group, no denomination, no doctrine, no doctrinal statement, no doctor of divinity, so called.
Ezekiel 34
20Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says to them: ‘Behold, I Myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.
21Since you shove with flank and shoulder, and butt all the weak ones with your horns until you scattered them abroad,
22I will save My flock, and they will no longer be prey. I will judge between one sheep and another.
23I will appoint over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them. He will feed them and be their shepherd.
24I, the LORD, will be their God, and My servant David will be a prince among them. I, the LORD, have spoken.’
Many sit in gathering place buildings and only reach out to others by so called visitation programs - not by unction of the Holy Spirit of God. When they go forth it is to ask the miserable victims to come to their church. Nothing about the love of Jesus or the cross or the blood. They want you to come to their meeting to let the preacher tell you whatever he thinks is right.
There is no love in most outreaches. There is no discernable love shown in these posts, only an apparent desire to be right, to dominate. One sheep pushing around a would be sheep as God had Ezekiel write.
An unbeliever would see no love here, only men wrestling with each other. Their thought would be "these only have strife and disagreement, they don't have anything I don't see every day.
Why are we not able to exhibit love one to another, let alone to strangers ? Why? If would be impossible friends to describe the wretched condition of my soul and spirit when Jesus came for me.
I had no one to ask about God and wouldn't know what to ask if I had. My home was wretched as a child. I had relatives that delved into the occult and as a consequence I was filled with unknown fears. Lack of self worth kept me looking at the ground instead of looking into another's eyes. Uproars and attempted murder, infidelity I viewed through the eyes of a small child. I have no use or patience with religion.
When Jesus came I had no idea what had come to pass, only that strangely all of the worldly things I always practiced were suddenly foreign and repulsive. I had for the first time a desire to read the Bible and talk with others that knew something about God. Things I didn't know, at all.
2Corinthians 5:20
There are mournful wretched souls just as I was in 1977. Let us reach out to them in a spirit of love and reconciliation.
20Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ: Be reconciled to God.
