tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3546119815392689068.post234904028054625166..comments2010-04-02T12:19:22.759-05:00Comments on Proclaim His Excellence: Preach the Word! Part OneMatt Tylerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04282261979452320134noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3546119815392689068.post-9055884177034790912009-08-20T14:01:01.029-05:002009-08-20T14:01:01.029-05:00Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for ...Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 1 Cor 9:16.Mitch Lynnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07749788956693176932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3546119815392689068.post-13449190517364405402009-08-20T13:18:29.977-05:002009-08-20T13:18:29.977-05:00Jeff and John Wesley (he's still alive?:]) tha...Jeff and John Wesley (he's still alive?:]) thanks for reading!<br /><br />John,<br />Nothing I said negates the Christians responsibility to love others. In fact, we tell people about Christ because we love God and we love people and do not want to see them perish in Hell as a result of their sin.<br /><br />Also, what i said about pornography and R rated movies was an example used to show that many of the people who want to show Christ through their actions only are not doing a very good job. Their actions don't match up. In fact, none of our actions can match up until we have been made completely sanctified in Heaven. So we must strive to be holy and thank God that His grace covers us when we fail. Then we need to tell people the Good News of Jesus Christ.<br /><br />To see that as a limiting ourselves to human restrictions is a bad way to look at it:<br /> <br />Colossians 3:8-10<br />But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. <br /><br />"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." <br />Philippians 4:8<br /><br />We need to fill our minds with whatever is honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise. There may be R-rated movies that this is the case and there may be G rated movies that this isn't the case. The important thing is that the Christian is growing in holiness and spreading the good News of Jesus Christ by loving others through good deeds and verbal proclamation.<br /><br /><br />Look back tomorrow for the conclusion. Perhaps you will like it better. Maybe. :)<br /><br />Have a great day.Matt Tylerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04282261979452320134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3546119815392689068.post-10311099025239955262009-08-20T11:18:57.723-05:002009-08-20T11:18:57.723-05:00Man, this post really disappoints me. What about ...Man, this post really disappoints me. What about when Jesus said that Christians will be known by their love? By route of an irresponsibly hyperbolic reduction of contrasting arguments and an apparent obliviousness to nuance and symbolic language, you are right. If you do not use words it is impossible to show people Christianity. People will be quite confused by the guy doing nice things but never speaking. <br /><br />I'm also really confused by your use of the word "Gospel." You seem to be using it consistently in a manner that is entirely inconsistent with the way that Christ uses it in the first four books of the New Testament. <br /><br />Jesus says that the Gospel is the coming of the Kingdom of God (or Heaven in the Jewish targeted Gospel of Matthew). He does so in Luke 4:43, Luke 9:1-6, Matthew 9:35, Matthew 10:7, Matthew 13:9 and many other places.<br /><br />C.S. Lewis talks about how we must be more than nice people, but instead we must be transformed an become new men. Being "nice" in terms of abstaining from foul language and disrespect does not even scratch the surface of what we are called to. To love the lost as we love ourselves, to seek to redeem the pornography users and love them even though they do not live the holiness we are called to, to not limit ourselves to human restrictions about "R-rated" movies and instead to live in the freedom for which we were set free, to speak a language of love in a way that people will understand them and to use whatever words there are so that people will be shocked into seeing the truth of the pain of the world and embrace beauty. That's the call and that's the Gospel.John Wesleynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3546119815392689068.post-57601390371259186172009-08-20T10:04:52.212-05:002009-08-20T10:04:52.212-05:00Love the focus on the Word!Love the focus on the Word!Jeff Baxterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06888355566628311524noreply@blogger.com