Pastor John,
I must watch the Wednesday night meeting that I missed because I like the comments from Tom and Jerry about the message. (See post 12/29/2016: The Message Last Night.)
It’s a very appropriate and timely message for me because for a considerable amount of time I felt some pressure and anxiety about being too judgmental toward others who don’t know the truth; Christians who either have or don’t have the Holy Ghost, yet they’ve been touched by God’s mercy in spite of the fact that they don’t know the things that we know. I just want to be humble and meek, and courteous when I talk to people—either sinners or believers—I don’t want to put up any obstacles to the love of God in me for them. I’ve grown weary of losing friends and acquaintances and being misunderstood and rejected when I share the light. Sometimes people just can’t take a lot of the truth. Sometimes it’s not necessary to tell them, because they’ve experienced the love of God in a different way.
And if I try to point out that they’re wrong about salvation or wrong about the Trinity or about the gifts of the Spirit it just gets into a scriptural debate and argument and you don’t persuade any souls to Christ that way.
It’s better to be good than it is to be right, as you’ve said John, and I just want to feel free to love people and let them see the goodness in me, from God.
Brad
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Thanks for this, Brad.
Please note that I prefaced my remarks Wednesday night by saying that what I saw that day helped me see more clearly how well my father and the older saints with him had taught us. We were taught to love God’s people, regardless of what they believe or even how they are living.
My question to God earlier that day concerned why the “get saved” doctrine seems to be acceptable to Him, at least to the extent that He has used mightily some men who teach that false doctrine. What came to me as an answer made me see that we are to follow God’s example, and to love and honor those men and all God’s children. Now, that is what my father had always done and taught us to do. But something about it seemed new, or went deeper in our hearts.
The bottom line is that I will not be treating God’s people whom I meet any differently; I have always honored and loved them. But I certainly do understand better now why it is right to do so.
Pastor John