Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Did you realize that the Great Commission has been changed and even improved?? neither did I

A Lutheran Church in Ohio has this down as their evangelism outreach. It is too bad that they have strayed so far from what Martin Luther used to teach. It seems as though they have no confidence in the Word of God for changing lives. Read below what they think of the Great Commission... (right click to listen to corresponding sermon in a new window)

This past summer, we took 150 smoke detectors to people in lower income neighborhoods. In August, we took 200 packages of light bulbs that said "Jesus Christ, The Light of the World" to people on the north side of town. We plan to continue reaching out in this way in the coming months.
The premise behind this program is that the best way to spread the gospel to the un-churched is to make some kind of an impact in their lives in a practical way. In our modern world where everyone seems to be increasingly skeptical of religion in general, this provides us with a way to speak directly to people who normally wouldn't be willing to listen.

this form of evangelism is great for people who aren't very comfortable with the traditional forms because it is much easier to offer someone something and then talk about your own faith when asked, than it is to just walk up to someone and ask if they believe in Jesus.



Now, let's read what the Bible says...

Go into all the world preaching the gospel to every creature.


The word "go" is active in that it is the same as saying, "as you are going on your way..."

Preach the gospel!!!

To Every Creature!!!


The Great Commission does not say to wait for people to ask you about your faith. When a church is more worried about not offending people and less worried about obeying the Word of God, then there will be problems. Most likely resulting in false converts. The church mentioned above says their way is the BEST WAY to spread the gospel, and yet, not one time in the Bible do you see people doing it their way. The Bible tells us that the Law of the Lord is PERFECT converting the soul. And yet, they ignore that teaching from the Bible. They say their way is better.

The Law acts as a Schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. They think giving people gifts is a better way. The Law shuts the mouth of the unrighteous person. They feel that since people are "skeptical" about religion, then let's not mention religion until a later time.


The time is short. We do not have time to play "church!" Which it seems is what so many churches are doing these days. Too many churches are coming up with a "plan" on reaching out to certain groups of people. They make a plan to reach different ethnic groups, young people and high school drop-outs. It is about increasing the size of the church. It is about making new churches. But the problem is that unless people are being told to repent of their sins, they will all be headed for hell. And Hell is a real place as told in the Bible!


So, instead of giving people gifts, let's give them what they really need. God's Word!

Let's teach our people how to evangelize BIBLICALLY. Let's teach them to no longer ignore the Bible and to stop thinking that their way is better than the way that Jesus taught. I personally, would want to do things like Christ did and not like some of these pastor's leading their flock astray with false teachings. On this particular churches website, they have a page devoted for "what we believe." It is interesting to note that there is only ONE mention of Scripture on their whole page of what they believe. Why is that? They do not want visitors to be offended by Scripture that says we must repent of our sins. Scripture has a way of making people uncomfortable. But that is a good thing! Because it is the power of God's Word that brings about change!


What does the Great Commission look like in your church?

Like the one mentioned above?

or like the one found from the Disciples? The Biblical version of evangelism?


If you are an Elder, a Pastor, a church-member, please take a long hard look at your church and see what the Great Commission looks like. If it isn't biblical, then you might need to start seeing what else is not biblical within your church.


It is Time 2 Change Churches back to biblical teachings and no longer follow the way of man or a denomination. The hierarchy of many of the mainline denominations are becoming more and more liberal and worldly. Don't follow them blindly. Use some discernment and follow Jesus. Open your Bible and believe in the Word of God!

You can click here to read a response by a person from this church.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey, (you dont have to post this) but did you hear about american idol and the performance of Shout to the Lord and that they changed some of the lyrics?
What's this all about...you have better access to news than I do...

pastorbrianculver said...

I'll check it out! thanks