I was parking the car yesterday to go into the bank, and I saw a street evangelist standing at the large intersection near the parking lot. (Photo posted below, cropped to show only his sign but not the evangelist himself, to protect his privacy.) I've seen him before; he stands with his sign on the walkway at my university many days, just outside my office window, and he also shows up each year across the street from our town's Pride Festival.
And I decided to go over and talk to him.
I'm feeling I need to reach across the divide and see if we can meet each other as human beings. We mostly discussed whether a list of sins is the best way to draw people to Christ (and we still disagreed on this at the end of the conversation). There was a bit of dueling Bible verses, a bit of grace vs repentance, and a bit of (the obvious, given the sign) dispute over whether gay people can be Christians.
We didn't come to any agreements, and I didn't realistically expect us to. But maybe I have a little better understanding of what drives him to stand by the road day after day with that sign. He feels he needs to warn people about God, and I can see that as a caring act. I don't know if he came to any understanding of me or my point of view.
I'm planning to greet him by name when I walk by him on campus this fall, ask how he's doing, maybe chat a little more, try to build some kind of relationship. The body of Christ, in all its diversity, is so hard, but it's our calling.
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Strange how Gentiles in Corinth were being warned about Mosaic Law judgements when Gentiles are not accountable to those laws. But 1 Corinthians 1:2 addresses to 'whom' Paul was warning towards...
"Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ (J)esus, called
to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of (J)esus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:"
So as a professor at a University, what do you think this means when it is addressed to 'non-church' members?
Maybe, be careful with whom you share time with? You might not find being separated from that person an enjoyable experience?
But if another really tries to 'evangel' towards one of these mentioned sign 'lifestyles', what can that person be told about that lifestyle in which he/she is within?
Know ye not that the
unrighteous
shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived:
neither
fornicators,
nor idolaters,
nor
adulterers,
nor
effeminate,
nor
abusers of themselves with mankind,
In the 2011 revision of the New International Version (NIV), the phrase "homosexual offenders" from the 1984 edition was changed to "men who have sex with men". The change occurred in 1 Corinthians 6:9, a key verse cited in discussions of homosexuality and biblical interpretation.
Comparison of the 1 Corinthians 6:9 translations
NIV 1984: "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor
homosexual offenders..."
How about the CEV?
"Don't you know that evil people won't have a share in the blessings of God's kingdom? Don't fool yourselves! No one who is immoral or worships idols or is unfaithful in marriage or is a pervert or behaves like a homosexual"
But the question being; what can be shared about God's Word towards the lifestyles being addressed?
-unrighteous
-fornicators
-idolaters
-adulterers
-effeminate
-abusers of themselves; not with themself, but with themselves? with mankind
Knowing that being Gentile has these, if these were Gentiles, not accountable to these points within the Mosaic Law.
1 Corinthians 1:2 "Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ (J)esus, called
to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of (J)esus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:"
So what Mosaic Law is there regarding 'Church' or Assembly?
Deuteronomy 23:1 being an example...
"He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD."
So, 'unto those who are part of the congregation of The LORD which is at Corinth'.... etc....
But what seems to be the problem? What is wrong with having opinions towards lifestyles? Maybe when those preferring a different type of person to/in having a relationship with that using God saying that God is similar, might be what the problem is.