The Pope's statements regarding refugees easily contradict this verse:

However, now and for the rest of my life I will feed any hungry person I see, and whether they love or hate the gospel will not change that. My salvation is my job to work out. Theirs is their own. But also because while I am on this earth and able, I would like to think that I will help another person. It's not only my fear of damnation. It's just the way I want to live. Do with that what you will.

And that's a fair point to agree on. But I'm real big on sticking to my own business. If I help someone and they abuse my kindness it's on them. My actions are what they are.

Except that I'm not nearly as good a person as I sound like in my posts. I'm a work in progress.

RKO said:

However, now and for the rest of my life I will feed any hungry person I see, and whether they love or hate the gospel will not change that. My salvation is my job to work out. Theirs is their own. But also because while I am on this earth and able, I would like to think that I will help another person. It's not only my fear of damnation. It's just the way I want to live. Do with that what you will.

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I like this. I am an imperfect man, but I would much rather have my charity be taken advantage of than have to explain to God why I didn't help someone when they asked.

timewerx said:

As in my OP, the context is whether these people would hate or embrace the Gospel. It doesn't matter whether they are sinners. But are they responding positively to the Gospel or the acts of kindness brought through the Gospel?.

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When Jesus spoke about my responsibility to "the least of these" He did not finish the thought by saying "because they may see your kind act and come to be Christians." In my mind they are two different things. My God expects me to feed the.hungry. He does not tell me to feed the hungry only if I judge that they may become Christian. He said, feed.the.hungry, clothe the naked.
I am not a good enough person that I trust my judgment of other people. In fact I try not to judge. What I can do is give somebdy something to eat. I trust in my ability to do that, and God has provided the food anyway.
If He thinks I shouldn't give it to certain people, that's his issue to work out. I will just try to help people whenever I can and feel like I'm doing Gods will. Its much simpler that way...

After hurricane Katrina, I volunteered at a large relief center for.evacuees that were sent to my town. The Red Cross set it up, we had numerous stations set up at which people could get whatever they needed. The Red Cross provided hotel rooms for as many as they could. A man came up to me to tell me that they had run out of hotel rooms and he needed a.place to stay. The hotel hadnstaff on premises, so I walked over, paid for a room and forgot about it.
Later that night a local TV station put a camera in my face to get my reaction they had discoverednthat the man was not an evacuee. He was just a local homeless man who scammed me to get a place to stay for the night.
The reporter was almost angry with me because.I told her that.it didn't matter to me why or how he was homeless. She was angry because i was not angry. She said "but he scammed you out of money!" I said, "look, the money is gone and a homeless.guy got a place to sleep. If he scammed.me.that's on him. It makes no difference to me.
That reporter was not happy that I wasn't angry.
True story...

During my time with St. Vincent de Paul we never concerned ourselves with whether we were getting scammed or not. As Jesus said, "Give to anyone who asks". That said, very few times, if ever, did I feel like we were rendering assistance to people who weren't really in need.

Also, I found those people who graced us with the opportunity to serve them largely possessed a greater faith than I did. So this idea that poor people needed me to teach them about God more than they needed me to offer a tangible form of God's love is so off base, it's laughable.

I soundly reject the premises of the OP.

timewerx said:

2 John 1:10-11
If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting;11for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds.

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I agree with the OP. I think this verse applies. It concerns receiving people who are not Christians which could easily apply to Muslim refugees.

GracetotheHumble said:

I agree with the OP. I think this verse applies. It concerns receiving people who are not Christians which could easily apply to Muslim refugees.

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No.
False teachers.

You cannot read the context of John's letters and what they are addressing and chose one verse and apply it to a different situation. It's pretty simple.

Michie said:

False teachers.

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We aren't teaching, we're posting on a message board.

edit: Oh I see. Are you claiming that the passage is about False Teachers?

What about this verse:

1 Corinthians 16:22
If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.

Lol! John's letters. The verse in the OP is about false teachers and Gnosticism.

Wow.

GracetotheHumble said:

We aren't teaching, we're posting on a message board.

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Same thing. You must take the reason Paul was writing these letters to the Churches. That verse does not justify not helping those in need. Why don't you just ask if you are your brother's keeper?

GracetotheHumble said:

What about this verse:

1 Corinthians 16:22
If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.

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Michie said:

Lol! John's letters. The verse in the OP is about false teachers and Gnosticism.

Wow.

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I caught that and later edited my post.

I read some commentaries and I agree that this passage is directly speaking about false teachers. But nevertheless I do not think we are required to accept unbelievers.

GracetotheHumble said:

I caught that and later edited my post.

I read some commentaries and I agree that this passage is directly speaking about false teachers. But nevertheless I do not think we are required to accept unbelievers.

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We are required? Just making sure.

Michie said:

Same thing. You must take the reason Paul was writing these letters to the Churches. That verse does not justify not helping those in need. Why don't you just ask if you are your brother's keeper?

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Anathema is a pretty strong word. It means that to us Muslims are cursed.

Christ doesn't expect us to help everyone in need. It's not possible. Jesus said, "The poor you will always have with you".

Sounds like you believe in a caste system. Jesus probably should not had given us the parable of the Good Samaritan. Samaritan were despised and considered cursed as well by God. The Jews hated them. It is disturbing how people are scratching and clawing in this thread to justify their prejudice as Christians and twisting Scripture to do it.

GracetotheHumble said:

Anathema is a pretty strong word. It means that to us Muslims are cursed.

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That does not mean you should not help when you can and help alleviate suffering does it? The poor we will always have with us because Jesus knew our nature.

GracetotheHumble said:

Christ doesn't expect us to help everyone in need. It's not possible. Jesus said, "The poor you will always have with you".

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