Did Jesus ever...

[salt-n-light]

I don't think Jesus ever invited the sinners to the temple after they were made whole. He just say go and sin no more.

I'm not saying that to discourage people from inviting unbelievers to church, nor to say that those who do are in the wrong, but it does put a perspective on how we are believers do decide to witness to people.

It dawned on me and it does lead me to more questions like "who is church (the building) for? Is it exclusive for those who are believers? How important is it for unbelievers to right away seek for membership at a church (building)? Should we push for that as part of our evangelism?"

Personally, it depends. Although being in a church service more guarantees exposure to the Word, the service is not the only way for people to meet God, nor does membership ensures that you are really part of the body of Christ.And what does it say about my heart if I am pushing those ideas in my evangelism? Hospitality (like having beneficial events open to the public) is part of what the church does, but the end goal shouldn't gear towards them coming to my church, it should be to get to know God. I would give information about our church in case they are interested, and all the services we have, but I wouldn't take offense if they said "no".

I wanna hear thoughts about it. How important is it to bring an unbeliever to church?

 

[timewerx]

"Great minds think alike"

I've been thinking of the same thing for quite some time now. Years now actually.

You need to know about these verses:

John 16:13
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

1 John 2:27
As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit--just as it has taught you, remain in him.

You are quite astute in your observation of how Jesus behaved, not easily blinded by the status quo, good for you! You have no idea what is in store for you if you keep going that path.

 

[com7fy8]

In any case, first be an example who brings the church to the unbelievers

1 Peter 3:1-4 shows how "without a word" ladies can help a disobedient husband. There is their example involved, including how they become spiritually pleasing to our Father >

"rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God." (1 Peter 3:4)

So, we need to have example in the sight of God, not only showing and telling and doing public church stuffing in the faces.

 

[GandalfTheWise]

Historically, one thing to consider is that most of the Jews had ties with their local synagogues as a simple part of their normal culture and life. The temple in Jerusalem was a special place to make offerings and sacrifices for certain events in life (like when Jesus' parents traveled to the Temple at various times). I wouldn't take Jesus' absence of a command to go to a synagogue or the Temple as biblical support for not inviting people to church.

However, I do agree with the thoughts on this thread that church buildings and the weekly services of local congregations are not the whole (or even the primary) picture. I recognize that churches vary a lot and many have a much more formal structure. I think that there is a big difference between inviting people to a large service versus inviting them to come hang out with smaller groups of Christians where they can interact and get to know people.

The church we go to is rather different compared to many churches. Only a small fraction of the people who have some type of involvement with the ministries in our church are actually members or attend Sunday services regularly.

The church we belong to has a strong emphasis on small groups and individual ministries (many of which are mostly run by non-pastoral people). Much of the the ministry occurring in our church tends to happen at a grass-roots level rather than the organized and larger Sunday morning and special services. For example, I'm involved with a low power FM radio station (which also streams on the internet) that the church sponsors. They give some money, internet infrastructure, lease the transmitter tower, very shortly studio space (along with access to a room to hold small unplugged concerts), and allow us complete freedom to choose the play list and contest as well as sponsor concerts and other events. There are no pastors or staff involved except at the organizational level of coordinating resources and scheduling. It's very much a "we're happy you are doing this, let us know how we can help" type of support. There are many other ministries running in the same way. A local food pantry (which is now one of the largest in the state) started off in someone's garage. Every year, we have about 40 to 50 small groups running which regularly meet in people's homes. One of our pastors has a passion for the arts and some of our members are active in the local theater group.

 

[Catherineanne]

I don't think Jesus ever invited the sinners to the temple after they were made whole. He just say go and sin no more.

I'm not saying that to discourage people from inviting unbelievers to church, nor to say that those who do are in the wrong, but it does put a perspective on how we are believers do decide to witness to people.

It dawned on me and it does lead me to more questions like "who is church (the building) for? Is it exclusive for those who are believers? How important is it for unbelievers to right away seek for membership at a church (building)? Should we push for that as part of our evangelism?"

Personally, it depends. Although being in a church service more guarantees exposure to the Word, the service is not the only way for people to meet God, nor does membership ensures that you are really part of the body of Christ.And what does it say about my heart if I am pushing those ideas in my evangelism? Hospitality (like having beneficial events open to the public) is part of what the church does, but the end goal shouldn't gear towards them coming to my church, it should be to get to know God. I would give information about our church in case they are interested, and all the services we have, but I wouldn't take offense if they said "no".

I wanna hear thoughts about it. How important is it to bring an unbeliever to church?

Good grief.

The temple was not the same as church. Not even close. People did not have to be 'invited' there; they would go at set times of the year to celebrate specific feasts. No need to tell them to do it; if they could go they would go. If they couldn't, then they would stay away and feel bad about it.

The Lord would not 'invite' people to go to their synagogue either; the same applies. Attending synagogue was a privilege; anyone who could go would go, and consider themselves blessed.

 

[Catherineanne]

"Great minds think alike"

I've been thinking of the same thing for quite some time now. Years now actually.

I'm sorry to hear that.

It is anachronistic thinking.

 

[SkyWriting]

I wanna hear thoughts about it. How important is it to bring an unbeliever to church?

I don't recommend it. Live your life so that...
they ask.

 

[salt-n-light]

Good grief.

The temple was not the same as church. Not even close. People did not have to be 'invited' there; they would go at set times of the year to celebrate specific feasts. No need to tell them to do it; if they could go they would go. If they couldn't, then they would stay away and feel bad about it.

The Lord would not 'invite' people to go to their synagogue either; the same applies. Attending synagogue was a privilege; anyone who could go would go, and consider themselves blessed.

What about the lame man who always sat outside the temple while others went in at Acts 3? Peter could have brought the lame man with him after he was healed since he was heading there, but didn't. Why is that?

 

[salt-n-light]

In any case, first be an example who brings the church to the unbelievers

1 Peter 3:1-4 shows how "without a word" ladies can help a disobedient husband. There is their example involved, including how they become spiritually pleasing to our Father >

"rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God." (1 Peter 3:4)

So, we need to have example in the sight of God, not only showing and telling and doing public church stuffing in the faces.

ah thanks for the encouragement, God bless you!

 

[ViaCrucis]

As noted earlier, the Temple wasn't like going to church today. The Temple was the central location of all of Judaism, it's where the Divine Presence resided, the priests served there by performing the various rites as proscribed by the Torah. People would go to offer prayers and sacrifices as proscribed by Torah. When Jews had their regular worship service they went to the Synagogue.

Jesus wouldn't invite anyone to the Temple because that's not how it worked.

Now, in Christianity, the Temple and synagogue have, in a sense, become incorporated in Christian worship; but in Christian theology and practice (at least traditionally and historically) it is understood that the Church herself is God's Temple; what the Temple signified and represented is understood to have been translated to the Person of Jesus Himself and His Church. Our corporate worship is therefore part Temple and part synagogue, and this is reflected in the traditional Christian liturgy which is split into two parts, the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Altar. The Liturgy of the Word is the part of the Service where there are Scripture readings and the Homily, along with hymns and prayers of various kinds; the Liturgy of the Altar is when we receive the Eucharist (Lord's Supper, Holy Communion), which also has various prayers and hymns usually associated. In antiquity the Liturgy of the Word was open, not only to baptized Christians but also to catechumens (those undergoing catechesis, the period of teaching about the faith in preparation for receiving Baptism) and seekers; however the Liturgy of the Altar was open only to baptized Christians.

The idea of inviting a non-Christian to come to church is a very modern and rather innovative idea that, basically, only makes sense in a society such as ours which has religious freedom and religious plurality. In antiquity Christianity was on the fringes of society for the most part, and Christians frequently experienced persecution, Christians primarily met in the homes of the wealthier members whose villas had been adapted for Christian worship (such as having a baptismal font installed on the property), these early home churches gave way to specially constructed churches which only became common after Christianity was legalized in the 4th century and building projects for churches became tolerated and accepted, and then also encouraged as it was under Constantine. In the middle ages, the idea of religious freedom and toleration was--shall we say--not exactly on the minds of most civil leaders; with few exceptions the majority of Europe was Christian, and those who weren't didn't exactly get treated well, and when they were left alone they were basically ignored entirely.

There's certainly nothing wrong with inviting someone to come to church to see what Christian worship looks like, and if one is seeking they are of course quite welcome to come and check it out. But the primary purpose of gathering for church is worship, Christians come together to gather around God's Word and Sacraments. If some of my non-Christian friends said they wanted to accompany me to my church, I would be happy to take them along, but I'm not interested in trying to make them come, and unless they explicitly offered interest I wouldn't invite them--not because I don't want them to come, but because it's not my job to invite non-Christians to come spectate Christian worship.

-CryptoLutheran