Can I host non-believers at home?

Second John 10-11 seems to teach that Christians are only allowed to have other Christians in their home. “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him, shares in his evil deeds.”  Is the apostle forbidding saints to have non-Christians in their homes?

To understand this text, we must know what “greeting” contextually means. In verse 9, the brethren were admonished to abide in the doctrine of Christ. If they did not follow His doctrine, John said they would not have God. He then proceeded to take about those who bring teachings that are different from the gospel of Jesus. To receive such a teacher by allowing them to share their “doctrine” without speaking up or defend the gospel of Christ say nothing would be to become a partaker of their evil deeds.

If one were to take John’s warning literally, how could a person stay married to a non-Christian spouse? The inspired apostle Paul told children of God who were married to unbelievers to remain in that marriage (I Cor. 7:10-13). Clearly, the context of II John matters if we are to harmonize these scriptures. Can II John apply even within marriages then? Yes! If the unbeliever (whether a spouse or not) teaches things contrary to the word of God and the Christian says nothing, the Christian is sharing in the evil deeds.

Let us not forget about the commission to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ (Mark 16:15). God’s people need to teach the lost. Does this mean that Christians can teach nonbelievers in their driveway but cannot teach them in their home? This is obviously foolish. It would be just as wrong to listen to someone teach error without defending Christ’s gospel in a driveway as it would in a home or anywhere else. Remember, our goal is to teach. Even when the church assembles, non-believers may attend (I Cor. 14:23). Sometimes the church met in homes (Rom. 16:3-5). Are we to forbid visitors then? Clearly not. As you can see, our God simply does not want His children to invite false teachers into their home to be influenced by them.

                                                                                 Chuck

Reach out or avoid? 

As students of the word, we sometimes come across passages of scripture that seem to conflict. For example, we read that we are to go into the world to teach the lost (Mark 16:15; Matt. 9:13), yet we are also warned that that evil company corrupts good habits (I Cor. 15:33). What should God’s children do – spend time with the lost or avoid them? Let’s clear up the confusion.

First, we need to understand that there is a big difference between being around the lost to help them learn about the Lord and being partners with the evil doers. The word “company” in I Corinthians 15:33 means “companionship”. This is what Paul spoke about in his second epistle to the brethren at Corinth: “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?” (II Cor. 6:14).

Christians need to be wary of being influenced by those who are not children of God. This occurs when saints (which means “a person recognized to be holy”) engage in things that are ungodly. We are not told to cut ourselves off for the lost. We are admonished not to allow evil company to corrupt good habits.

This does not mean that God wants us to overcorrect and fully separate ourselves from those who walk in darkness. The Corinthians were also told: “I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is a fornicator, or covetous, or a drunkard, or an extortioner – not even to eat with such a person,” (I Cor. 6:9-11).

The above text helps us see how to interact with the lost. We are not to avoid those who are not Christians, but we must also be careful around sinners to avoid corrupting our own morals. That’s why we are warned to not be a participant in their evil doings. Light has nothing in common with darkness. However, a Christian may have non-sinful things in common with one who is lost, like a common occupation, hobby, etc. Often, those things we might have in common can be used as doors to try and impart the gospel.

We all know that Jesus ate with the sinners. His motive was always to reach them with the truth, though. There is something seriously wrong when Christians only want to fit in with the lost and avoid bringing up the word of God to avoid disrupting the relationship. Sadly, Christians who do this also tend to remain silent when their “company” does evil and make them feel comfortable in their sins (Rom. 1:28-32).

When these warnings are ignored by God’s children, they will soon feel more comfortable hanging around the lost than around their own brothers and sisters in Christ. You would think the opposite would be true since God’s people are part of a spiritual family that have a longing to spend eternity in heaven. But that is not the case when one does not keep their eye on the mark (Heb. 12:1-2; 28).

The title of this article is “Reach out or avoid?” The answer to that question is “yes and no”. Yes, reach out to the lost and do not avoid them. But also no, do not allow your good morals to be corrupted by evil doers and avoid those who actively try to corrupt you.

                                                                                        Chuck

Experiences do not save 

When Jesus gave the commission to go into the entire world and preach the gospel to everyone, the saving message (the gospel) was the same for all (Mark 16:15-16). Jude 3 says there is a common salvation. Jesus did not provide unique ways to heaven for specific people – the same pathway is available to all of us. Unfortunately, some people want their conversions to be unique. They pursue this by claiming that some experience they went through “proves” they were saved. There are many ways to disprove these claims. However, this article will review some Bible accounts of unique experiences to determine whether those experiences actually saved the person.

Saul and the voice from heaven

In Acts chapter 9, there is no question that Saul of Tarsus had an experience. A light shone from heaven and a voice cried out, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (verse 3-4).  Jesus appeared to him and gave some instructions. However, it was not until Saul went into the city that he heard this message from the preacher: “Why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized washing away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord,” (Acts 22:16). If Saul merely had the experience with Jesus and then did not follow the instructions, he would not have been saved. If Saul had not gone into the city, he would not have heard the preacher’s message, would not have been baptized and ultimately would not have had his sins washed away. It is vital to see that this genuine religious experience did not save Saul. Salvation came when he responded to the same life-saving message that is extended to all of us today.

Cornelius and the Holy Spirit

In Acts chapter 10, we find Cornelius and his family having an experience. While the apostle Peter was speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon them (verses 44-45). There were Jewish Christians present, and this proved to them that the Gentiles could become Christians too.  After this experience, Peter proceeded: “Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord,” (verses 46-47). Again, we need to see that the experience itself did not save Cornelius. He and his family, like any family today, were saved when they responded to the gospel call and had their sins washed away.

Philippian Jailer and the earthquake

In Acts chapter 16, we find a jailer facing an earthquake. Thinking that all the prisoners had fled and fearing for his own life, the jailer was about to kill himself. The apostle Paul (formerly known as Saul in the first example) called out: “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here” (verses 27-28).  The jailer then brings them out of their cell and asks what he needs to do to be saved (verse 30). He is told to believe in Jesus and receives some additional preaching (verse 32).  The man was then baptized (verse 33). Just like the other examples, the jailer would have been lost if he thought he was saved just because he believed. Salvation came when he responded to the life-saving message via baptism.

These three incidents help us see that even when strange things occur, they are not a substitute for conversion. Things happen that you might not be able to explain. Do not ignore the gospel by using the event as a confirmation of your salvation. The only thing that proves a person is saved is if they obey the gospel message (Acts 2:37-41; Rom. 6:3-7). Remember that it is the gospel message that saves mankind, not mankind having some experience. Beware those who teach a salvation other than the gospel (II Thess. 1:8).

                                                                                       Chuck

What grace is not

If you teach someone that 2+2=4, you should not have to also teach everything that 2+2 does not equal (2+2≠5, 2+2≠3, etc.). If someone was raised to believe that 2+2=5 though, you would have to teach both what 2+2 does equal (4) and also what it does not equal (5).

This is a common challenge when trying to teach what God’s word actually says. You might think that whenever someone teaches what the Bible says, they would not have to also teach what the Bible does not say. Sadly though, many people think the Bible teaches certain things that it does not. In this article, we will teach what grace is. But we also have to point out what grace is not. Why? Many religious teachers spread confusion by making claims about grace that are NOT Biblical.

The Biblical meaning of grace

The simple definition of grace is “a gift”. Paul stated that we are saved by grace through faith and not of works (Eph. 2:8-9). This shows that we can never earn our salvation – it is a gift from God and thus something that we do not deserve. If we did deserve it, it would not be a gift thus would not be considered grace. Specifically, God’s gift to us was the sending of Jesus Christ and providing a plan of salvation that leads to heaven (Eph. 2:1-7). 

Despite the Bible’s clear teaching, religious teachers have muddied the waters. Here are some things that grace is NOT:

Grace is not a license to sin

The brethren at Rome were told God’s grace was great due to the amount of sinfulness in the world (Rom. 5:20). Paul did not want them to get the wrong idea though, so he posed a question: “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?” (Rom. 6:1). In essence, Paul asks if the brethren should sin more to make God’s gift even more necessary. He strongly answered his own question: “Certainly not!” (verse 2). The point of Christ dying on the cross and giving His life as a gift for us was so that we would no long live under sin (Rom. 6:2). Willfully turning to sin is a rejection of this gift. Therefore, grace is not a license to sin!

Grace is not God overlooking sin

For some reason, people want to believe that “the grace of God” means He sees Christ’s blood when we sin rather than seeing us commit the actual error.  This makes no sense. Mankind was in sin, so the Father sent His Son (Rom. 5:8) to help us find forgiveness (Eph. 1:7). Does this mean God will overlook sins after someone becomes a Christian? In the Bible, Christians who sinned were told that God saw their wrongdoing (I Cor. 5:2; I Cor. 1:11; Rev. 2:4, 14; 3:1, 15-16). They were never told these sins were overlooked.

Grace is not obtained without conditions

Many religious people today are confused about grace because they believe it is unconditional. They say that if there are conditions on grace, it would no longer be a gift. What about the conditions Jesus gave: “Unless you believe I am He you will die in your sins” (John 8:24)? Also consider this condition about repentance: “Unless you repent you will all likewise perish,” (Luke 13:3). And this condition about baptism: “He who believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16). To not abide in the doctrine of Christ is to miss heaven (II John 9). Keep in mind what we read earlier – we are saved by grace through faith. This faith must be active, not dead (James 2:26). Grace is the Lord’s part, and faith is our part. Our faith comes by hearing the word of God (Rom. 10:17).

                                                                                         Chuck