Boosterseat_91
Puritan Board Freshman
Sharing the Gospel does not necessary constitute being a pastor over a local congregation, and so concluding with 1 Timothy 3 would actually sound like a good justification not to share the Gospel at all, as if it were reserved for a particular office (such as an elder or pastor). So, while I will in fact concede on the context of Romans 10, it does not mean therefore that we are no to share the Gospel; my point in using it was to support the point that, if we do not share the Good News, how do we expect that they should hear and come to repentance? There's a danger of becoming a hyper-Calvinist if we don't consider carefully these implications.
You are misunderstanding me when I say that not every person is called to be a preacher - I am not saying that it's either all or nothing - that either you're a preacher and have the responsibility to share the gospel or you're not a pastor and you have not responsibility to share the gospel. Every Christian has the responsibility to know the truth, believe the truth, be able to defend the truth to a certain extent, and be able to teach the truth to a certain extent (like a mother/father to their child).
The problem I have with what you are saying is that you are making it sound as if it is wrong to have any type of employment other than that which is explicitly "spiritual" (like an elder). This is because you say a good work is not good unless it includes the sharing of the gospel - that is very, very false. Christians, who are not elders, can and should share the gospel when given the opportunity. But this does not mean we have to go up to every person we met on the street and say "Do you know the Lord Jesus? Are you saved?" Or anything like that. We go about our daily lives and when an opportunity presents itself to share the gospel where we are not stealing from our employer or any other unlawful thing, then well and good! Share the Gospel! But do not say that you've done no good works if it does not include this.
Which was my point in quoting Romans 10, mind you.Christians are certainly not called to be passive either - obedience to God is an ACTIVE obedience.
That's not the understanding I got from your post about Romans 10. You started off pragmatically, asking a rhetorical question that implied that good works are NO good unless they involve sharing the gospel - because otherwise they just make the world a more comfortable place to go to hell from. So you were saying unless one explicitly shares the gospel in any situation, one is not doing a good work. But to the contrary, a good work is obeying God - the Ten Commandments - in word, thought, and deed. This is the active obedience I was referring to, which you counted as null and void unless they also include a presentation of the gospel.
What you do for a wage under guidelines and agreement to an employer I would exclude from good works; although I do believe that in working, we should handle ourselves in a way that will cause people to worship God.If the opportunity itself comes up to share the gospel, then that is certainly GOOD to share. But this is not the only thing that constitutes something being good.
You cannot exclude any works from being either good or bad ultimately from God's perspective. Even though some things, like playing video games, are neutral and can be used rightly for our own pleasure or abused - from God's perspective (who can see the heart and judges the thoughts and motives) - he knows if you are sinning in your heart or not. He knows if you are obsessed with that video games and therefore sinning by neglecting other duties that you ought to be doing. I am looking at one's employment from GOD'S perspective. Clearly, if you're employed in something like prostitution, then you're sinning in your employment. But if you're employed in something neutral (like fixing computers) then you ARE doing good as long as you are not sinning in word, thought, or deed. You are glorifying God in that employment.
Well, since I work in a datacenter where I fix computers, maybe I can give you a proper understanding of what sharing the Gospel is. I talk and connect with my customers on a professional (and strictly professional) basis. They pay my employer for the services that I provide to them; therefore, I would concur that it is not my responsibility, in that context, to share the Gospel. My responsibility in that circumstance is to honor my employer (to the glory of God). With my co-workers, it is an entirely different story; in my dealings with them, it is not just professional, but even personal. As such, everybody at my job understands that I am a Christian. When we go out to lunch, or when we're on break, I use the opportunity to share the Gospel. That isn't a lie -- I actually do that. But it's because I love Christ; not because I've been "called" to some office in the Church -- it's my duty to my beloved Lord. Also, it's my duty to my fellow man. The pit of Hell is open to all mankind, but knowing the compassion that Christ has on me prompts me to share the Gospel with them in that context.My husband works at a call center to fix computer problems - that's like saying the work he is doing isn't good unless he shares the gospel with every customer. But actually that would be very BAD to do. Not only would it be stealing time from the company and violating the agreement that he made with his employment, it would likely lead to him being unemployed and unable to provide for me and our upcoming child. In fact, no Christian could hold a secular job if a job can only be "good" if it involves constant spreading of the gospel. They would be fired, and quite frankly, they would probably be known as lazy workers who only constantly talk. However, stealing and laziness is not a means by which the gospel should be spread.
I'm glad you share the gospel, that's a very good thing to do. And certainly when we witness, we witness out of a love for Christ and a love for our neighbor. But it is not sinning not to share the gospel. Would you agree with that? If opportunities arise to witness, I believe we should take them but I also believe that it would be sinful not to take them based upon our motive (let's say you hate the person so much you don't want them to come to know the truth - that would be sinful). Perhaps neglecting these may show a lack of faith, but I do not believe that is universally true. The fruits which are much better to judge by are the fruits of the Spirit in a person's life, not how often they witness. The fruits of the Spirit are basically obedience to God's law and repentance for violating it.
Indeed -- which is why I believe that the pinnacle of "doing good" and honoring God is to share the Good News. I'll tell you what I have in mind when I speak of this:The GOOD that comes from doing good things without explicitly sharing the gospel is the glory and honor it shows to God. We obey Him out of the love we have for Him, not necessarily the good that it will do others.
So, I know many that go on "missions trips" where they will build a structure, cook food, etc. However, they consider these acts good in and of themselves, without explicitly pointing to Christ. I am trying to make the point that what makes good works good is when the attention, the focus, the honor, the glory, and the praise belong to Jesus -- and we don't mind saying so. At work, when my boss tells me "good job," my response to him is "praise God," for if we do not honor God in such things, it's not Him that we ultimately point to, but ourselves. My point is, in all our work, we should be directing people's attention to our Lord -- and the best way to do that is share the Gospel. So, there is a time and a place where we share the Gospel; a correct setting. I think you're spot on about one's profession, but that's not what I am referring to at all when it comes to sharing the Gospel.
If you are going to do good works, give glory to God by finding an opportunity to share the Gospel, so that it may be said that you labored for the work of the Kingdom.
I would have to disagree with you about the "pinnacle" of doing good - it is not sharing the gospel. That is a good thing. The fulfillment of the law is to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and the outworking of that is to love your neighbor as yourself. Loving your neighbor means to keep the law of God toward Him - don't lie to him or about him, steal from him, etc. If you do these things, you are truly loving your neighbor. Again, if an opportunity arises to share the gospel to them, then share it. Or if they begin blaspheming God or speaking evil of good things, then speak the truth or at least leave. I'm not saying we hide the fact that we are a Christian. But this profession must be backed up by keeping the law of God - which are good works even in employment. "In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:16
The best way you can direct peoples' attention to the Lord is obeying God's law which separates us in a tangible way from the world and shows true our profession.