Thank you so much for all of the responses you sent in to us. In our last newsletter, The Calling of the Church, we asked this question: “Do you think it is biblical to invite lost people into fellowship with believers?” I was actually expecting answers all over the board, and you did not disappoint! Below are some of the responses we received.
Now, as you read these responses, keep your biblical worldview lenses on. We’ll include more responses as our series continue. But ask yourself if these replies line up with Scripture.
It’s a great idea because that’s basically the mission of the church: to share the love of Christ with the world in hopes everyone will come to know Jesus. I fill up my car every Sunday with nonbelievers to go to church!
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Yes…I can’t quote the exact passage, but Jesus replied that the sick need a physician.
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ABSOLUTELY!! How can the lost have ANY hope if there is no one (here on earth) who can lead them to the True Shepherd??!!!
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Hi, Mark!
You asked, “Do you think it is biblical to invite lost people into fellowship with believers?”
Of course, it’s biblical! Matthew 28:16-20 says, “Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Straight from the mouth of Jesus!
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Look at the verses they included. Did they actually back up the person’s point?
This one came from a pastor:
Hello, Mark. Thank you for your ministry. It is interesting; one of the men of our church asked to talk to me after our morning service on Sunday. He teaches the teen boys, and he said something in class that he wanted to make sure I agreed with, or he would correct himself the next week.
He asked me a similar question as you posed. He said the purpose of churches today has changed from the purpose that the churches in the NT had. He said, “In the Bible, you see the churches going out into the world to reach the lost, and those that were saved assembled together to worship the Lord, learn the Word, and be edified so that they could go back out into the world and evangelize. But churches today think their purpose is to invite the lost to church and let the pastor preach the gospel to them.” He then asked me if I agreed with that.
I told him that the real purpose of the churches has not changed. We are to go into the world to preach the gospel, and the church is the assembly of the saints that have covenanted together to worship the Lord, learn from the Lord, and fulfill the Great Commission. It is not wrong to invite the lost to church, I don’t believe, but it would be to solidify the message that the believer has already given to them. Churches today have switched their focus, and they are making their church attractive to the world to bring the lost in and try to keep them there. The problem is that they are not preaching the gospel to them, as that is offensive to the lost, and they will not stick around long. My messages are directed to the saved, mainly, which will include the gospel, as the gospel is important for the saved to know and love. If I know a lost person is in the service, I will be sure to preach the gospel at some point in the message, but my focus each time we assemble is on the Lord’s people who have assembled to be edified and encouraged in the work of the Lord.
The parable in Luke 14 of the servant that was to tell those bidden to the feast to come and then to go into the highways and hedges to compel others to come so that his house could be full does not give us the mandate to just invite people to church.
Luke 14:23, “And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.”
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Depending upon what the person who asked the question, “Do you think it is biblical to invite lost people into fellowship with believers?” meant by the term “fellowship,” I would either say, “No” or “Yes.” My answer is, “No.” if fellowship means taking communion for this remembrance ritual is for believers only (1 Cor. 11:24-29). “Yes,” if fellowship means coming to hear the Word of God taught or preached. I looked in Scripture to see what Jesus did and also what His disciples did.
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This is an intriguing question and a good one!
The Bible says in Ephesians 5:11, “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.” In its context, this verse is part of Paul’s dialogue about people who exhibit a variety of sinful behaviors, and it also talks about those who believe false religions or even those who would claim to be “Christians.” As Paul says in verse 6 of this chapter, “Let no man deceive you with vain words, for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.” To me, this is a warning to Christians to be very wary of those who speak about false doctrines and beliefs and not necessarily your garden-variety unbeliever who is seeking the truth. However, Paul does tell us to reprove them (with Scripture, of course) with the intention of showing them true doctrine and true Christianity, and our end goal is to get them to open their heart to the Holy Spirit to lead them to Christ.
Christ commanded us, “Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations.” If we take this as I believe most true believers do, it means we have to go out among the unbelievers, and at times we will “fellowship” with them as we witness to them (not unlike you do when you join unbelievers at their table in a restaurant with the purpose of witnessing to them for Christ).
Jesus Himself ate (fellowshipped) with unbelievers when He had a meal at Matthew’s home. “And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house (Matthew’s), many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and His disciples: for there were many and they followed Him,” (Mark 2:15). In His response to the Scribes and Pharisees a few verses later, Jesus says, “They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance,” (Mk 2:17b).
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Now, we have a big question to deal with. What do we do with all of these answers and ideas? How do we sort through them to find the truth? These answers come from very different viewpoints.
As we TETE (Test Everything and Test Everybody) and as we QEQE (Question Everything and Question Everybody), how do we do so as Christians? Simple. We must always go to the Word of God to find the answers to any of life’s questions. The relative truths of the world change on a daily basis, but the eternal truths of the Word of God have stood the test of time.
In Part 2 of this series, which comes out on Wednesday, we begin to dig into the Scriptures to see what God says and try to untangle this issue so we line up with the Word!
Until the nets are full,
P.S.
