Tuesday, October 03, 2023
Of course you have a responsibility to new Christians
My community of faith has really tried to be open to who God is sending us so they can come to know His son. We believe the Holy Spirit still connects seekers to believers. Many of our new believers have pretty serious addiction issues. Newly sober or clean. Or trying to get clean and sober. You know, just like many people in our churches. They are just more open and honest about it.
We spend much time helping our new Christians learn how to live as a Jesus follower. And we have recently come to realize that we have to equip all of our members to help disciple our new babies in Jesus.
We have talked a lot about Galatians 6:1-2. Partly because we are in the business of restoring those caught in sin. Relapse is common. New believers are often crushed because they never dreamed they would go back at all to their old patterns. So we talk about restoration. Forgiveness. Self-control.
We talk about watching ourselves so we do not get tripped up by our old sin patterns. We strongly encourage (require?) people to work in pairs or as couples.
Lately, we have been working on what it means to bear each other's burdens. How do we help our new brothers and sisters to master their sin.
So here are a few things we stress.
Pay attention to what God says. The Bible does say that we must not do some things. Do what God says.
We stress saying yes to Jesus and not just saying no to Satan. For example, not just don't get drunk but be filled with the Spirit. Not just don't commit adultery, but focus on strengthening your marriage.
And we are finding more and more that we have to talk about our example.
Social drinking has become a real issue among Christians. I am not talking about a glass of wine with your meal, but a couple of beers watching the game. A cocktail before dinner. Our new Christians that are battling addictions do not need to see that. It becomes an open invitation for them to emulate you. Have a drink. That opens a door to a road they do not want to travel. Neither do you. They don't even need to hear you talking about it. Sure don't need to hear you making fun of the religious fuddy-duddies that don't get it is OK to have a few.
If you think I am butting into your business and you are not going to live your life by what other people -- even new Christians -- think, then I don't know what else to say. That is not at all what Jesus would say, do, or teach. The Christian life is very much about what our Christian family thinks.
We are really buying in to the idea that we all have a responsibility to our new Christians. And that really does affect how we live.
