Wife Swap

[annsni]

Is not an atheist an anti-christ? Kelly and Jeff invited an atheist into their home for two weeks, thereby disobeying that instruction given by God to John.

As a matter of fact, Jesus Christ Himself declared "He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad." So in the broad sense of the term, all who are not of the body of Christ are indeed themselves anti-christ's.

I agree with you that this couple did the wrong thing. It wasn't just inviting a woman into their home for a ministry - to minister to her and hopefully lead her to Christ. It was to allow her to have an influence on their home and children - even going so far as to make new rules for the family that might have included no more Bible reading, prayer or going to church. I think the idea of a Christian doing this show is 100% wrong just for that reason.

Yes, those who are not for Christ are against Him but I think there's a difference between someone coming in to be ministered to and hopefully led to Christ and having someone coming in to influence us. If a family is not strong in their faith, then by all means, they should most probably not have any of these into their home. However, if our homes cannot be places of light for our neighbors and co-workers, then I don't know what can be. My girls have had to have friends come over from school to study who are not saved. We also had a young girl live with us for a short time who's younger sister was severely injured in a pedestrian car accident right in front of us (and this young girl needed the support and love that we were able to give her). As I mentioned, we also had those Chinese students live with us for a weekend - the two girls that gave their lives to Christ. They had not experienced Christianity other than what they were told in China and by being in our home, eating at our table, playing games with my family - then spending time in our living room asking all sorts of questions - they learned just Who Christ is and what He desires of them.

SFIC - I seem to recall you saying that you have a hard time getting out of your house (if I'm wrong, I apologize). How can you preach the Good News to the lost if you are never around them?

 

[annsni]

I adjusted my comment about unequally yoked. I hope the change makes it more clearly that while we need to go and preach the Gospel, the scripture forbids us from making friends with, or, fellowshipping with unequally yoked. or unlike persons.:laugh:

Pastor Paul

Well, I don't think that we can't be friends with the unsaved but I do think that there's a level of fellowship that we just cannot have with the unsaved. For example, we have numerous people in our lives who are unsaved and needing Christ. My husband was once in a band with unsaved members (not the best choice for him as a Christian, but we did end up having quite the influence on a few of the guys) and I count some of these guys as dear friends. We are not as intimately involved with them as we can be but I love them dearly and pray for them. One of the men has called my DH because I really think that God's softening his heart through some bad circumstances including the loss of his best friend to cancer at 47 years old. We also have other friends that we've sailed with, gone on sailing trips with and, as I stated just a bit earlier, we had their daughter stay with us while her younger sister was in a children's hospital in another state after having been hit by a car and dragged along the hot asphalt, tearing skin and muscle off to the bone. Again, we do not have an intimacy with them that brothers and sisters in Christ have.

Then one summer, we were on vacation on our sailboat on Block Island, RI. We went to dinner with some of the people we know from sailing (we all met up there) and when we came back, I was exhausted. While these people are very nice and we're friendly with them, there's just that something that we cannot get beyond to be closer to them. The next day, a gentleman came to our boat introducing himself as a father with 2 daughters around my daughters' ages - would they like to play together. Of course we wouldn't send our daughters over there without knowing these people so while I stayed on the boat with the baby, my husband took the girls over to the other boat. After 3 hours, I knew what had happened. They were believers - I just knew it. Sure enough - they were believers who were actually missionaries from Honduras! We invited them over to our boat for dinner the next night and I have to say - the friendship that flowed that night - it was so much more sweet and intimate than anything we had with those other people who we had known for years and gone through a tragic experience with. When the evening was over, my husband and I felt uplifted and rejuvinated rather than exhausted. There was a huge difference between a friendship with the unsaved and the saved.

Will we stop the friendships with the unsaved? No. Because through these friendships and life experiences with them, they might just find the Lord. I don't know. We pray for Charlie and his family but we don't know what God has in store. But we will continue to pray for them, witness to them and sail with them as we find the time. By keeping away from any friendship with them, we will lose our influence that we might be able to have on them - I think that is wrong. How many were led to Christ by a friend? How many were led to Christ by a complete stranger? I think the friend has a better chance than a stranger, although it's all up to God so even a tree could lead a soul to Christ if the Father so wills.

 

[Brother Bob]

I think you can run this non-fellowship thing too far. How would we ever persuade the world to change its ways, unless we communicate with them.
I certainly believe this Pastor and his wife went way too far and should of known better. If the leaders of the church don't know better than that, then we are in a sorry condition.
That being said, we still need to interact with those who are unsaved. This talk of not having a plumber etc in your house who is not saved, is just silly.
We are in the world, but not of the world. If you want to go so far as say that the unsaved can't enter your home, then you need to throw all your money away, and all the conveniences of the household, for they in most part were made by the unsaved.
We have to act like men and not go completely off the deep end, when it comes to dealing with the world.
The "wife swap" thing is so far off that a child could see that would be wrong. IMO

BBob,

 

[standingfirminChrist]

SFIC - I seem to recall you saying that you have a hard time getting out of your house (if I'm wrong, I apologize). How can you preach the Good News to the lost if you are never around them?

I do get out occasionally. I go to Church meetings and I also go to the store. I witness Christ everywhere I am able to go here.

But I minister Christ mostly on the internet. Revealing what His Word clearly says and what He requires of those who will follow Him.

His Word does not make provision for inviting anyone in the home for the purpose of witnessing. We are to go out into the world, not bring the world into our home.

My witness of Christ goes out every day; as should all who profess to be His followers

 

[righteousdude2]

I Don't Go As Far As That...

I think you can run this non-fellowship thing too far. How would we ever persuade the world to change its ways, unless we communicate with them.
I certainly believe this Pastor and his wife went way too far and should of known better. If the leaders of the church don't know better than that, then we are in a sorry condition.
That being said, we still need to interact with those who are unsaved. This talk of not having a plumber etc in your house who is not saved, is just silly.
We are in the world, but not of the world. If you want to go so far as say that the unsaved can't enter your home, then you need to throw all your money away, and all the conveniences of the household, for they in most part were made by the unsaved.
We have to act like men and not go completely off the deep end, when it comes to dealing with the world.
The "wife swap" thing is so far off that a child could see that would be wrong. IMO

BBob,

If I needed a plumber, and couldn't find a Christian plumber, I'd still have a plumber come and stop the leak, or open the drain. As long as the person didn't have horns protruding from their head, and they were spitting out hot lava with every exhaled breath, I'd have no problem. But, my wife and I do blood cover the house before and after that person leaves.

Pastor Paul :type:

 

[Amy.G]

If I needed a plumber, and couldn't find a Christian plumber, I'd still have a plumber come and stop the leak, or open the drain. As long as the person didn't have horns protruding from their head, and they were spitting out hot lava with every exhaled breath, I'd have no problem. But, my wife and I do blood cover the house before and after that person leaves.

Pastor Paul :type:

What do you mean by "blood cover" the house?

 

[Linda64]

What do you mean by "blood cover" the house?

I think that Pastor Paul means that "he and his wife 'plead the blood' " for protection. Something like the Israelites did when they applied the "blood of the lamb" on the doorposts and lintels of their houses in Exodus 12.

Pastor Paul, please correct me if I am wrong here...but "pleading the blood" is all I can think of when I see "blood cover"

 

[readmore]

If I needed a plumber, and couldn't find a Christian plumber, I'd still have a plumber come and stop the leak, or open the drain. As long as the person didn't have horns protruding from their head, and they were spitting out hot lava with every exhaled breath, I'd have no problem. But, my wife and I do blood cover the house before and after that person leaves.

So... Let me get this straight. You are never to invite someone into your house for the purpose of witnessing to them, but if you have some leaky pipes, you can wriggle your way around the interpretation of "not letting a non-Christian into your home" by blood covering your house before and after a person leaves?

That's very pragmatic. Isn't it a little more noble to invite someone in to share the gospel with them, even if you have to still do the blood thing?

 

[Salty]

So... Let me get this straight. You are never to invite someone into your house for the purpose of witnessing to them, but if you have some leaky pipes, you can wriggle your way around the interpretation of "not letting a non-Christian into your home" by blood covering your house before and after a person leaves?

That's very pragmatic. Isn't it a little more noble to invite someone in to share the gospel with them, even if you have to still do the blood thing?

So would you say that Kelly and her husband were wrong in swapping families ( Wife swap is not a good title for the show) for the two weeks?

Salty

PS where abouts in CNY are you - PM me

 

[4His_glory]

If I never had unbelievers in my home I would be a lousy missionary. In my opinion this is a complete misunderstanding of what John meant in his letter. That being said- I think the aforementioned program is not the correct context for a Christian to minister.

What we are seeing on this thread is imbalance. Some are swinging the pendulum one direction and saying that it is o.k. to cheapen the gospel in order to declare it to as many people as possible. Others swing the pendulum and say we should live in a bubble. Both are equally problematic.

Christ calls Christians salt and light. We are not commanded to be salt, but we are salt. For salt to season it must be applied. If I do not put salt on my green beans they will not taste salty. I have to get the salt out of the shaker and onto my food.

As Christians we must get out of the shaker so to speak. While we must keep our distinctiveness as salt (i.e. a measure of personal holiness) we must also involve ourselves in a meaningful way with the people around us and in the communities in which we live. God has many divine appointments for those whom he uses as the salt of the earth. Lets get our of our shakers.

 

[donnA]

gee I wonder if those 2 guys who delievered my stove Monday were saved, guess I should have asked before I allowed them to bring my stove in the house, what do you think.

 

[Amy.G]

gee I wonder if those 2 guys who delievered my stove Monday were saved, guess I should have asked before I allowed them to bring my stove in the house, what do you think.

Well Donna, you could have told the delivery men to leave your stove on the porch and run an extension cord into the house and just do all your cooking outside. :laugh:

 

[Joe]

gee I wonder if those 2 guys who delievered my stove Monday were saved, guess I should have asked before I allowed them to bring my stove in the house, what do you think.

Yes, you should have asked.
Then if they are saved, you should have- checked their bodies for tattoos & piercings, weighed them on a scale (gluttony check), examined their hair length and style to ensure it is not too long (or is cut as a woman could cut her hair)
If they wear pink then don't let them in at all because all men who wear pink, even a little pink, are you know whats....no mercy either if their white socks were washed with the reds so there is a slight tinge of pink. That is outright rebellion, and we know those men haulers are known to be very wealthy so they should have bought themselves all new socks! :laugh:

 

[Amy.G]

Yes, you should have asked.
Then if they are saved, you should have- checked their bodies for tattoos & piercings, weighed them on a scale (gluttony check), examined their hair length and style to ensure it is not too long (or is cut as a woman could cut her hair)
If they wear pink then don't let them in at all because all men who wear pink, even a little pink, are you know whats....no mercy either if their white socks were washed with the reds so there is a slight tinge of pink. That is outright rebellion, and we know those men haulers are known to be very wealthy so they should have bought themselves all new socks! :laugh:

HA! :laugh:

That was good!

 

[righteousdude2]

Thanks Amy

I think that Pastor Paul means that "he and his wife 'plead the blood' " for protection. Something like the Israelites did when they applied the "blood of the lamb" on the door posts and lintels of their houses in Exodus 12.

Pastor Paul, please correct me if I am wrong here...but "pleading the blood" is all I can think of when I see "blood cover"

Amy bailed me out on that one. You are correct, we refer to it as "blood covering" but it is actually the OT practice of pleading the blood, in this case the Blood of Jesus, over and around our house.

I guess I'd say that this practice is up to each believer's practicing faith. It is something we've done. For instance, we've blood covered our two cars for safety, mechanical issues, against theft and vandalism, etc. :godisgood:

It's just our thing, and it is in line with the Word.

Pastor Paul :type:

 

[righteousdude2]

The Bush Stimulus System at Work

gee I wonder if those 2 guys who delievered my stove Monday were saved, guess I should have asked before I allowed them to bring my stove in the house, what do you think.

It's great to see that the Stimulus package program is working :laugh: .

Pastor Paul

 

[Amy.G]

Amy bailed me out on that one. You are correct, we refer to it as "blood covering" but it is actually the OT practice of pleading the blood, in this case the Blood of Jesus, over and around our house.

I guess I'd say that this practice is up to each believer's practicing faith. It is something we've done. For instance, we've blood covered our two cars for safety, mechanical issues, against theft and vandalism, etc. :godisgood:

It's just our thing, and it is in line with the Word.

Pastor Paul :type:

Is this a prayer for God's protection? I guess I don't know what the OT practice is.

 

[donnA]

Yes, you should have asked.
Then if they are saved, you should have- checked their bodies for tattoos & piercings, weighed them on a scale (gluttony check), examined their hair length and style to ensure it is not too long (or is cut as a woman could cut her hair)
If they wear pink then don't let them in at all because all men who wear pink, even a little pink, are you know whats....no mercy either if their white socks were washed with the reds so there is a slight tinge of pink. That is outright rebellion, and we know those men haulers are known to be very wealthy so they should have bought themselves all new socks! :laugh:

sounds like the only christian thing to do.

 

[donnA]

It's great to see that the Stimulus package program is working :laugh: .

Pastor Paul

had too RD2, mine burned itself out last Sunday right after breakfast. Lots of smoke, we could find from where, even after I wasn't using it anymore, we were afraid to leave it in the house while we went to church, so we moved it outside. We knew for a while it was going to go out soon though, it's been shooting fuses. If it weren't for that I wouldn't have thought of buying a new stove.

 

[Joe]

Donna our electric company gives rebates on certain appliances. You may want to check it out at your electric company's website.
With our refridgerator we bought about 4 months ago, we got $75 from PG&E. Sears didn't tell us of this rebate.