The Right to Witness!    DO 605   2/7/77

         1. In our Early days the churches condemned us for going into bars to witness and win souls!--And still do!--"Ah, a Christian shouldn't be seen going in and out of a bar!--That's a terrible testimony!
         2. Well, when it comes to the point that you even have to forego witnessing lest you cause some weak narrow-minded Christian to stumble, then that's where you have to draw the line and go ahead!
         3. Which is more important?--To please these narrow-minded religionists or God! Which is better, as Peter said, to please man or God, judge ye! (Acts 4:19; 5:29)
         4. The Pharisees also were accusing Jesus of healing people on the Sabbath, and said, "This is breaking the law! This is working on the Sabbath!"--Think of it! How ridiculous can you get? Jesus asked them, "Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do evil?" (Mark 2; Luke 6 & 13)
         5. You cannot stop saving souls just because some people condemn your methods! You cannot stop your ministry, you cannot stop the message just because some people condemn your method. If God has blessed the method with good fruit, then the method is good, amen? (See Matt.7:20.)
         6. The Church had been teaching the people that if they do these things they're going to hell. But we come along teaching people if they'll do it in love they can help people go to Heaven--just the opposite! So this suddenly liberates the people from their control, and that's what they don't like! Jesus' message was liberating the people from the control of the High Priests and the bigshot religionists, the hypocritical Scribes and Pharisees.
         7. "All we have to do now is believe and love God and our neighbour as ourselves! That's all we have to do! We don't have to keep your laws, your regulations, go to your temple, your ceremonies--none of it anymore!" This is what Jesus' teaching literally meant--and Paul's too! It snatched the people out from under the established religion's control.
         8. It gave the people liberty, it gave them freedom! Now they were free, because all they needed was Jesus, all they needed was love! All they needed was to "Love God and love thy neighbour--in this is all the law and all the prophets!"--Hallelujah!

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