Oak Crest Baptist Church
Follow Us:
  • Home
    • Service Schedule
    • Our Location
  • About Us
    • A Brief History
    • Our Beliefs - A Short Statement
    • Our Beliefs - Full Confession of Faith
    • Our Constitution
    • Ministry Staff
    • Elders
  • Family Worship Guides
    • Weeks 1-13 >
      • Week 1
      • Week 2
      • Week 3
      • Week 4
      • Week 5
      • Week 6
      • Week 7
      • Week 8
      • Week 9
      • Week 10
      • Week 11
      • Week 12
      • Week 13
    • Weeks 14-26 >
      • Week 14
      • Week 15
      • Week 16
      • Week 17
      • Week 18
      • Week 19
      • Week 20
      • Week 21
      • Week 22
      • Week 23
      • Week 24
      • Week 25
      • Week 26
    • Weeks 27-39 >
      • Week 27
      • Week 28
      • Week 29
      • Week 30
      • Week 31
      • Week 32
      • Week 33
      • Week 34
      • Week 35
      • Week 36
      • Week 37
      • Week 38
      • Week 39
    • Weeks 40-52 >
      • Week 40
      • Week 41
      • Week 42
      • Week 43
      • Week 44
      • Week 45
      • Week 46
      • Week 47
      • Week 48
      • Week 49
      • Week 50
      • Week 51
      • Week 52
  • Ministries
    • Sunday School Classes
    • Senior Adult Ministry
    • Women's Ministry
    • Men's Ministry
    • Stitchin' for Angels
    • Community Involvement
    • Events
  • Youth Ministry
    • Information
    • Ministries
    • Parents
    • Calendar
    • Links
  • Children's Ministry
    • VBS
  • News & Events
    • Calendar of Events
  • Links
  • Contact Us

From the Heart of the Pastor

5/24/2017

0 Comments

 
Every father and mother would be very quick to share with their children the wisdom of Proverbs 13: 20, “Whoever walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.”  Those are sound and good words to live by.  Likewise, Scripture reinforces that idea through the words of Paul, “Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company corrupts good morals.’”  Those are all words we want our children to hear and to heed.  The simple fact is that we quickly become like the company we keep.  If we want to get better at basketball, we should play with people better than we are, not worse.  If we want to grow in godliness, we should spend time with growing and maturing believers who will guide us in the ways of Christ.

If that is the case, how do we reconcile the fact that Jesus deliberately spent time with sinners?  Certainly we should follow Christ’s example and befriend lost people with the hope of sharing the gospel with them.  So how do we develop relationships with the very people we are cautioned to avoid in other places in Scripture?  Well, the solution is not as complicated as we might think.  It is possible to befriend someone while not condoning or participating in certain activities that person participates in.  The people in our lives that do not know Christ should at least know, without a shadow of a doubt, that we do know Christ.  There should never be an inkling of doubt in our actions or words that would call into question where we stand in the gospel.
​
In 1 Corinthians 9: 22 Paul says, “To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some.”  This is an often misunderstood and misapplied verse that is twisted to advocate unbiblical pragmatism in evangelism.  That is not what Paul is saying.  Likewise, the verse in no way means we become worse sinners in order to save those who are still slaves to sin.  This is especially important in the area of “Missionary Dating.”  Missionary Dating is the idea of a Christian man or woman dating a non-Christian member of the opposite sex with the goal of witnessing to them so that they might be saved.  The simple truth is that it rarely works.  We should certainly befriend a person, but we should not get intimately involved with a non-believer.  If you are single, a prerequisite of any potential date should be that they know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  If we will lift high the banner of Christ and make his name known, there will never be any doubt about where we stand.  Our friends who do not know Christ will respect us for it and may come to know Jesus through our testimony.

In Christ, 
Blain Craig
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Dr. Blain Craig
    Pastor

    Picture

    Archives

    December 2022
    May 2020
    March 2020
    July 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    August 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    February 2014

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Oak Crest Baptist Church, 1701 S. 5th St, Midlothian, TX, 76065