The Bible Prayer Line: Proselytes

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Bible Questions Answered:

“Pastor what is a proselyte?...”

Cindy/ Seattle, Washington U.S.A.

Bible Answer:

Bible Texts:

Proselyte:

A person who has changed from one opinion, religious belief, sect, or the like, to another; convert.

Dictionary.Com

New Testament Proselytes:

Luke 7:1- NLT (The Faith of a Roman Officer)

1 When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people, he returned to Capernaum.

2 At that time the highly valued slave of a Roman officer was sick and near death.

3 When the officer heard about Jesus, he sent some respected Jewish elders to ask Him to come and heal his slave.

4 So they earnestly begged Jesus to help the man. “If anyone deserves your help, he does,” they said,

5 “for he loves the Jewish people and even built a synagogue for us.”

6 So Jesus went with them. But just before they arrived at the house, the officer sent some friends to say, “Lord, don’t trouble yourself by coming to my home, for I am not worthy of such an honor.

7 I am not even worthy to come and meet you. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed.

8 I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.”

9 When Jesus heard this, He was amazed. Turning to the crowd that was following Him, He said, “I tell you, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!”

10 And when the officer’s friends returned to his house, they found the slave completely healed.

John 12:20-22 NLT

20 Some Greeks who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration 21 paid a visit to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee. They said, “Sir, we want to meet Jesus.”

22 Philip told Andrew about it, and they went together to ask Jesus.

Acts 6:1-7 NLT

1 But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food.

2 So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “We apostles should spend our time teaching The Word Of God, not running a food program.

3 And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of The Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility.

4 Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching The Word.”

5 Everyone liked this idea, and they chose the following: Stephen (a man full of faith and The Holy Spirit), Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas of Antioch (an earlier convert to the Jewish faith).

6 These seven were presented to the apostles, who prayed for them as they laid their hands on them.

7 So God’s message continued to spread. The number of believers greatly increased in Jerusalem, and many of the Jewish priests were converted, too.

Acts 8:26-39 NLT (Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch)

26 As for Philip, an angel of The Lord said to him, “Go south down the desert road that runs from Jerusalem to Gaza.”

27 So he started out, and he met the treasurer of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under the Kandake, the queen of Ethiopia. The eunuch had gone to Jerusalem to worship,

28 and he was now returning. Seated in his carriage, he was reading aloud from the book of the prophet Isaiah.

29 The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and walk along beside the carriage.”

30 Philip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah. Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

31 The man replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him.

32 The passage of Scripture he had been reading was this: “He was led like A Sheep to the slaughter. And as A Lamb is silent before the shearers, He did not open His mouth.

33 He was humiliated and received no justice. Who can speak of His descendants? For His life was taken from the earth.”

34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, was the prophet talking about himself or someone else?”

35 So beginning with this same Scripture, Philip told him The Good News about Jesus.

36 As they rode along, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look! There’s some water! Why can’t I be baptized?”

38 He ordered the carriage to stop, and they went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.

39 When they came up out of the water, The Spirit Of The Lord snatched Philip away. The eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing.

Acts 10:1-48 NLT (Cornelius Calls for Peter)

1 In Caesarea there lived a Roman army officer named Cornelius, who was a captain of the Italian Regiment.

2 He was a devout, God-fearing man, as was everyone in his household. He gave generously to the poor and prayed regularly to God.

3 One afternoon about three o’clock, he had a vision in which he saw an angel of God coming toward him. “Cornelius!” the angel said.

4 Cornelius stared at him in terror. “What is it, sir?” he asked the angel. And the angel replied, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have been received by God as an offering!

5 Now send some men to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter.

6 He is staying with Simon, a tanner who lives near the seashore.”

7 As soon as the angel was gone, Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier, one of his personal attendants.

8 He told them what had happened and sent them off to Joppa.

(Peter Visits Cornelius)

9 The next day as Cornelius’s messengers were nearing the town, Peter went up on the flat roof to pray. It was about noon,

10 and he was hungry. But while a meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance.

11 He saw the sky open, and something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners.

12 In the sheet were all sorts of animals, reptiles, and birds.

13 Then a voice said to him, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat them.”

14 “No, Lord,” Peter declared. “I have never eaten anything that our Jewish laws have declared impure and unclean.”

15 But the voice spoke again: “Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.”

16 The same vision was repeated three times. Then the sheet was suddenly pulled up to heaven.

17 Peter was very perplexed. What could the vision mean? Just then the men sent by Cornelius found Simon’s house. Standing outside the gate, 18 they asked if a man named Simon Peter was staying there.

19 Meanwhile, as Peter was puzzling over the vision, The Holy Spirit said to him, “Three men have come looking for you.

20 Get up, go downstairs, and go with them without hesitation. Don’t worry, for I have sent them.”

21 So Peter went down and said, “I’m the man you are looking for. Why have you come?”

22 They said, “We were sent by Cornelius, a Roman officer. He is a devout and God-fearing man, well respected by all the Jews. A holy angel instructed him to summon you to his house so that he can hear your message.”

23 So Peter invited the men to stay for the night. The next day he went with them, accompanied by some of the brothers from Joppa.

24 They arrived in Caesarea the following day. Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends.

25 As Peter entered his home, Cornelius fell at his feet and worshiped him.

26 But Peter pulled him up and said, “Stand up! I’m a human being just like you!”

27 So they talked together and went inside, where many others were assembled.

28 Peter told them, “You know it is against our laws for a Jewish man to enter a Gentile home like this or to associate with you. But God has shown me that I should no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean. 29 So I came without objection as soon as I was sent for. Now tell me why you sent for me.”

30 Cornelius replied, “Four days ago I was praying in my house about this same time, three o’clock in the afternoon. Suddenly, a man in dazzling clothes was standing in front of me.

31 He told me, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your gifts to the poor have been noticed by God!

32 Now send messengers to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter. He is staying in the home of Simon, a tanner who lives near the seashore.’ 33 So I sent for you at once, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here, waiting before God to hear the message The Lord has given you.”

(The Gentiles Hear the Good News)

34 Then Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism.

35 In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right. 36 This is the message of Good News for the people of Israel—that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.

37 You know what happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee, after John began preaching his message of baptism.

38 And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with

The Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.

39 “And we apostles are witnesses of all he did throughout Judea and in Jerusalem. They put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross,

40 but God raised Him to Life on the third day. Then God allowed Him to appear,

41 not to the general public, but to us whom God had chosen in advance to be His witnesses. We were those who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead.

42 And He ordered us to preach everywhere and to testify that Jesus is the one appointed by God to be The Judge of all—the living and the dead.

43 He is the one all the prophets testified about, saying that everyone who believes in Him will have their sins forgiven through His name.”

(The Gentiles Receive The Holy Spirit)

44 Even as Peter was saying these things, The Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the message.

45 The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that

The Gift Of The Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles, too. 46 For they heard them speaking in other tongues and praising God.

Then Peter asked,

47 “Can anyone object to their being baptized, now that they have received The Holy Spirit just as we did?”

48 So he gave orders for them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Afterward Cornelius asked him to stay with them for several days.

Acts 13:42-49 NLT

42 As Paul and Barnabas left the synagogue that day, the people begged them to speak about these things again the next week.

43 Many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, and the two men urged them to continue to rely on the grace of God.

(Paul Turns to the Gentiles)

44 The following week almost the entire city turned out to hear them preach The Word Of The Lord.

45 But when some of the Jews saw the crowds, they were jealous; so they slandered Paul and argued against whatever he said.

46 Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and declared, “It was necessary that we first preach The Word Of God to you Jews. But since you have rejected it and judged yourselves unworthy of eternal Life, we will offer it to the Gentiles.

47 For The Lord gave us this command when He said, ‘I have made you a Light to the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the farthest corners of the earth.’”

48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were very glad and thanked

The Lord for His message; and all who were chosen for eternal Life became believers.

49 So The Lord’s message spread throughout that region.

Acts 16:11-15 NLT (Lydia of Philippi, Believes in Jesus)

11 We boarded a boat at Troas and sailed straight across to the island of Samothrace, and the next day we landed at Neapolis.

12 From there we reached Philippi, a major city of that district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. And we stayed there several days.

13 On the Sabbath we went a little way outside the city to a riverbank, where we thought people would be meeting for prayer, and we sat down to speak with some women who had gathered there.

14 One of them was Lydia from Thyatira, a merchant of expensive purple cloth, who worshiped God. As she listened to us, The Lord opened her heart, and she accepted what Paul was saying.

15 She and her household were baptized, and she asked us to be her guests. “If you agree that I am a true believer in The Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my home.” And she urged us until we agreed.

Acts 17:4,17 NLT

4 Some of the Jews who listened were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with many God-fearing Greek men and quite a few prominent women.

17 He went to the synagogue to reason with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and he spoke daily in the public square to all who happened to be there.

Acts 18:4-8 NLT

4 Each Sabbath found Paul at the synagogue, trying to convince the Jews and Greeks alike.

5 And after Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul spent all his time preaching The Word. He testified to the Jews that Jesus was The Messiah.

6 But when they opposed and insulted him, Paul shook the dust from his clothes and said, “Your blood is upon your own heads—I am innocent. From now on I will go preach to the Gentiles.”

7 Then he left and went to the home of Titius Justus, a Gentile who worshiped God and lived next door to the synagogue.

8 Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, and everyone in his household believed in The Lord. Many others in Corinth also heard Paul, became believers, and were baptized.

The disciples, the apostle Paul, the early church, all did their best to make converts to Christianity.

And why did they do it, who gave them the charge to evangelize? The answer was The Lord Jesus.

All Believers Called To Evangelize:

Matthew 28:18-20 KJV

18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of The Father, and of The Son, and of The Holy Ghost:

20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Mark 9:36-38 KJV

36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.

37 Then saith He unto His disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few;

38 Pray ye therefore The Lord Of The Harvest, that He will send forth laborers into His harvest.

Mark 16:15 KJV

15 And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

Luke 24:45-48 NLT (Two disciples on the Emmaus Road)

45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.

46 And He said, “Yes, it was written long ago that The Messiah would suffer and die and rise from the dead on the third day.

47 It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of His name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem: ‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’

48 You are witnesses of all these things.

John 4:35-38 KJV

35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.

36 And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.

37 And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.

38 I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labor: other men labored, and ye are entered into their labors.

John 20:21 KJV

Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as My Father hath sent Me, even so send I you.

Acts 1:8 KJV

But ye shall receive power, after that The Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Romans 10:15 KJV

And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

II Timothy 2:15 KJV

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing The Word Of Truth.

The Call To Evangelism:

Romans 15:20,21 NLT (The apostle Paul's call to evangelism.)

20 My ambition has always been to preach The Good News where the name of Christ has never been heard, rather than where a church has already been started by someone else.

21 I have been following the plan spoken of in the Scriptures, where it says, “Those who have never been told about Him will see, and those who have never heard of Him will understand.”

Romans 1:5 NLT (Paul believed in a global evangelism.)

Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey Him, bringing glory to His name.

Romans 16:26 NLT

But now as the prophets foretold and as The Eternal God has commanded, this message is made known to all Gentiles everywhere, so that they too might believe and obey Him.

All Nations And People Will Be Reached With The Gospel Message.

Revelation 5:9 KJV

And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

Revelation 7:9,10 KJV

9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before The Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto The Lamb.

Work For The Night Is Coming