It grieves me when the person(s) I'm witnessing to reject the message of the Gospel, even after the knowledge of sin has been made known. It deeply saddens me.
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Do's and Don't of Witnessing.
- Thread starter rita727
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KomissarSteve
Basileus
Do you begin your witnessing by telling people that they're sinful and in danger of going to Hell?
If so, that might be part of the problem.
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KomissarSteve
Basileus
You lead them with love. You show them that there is a point behind the universe, a meaning to life, and that that Meaning is an omnipotent, loving God who wants desperately to be with us for the rest of eternity, and who would gladly sacrifice Himself, just as any good father would sacrifice himself for his child. THEN you tell them what's keeping us from achieving that, and how the problem is on our end.
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Randombitsofstring
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I think its more prideful to expect everyone to change their life long beliefs just because you talk to them.
Just because they dont stop right then and there and change doesnt mean you havent planted the seed. What sort of farmer expects their vegetables to grow to maturity in minutes?
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It is my love for the unsaved that compels me to speak the truth to them about God's JUSTICE, RIGHTEOUSNESS, and HOLINESS. It is my love for the unsaved that compels me to tell them that if they were to die in their sins, they WILL go to hell.
The point behind the universe, the meaning of life and the disillusion that God is only a loving God who won't punish them for their sins won't do them any good when they're in eternal torment in hell.
Why would they see their dire need for the Savior if they think they haven't sinned against a HOLY God or even deny that they've sinned against God?
What you've said just isn't biblical. Yes, God is loving, merciful and full of grace, but He is ALSO just, righteous and holy. And He WILL judge and punish sinners. That's His whole nature. We cannot coddle sinners and allow them to continue to wallow in their sins. We preach the Law and then Grace, not the other way around. We cannot water down the Gospel or compromise its message to appease the sinner, who is an enemy of God and whose wrath abides on them.
http://www.wayofthemaster.com/botchaltarcall.shtml
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It's the Holy Spirit who convicts of sin. That is the root of repentance, not a mere decision for Christ. There's the Parable of the Four Soils. Jesus taught about true and false conversions in many of His parables. I'm not aiming for a decision for Christ, maybe today or next week, but rather for repentance, godly sorrow; the realization of what their sins look like before a HOLY God and His terrible wrath that sits on their head. I want the sinner to be concerned, shook up and afraid. They need a good healthy fear of the Lord to shake them out of their complacency and sins. They need to be saved from the torments of hell. They don't need to feel comfortable. They need to be made afraid.
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"Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel" (Mark 1:14-15).
Is the preaching of repentance important? Jesus thought so enough that He preached it. John the Baptist preached it (Matt. 3:1-2). The apostles were commanded to preach it: "And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem" (Luke 24:47).
It's true repentance that leads to salvation. The Bible doesn't teach us to merely love someone into salvation. "For godly sorrow produces repentance to salvation ..." (2 Corinthians 7:10).
Is the preaching of repentance important? Jesus thought so enough that He preached it. John the Baptist preached it (Matt. 3:1-2). The apostles were commanded to preach it: "And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem" (Luke 24:47).
It's true repentance that leads to salvation. The Bible doesn't teach us to merely love someone into salvation. "For godly sorrow produces repentance to salvation ..." (2 Corinthians 7:10).
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Randombitsofstring
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I never said that repentance is not important, just that you can not change someones belief and way of life in the space of one conversation.
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Perhaps it can be done in some situations, while in others it cannot be done. I have seen some people's lives radically changed by such witnessing (the good soil), while I have seen the other side of the coin (the wayside, the stones, among the thorns).
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Randombitsofstring
Well-Known Member
Ive also known people who once you have taken the time to get to know, love and care for them and LISTEN to them before you start preaching to them has worked a lot better than handing out tracks.
But I guess you dont care about the rocks and the thorns, if you can not even refer to them as people and wont take the time to love them before preaching at them.
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There's more than one way to witness. You need to do as the Lord commands you. We are called to be a witness for Christ. You shouldn't assume that I don't care for the "rocks and thorns" as you put it. I share my faith at nearly every place I go. It is my love and concern for the unsaved (as I have said once before) that compels me "to go and preach the Gospel". I don't just go and preach the Gospel to people I can get to know personally. I preach the Gospel to complete strangers. In other words, to people that I do not know and will probably never see again, unless they've repented and made it to heaven. I don't just hand out tracts either, although I have used them as an evangelism tool before.
Charles Spurgeon (the Prince of Preachers) said, "I do not believe that any man can preach the Gospel who does not preach the Law ... Lower the Law and you dim the light by which man perceives his guilt; this is a very serious loss to the sinner rather than a gain; for it lessens the likelihood of his conviction and conversion. I say you have deprived the Gospel of its ablest auxiliary [most powerful weapon] when you have set aside the Law. You have taken away from it the schoolmaster that is to bring men to Christ ...They will never accept grace till they tremble before a just and holy Law. Therefore the Law serves a most necessary purpose, and it must not be removed from its place."
I'm sorry if you disapprove with the evangelistic methods I choose to use to seek and save the lost. Jesus did not give grace to the proud and I, following in His example, will not give grace to the proud either. I'm not going to argue with another believer on how to evangelize the lost, the already condemned sinners. I have videos on my CF homepage. I'd like for you to watch them. Begin first with the Letter From Hell. But before you go to my homepage (I hope you do), click on the link and watch the video provided: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WtCgZTbU2U&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fprofile%2Emyspace%2Ecom%2Findex%2Ecfm%3Ffuseaction%3Duser%2Eviewprofile%26friendID%3D32617025
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KomissarSteve
Basileus
If you love them, you will not tell them this until you have established your image of God as one of love. Otherwise, you will be driving them further away from God.
But no one's saying that God won't punish them for their sins. What I'm saying is that if the first impression of God that you give them is one of a cruel and judgmental overlord, they aren't going to want anything to do with what you have to preach.
Please don't misrepresent what I have to say so blatantly; as I said before, it's important for them to realize that they have sinned and are in need of a Savior. But for them to get to this point, they first have to believe in a benevolent God. Telling them off the cuff that they're in danger of Hell is going to make them not believe in God.
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KomissarSteve
Basileus
Ah, but what "Gospel" do you preach?
As far as I'm concerned, the only way to preach the Gospel is to begin with the message behind it all, and then get into the details - and that big message is indeed the Good News: "God is Love."
Oh, and please don't send people that "letter from Hell." If anything is un-Biblical, it's preaching the Gospel through scare tactics. It only serves to discredit our message.
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Randombitsofstring
Well-Known Member
Yeah, but people who are frightened are so much easier to control than people who feel loved. Which I think is why some churches preach fear and hate instead of love and forgiveness.
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Hell isn't unbiblical. Jesus preached more about hell than He did about heaven.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7QnQW4tYF0
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KomissarSteve
Basileus
Did I say that Hell was un-Biblical? No. I said that preaching through scare-tactics is un-Biblical.
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