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Sounds like you've been "evangelized" by protestant teenagers. There are those out there who've graduated from at least two years of Sunday school and heard a couple of lines from the sermon on the mount and think they're ready to go out and save the world. As soon as they run across their first objection they're not sure how to handle it. It usually doesn't end well.
There are a lot of people out there who should leave the evangelization to evangelists.
This may sound like a strange question but this is exactly what it sounds like when evangelists try to explain faith to an unbeliever. All in all I'd have to say the quality of evangelism has been getting dramatically worse over the centuries.
If they are seeking God then it ought to be pretty obvious that they are not willfully rejecting him. There are plenty of other things for a worldly person to be doing like watching a show, going to a party, or literally anything that doesn't bring their deepest loneliness and pain to the surface. A great number are not asking you about God as an intellectual exercise or to somehow "crush" you in debate. They are asking you because they recognize a hole in their lives.
So when you tell an unbeliever "stop rebelling and choose Christ now!" what you are actually telling them is that they need to somehow immediately re-wire all the confusion in their minds or pray to God to re-wire their minds. Then when it doesn't happen they have an anxiety attack. Some will be able to do that but most who are addressed this way will never speak to you again. They don't think they are rebelling. Maybe they are but they are definitely not aware of it.
There is another product of this maligned interaction: the belief that Christianity is an exclusive club. Only those with the natural capacity to immediately believe the gospel will enter heaven. Indeed ONLY this particular variant of human is loved by God at any level whatsoever.
The end result is they either go totally mad and die or give up on seeking Christ and look for some other spiritual path. There is no other way for them to respond when hearing the gospel explained in this manner.
How did this happen? Whatever happened to "Jesus will accept you as you are"?
It is very easy to trust a Jesus who is extending his hand to pull you from the storm.
It is very hard to trust a Jesus who is standing on the boat and asking you "do you believe I will extend my hand to you? If not I'm turning this boat around right now."
Which is it?
Just when I think I have finally found a purpose in life it all completely explodes. At one point I gave a huge chunk of my life's savings to a disabled man who was about to become homeless because I thought God was calling me to do this. It was a total flop. His life is stilling falling apart and he is slipping deeper into depression because the medical bills keep piling up and more family are walking away. I did absolutely nothing useful and now we are both broke. Part of it was his mistake though. I suggested that he seek out other people for help and ministers to help with the depression but he refused due to lack of trust in others. I was the ONLY person he ever met who stepped up to the plate and yet I still failed at this. The irony is that this also destroyed my trust in others.
I was never supposed to do any of this and now my life is probably over. In addition to that I'm going to lose my job pretty soon and the years of my prime are quickly ticking away. So I lost my calling, my future, and human connections are dwindling away. I'm not going to survive this unless something starts making sense.
If somehow this disaster is part of God's loving plan I might not realize it until it is far too late...
Why does God let babies die from cancer while a useful piece of garbage like me continues to breath air? They had so much potential and I have zero.
There are a lot of people out there who should leave the evangelization to evangelists.
There are a lot of people out there who should leave the evangelization to evangelists.
I disagree with your point. It is up to God as to who is going to hear the Gospel and who isn't, and when people hear it, if at all. We are all commanded by Jesus to preach the Gospel.
We are? This is a frequent assertion, but it seems to me Jesus is commanding this to his apostles specifically. Paul says that the Holy Spirit gives people different gifts. Not all have the gift of preaching.
You do not need to find a purpose in life or be anything at all, other than what you already are. Jesus said in this life we will have trouble, but we should be of good cheer because he has overcome the world.
It's a noble gesture to help somebody out but you are not required to do so for your salvation, especially if it risks your finances. Its always within your rights to act prudentially.
My advice is to accept what situation in life you have as a gift, to stop trying to please God through this self-imposed yoke, and to go out and live fully now.
It is similar to our legal system. Babies will not be judged thus won't wind up in hell. Every adult will be judged by a covenant he/she is subject to. For a reason, the New Covenant specifies that humans need to believe in Jesus Christ and God to be saved.
A covenant is about a criteria to identify the righteous from the wicked. God never said that He loves the wicked. He wishes them to repent and return during their life time on earth though.
God only loves the righteous but not the wicked. From God's perspective (with a scope of eternity), a covenant can be used to precisely identify the righteous from the wicked. To put it another way, if you can't believe Jesus Christ as specified in the New Covenant, it only means that you will turn wicked in the end. God thus won't be able to save you as even He has to abide by the covenant between God and man.
The gospel message is the exception. We are all to preach Christ s saving grace.We are? This is a frequent assertion, but it seems to me Jesus is commanding this to his apostles specifically. Paul says that the Holy Spirit gives people different gifts. Not all have the gift of preaching.
You really need to believe you are who God says you areSo you are saying that I am already damned. Well yes people are very lucky to die before they are old enough to be accountable. I get to witness only their destruction but will never see them restored in paradise. That is what it is truly like to be a cursed individual.
Most of the time I wish someone would knock me out with chloroform and extract my organs for someone more worthy. They could even do it without anesthesia couldn't care less at this point. There are a lot of sweet and simple people out there who have a far better chance of salvation.
The gospel message is the exception. We are all to preach Christ s saving grace.
Ok then.Sounds like a made up religious rule to me, one of those things Christ died to free us from.
So you are saying that I am already damned.
This may sound like a strange question but this is exactly what it sounds like when evangelists try to explain faith to an unbeliever. All in all I'd have to say the quality of evangelism has been getting dramatically worse over the centuries.
If they are seeking God then it ought to be pretty obvious that they are not willfully rejecting him. There are plenty of other things for a worldly person to be doing like watching a show, going to a party, or literally anything that doesn't bring their deepest loneliness and pain to the surface. A great number are not asking you about God as an intellectual exercise or to somehow "crush" you in debate. They are asking you because they recognize a hole in their lives.
So when you tell an unbeliever "stop rebelling and choose Christ now!" what you are actually telling them is that they need to somehow immediately re-wire all the confusion in their minds or pray to God to re-wire their minds. Then when it doesn't happen they have an anxiety attack. Some will be able to do that but most who are addressed this way will never speak to you again. They don't think they are rebelling. Maybe they are but they are definitely not aware of it.
There is another product of this maligned interaction: the belief that Christianity is an exclusive club. Only those with the natural capacity to immediately believe the gospel will enter heaven. Indeed ONLY this particular variant of human is loved by God at any level whatsoever.
The end result is they either go totally mad and die or give up on seeking Christ and look for some other spiritual path. There is no other way for them to respond when hearing the gospel explained in this manner.
How did this happen? Whatever happened to "Jesus will accept you as you are"?
It is very easy to trust a Jesus who is extending his hand to pull you from the storm.
It is very hard to trust a Jesus who is standing on the boat and asking you "do you believe I will extend my hand to you? If not I'm turning this boat around right now."
Which is it?
I am saying that you need to repent and return. Try to do so such that you will be the righteous in God's eyes.
You really need to believe you are who God says you are
That’s what faith is brother!but I might not be. There doesn't seem to be any way to completely verify it :/
That’s what faith is brother!
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