Why don't you Believe the Gospel?

[Dan Brooks]

This question is for those who know they are not Christians, who have not believed on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, for redemption of your soul.
When someone shares the gospel with you, to repent of your sins, and believe on the Lord Jesus, and trust Him to forgive your sins and save you from hell, what makes you say no?
I know the spiritual reasons, but I would like to know what goes through your mind that makes you reject the message.
Thank you for any responses.

 

[GoldenBoy89]

Basically... I don't believe hell exists and don't believe in the claims of divinity attributed to Christ so I don't believe he can save me from any sins or eternal damnation. I don't live my life assuming any of those things are real or that I need to worry about them.

 

[Silmarien]

I thought it was very convenient that Christians had conjured up the concept of sin, attached an ultimate penalty to it and then said that they had the only cure. The Christian God seemed very much like a medieval feudal lord demanding fealty of his subjects, and the whole system exhibited such strong power structures that it was clearly the product of man.

Then I ran across Christian existentialism and Eastern Orthodoxy and developed a very different understanding of sin, hell, and atonement. I no longer reject the Gospel, but I worry that it's too good to be true.

 

[ViaCrucis]

This question is for those who know they are not Christians, who have not believed on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, for redemption of your soul.
When someone shares the gospel with you, to repent of your sins, and believe on the Lord Jesus, and trust Him to forgive your sins and save you from hell, what makes you say no?
I know the spiritual reasons, but I would like to know what goes through your mind that makes you reject the message.
Thank you for any responses.

I find it helpful to to try and put myself in someone else's shoes, or to re-frame the scenario a bit. In this case, you might consider why you don't believe in the message of Islam, or why you don't believe in the Noble Eightfold Path of Buddhism. And I suspect that your answer to such a question will shed some light on why non-Christians don't embrace our religion. For me it's kind of simple: I'm not a Muslim or a Buddhist because I'm a Christian; I do not find the claims, positions, teachings, and ideas of other religions convincing enough that I would abandon those things which I cling to most dearly: my Christian faith, confession, and conviction that Jesus of Nazareth is Christ and Lord, having been conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, buried, dead, descended into She'ol, rose from the dead on the third day, ascended into the heavens, is seated at the right hand of God the Father, and that He will come again in glory with the fullness of His everlasting kingdom.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[iwbswiaihl2]

Let me ask you this, do you or have you ever read the bible very much? If you did, what was you thoughts about your lifestyle? Did you think or have thoughts about your sin that you have committed, or not so much about sin at all? The words of God by the Holy Spirit will convict sinners of their sin and show them that Jesus paid that sin debt and one can be freed by faith in Him. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God, Romans 10:17 and verses 8-13 will show how one comes into the family of God. If nothing of your condition in life comes to mind, keep on reading especially the NT, and if you don't see your need for a Savior, a few seconds after you leave this life, you will and more than likely you will think maybe, I don't really know, but maybe you will think, if only I had listened to what my thoughts were trying to tell when I read those words from the bible. Here praying that you come to have ears to hear, and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

[Ken Rank]

I thought it was very convenient that Christians had conjured up the concept of sin, attached an ultimate penalty to it and then said that they had the only cure. The Christian God seemed very much like a medieval feudal lord demanding fealty of his subjects, and the whole system exhibited such strong power structures that it was clearly the product of man.

Then I ran across Christian existentialism and Eastern Orthodoxy and developed a very different understanding of sin, hell, and atonement. I no longer reject the Gospel, but I worry that it's too good to be true.

That was a very well thought out answer...I have had some of those very same issues.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

This question is for those who know they are not Christians, who have not believed on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, for redemption of your soul.
When someone shares the gospel with you, to repent of your sins, and believe on the Lord Jesus, and trust Him to forgive your sins and save you from hell, what makes you say no?
I know the spiritual reasons, but I would like to know what goes through your mind that makes you reject the message.
Thank you for any responses.

If you post this on another forum, non-christians are allowed to help answer your questions?

 

[RaymondG]

Maybe it is because of how the gospel message is delivered.... What is your Gospel message? What it your good news? Does your good news include an introduction to a fact that the person is headed for a burning oven that they were not aware of before listening to your "Good news"

 

[Occams Barber]

This question is for those who know they are not Christians, who have not believed on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, for redemption of your soul.
When someone shares the gospel with you, to repent of your sins, and believe on the Lord Jesus, and trust Him to forgive your sins and save you from hell, what makes you say no?
I know the spiritual reasons, but I would like to know what goes through your mind that makes you reject the message.
Thank you for any responses.

If I see no reason to believe your god exists, it's pretty difficult to accept that he's sending me messages.

The key to understanding atheists is the absence of belief.
OB

 

[Ana the Ist]

This question is for those who know they are not Christians, who have not believed on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, for redemption of your soul.
When someone shares the gospel with you, to repent of your sins, and believe on the Lord Jesus, and trust Him to forgive your sins and save you from hell, what makes you say no?
I know the spiritual reasons, but I would like to know what goes through your mind that makes you reject the message.
Thank you for any responses.

I don't believe what they believe...I'm not sure of another way of saying it.

Pick any religion you don't believe in....and imagine someone from that religion trying to "win you over" to their religion. What would go through your head? Specifically, what would you think about their beliefs?

It's probably very similar to what is going through my head in the scenario you described.

 

[Dan Brooks]

If you post this on another forum, non-christians are allowed to help answer your questions?

Apparently so. I've only been on here about a week.

 

[Dan Brooks]

Basically... I don't believe hell exists and don't believe in the claims of divinity attributed to Christ so I don't believe he can save me from any sins or eternal damnation. I don't live my life assuming any of those things are real or that I need to worry about them.

Do you believe in any god at all?

 

[Dan Brooks]

I thought it was very convenient that Christians had conjured up the concept of sin, attached an ultimate penalty to it and then said that they had the only cure. The Christian God seemed very much like a medieval feudal lord demanding fealty of his subjects, and the whole system exhibited such strong power structures that it was clearly the product of man.

Then I ran across Christian existentialism and Eastern Orthodoxy and developed a very different understanding of sin, hell, and atonement. I no longer reject the Gospel, but I worry that it's too good to be true.

It definitely sounds too good to be true. People make promises that sound too good to be true all the time, and most of the time, they actually are too good to be true. People are fallen creatures, and are often dishonest and do and say things for their own gain.
But God is not that way. He isn't fallen. He isn't dishonest.
Numbers 23:19
God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
Titus 1:2
In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

God has promised eternal life to all those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And God can't lie!
So don't be worried about the Gospel being too good to be true. God always only tells the truth. He is always trustworthy. You can absolutely trust Jesus. He never fails.

 

[Dan Brooks]

I grew up in church, so I learned about God and about Jesus from a young age. This is kind of why I asked this question. I never doubted God's existence, or the truth of the Bible, or who Jesus is, etc. My struggles and doubts revolved around myself. I would read a verse like "God is love", and I would think, "Yes God is love, because the Bible is true. But I don't think He could love me, because I've done too much." I always thought, "I'm not good enough. I'll never be good enough. I'll never be worthy of God's love."
And you know what? That's absolutely true! But it isn't about that. No one will ever be good enough to earn God's love, or to merit eternal life in Heaven. This is the whole reason why God sent Jesus here to save us from our sins.
Jesus Christ IS good enough. He's the only one who is. And when He died on the cross (which wasn't an accident. It was why He was here.), He placed our sins on Him, so that when He died, our sins died with Him.
John 12:27
Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? "Father, save me from this hour": but for this cause came I unto this hour.
Colossians 2:13-15
13 "And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it."

And when we turn to Him and believe on Him and trust Him to save us from our sins, He washes away our sins completely, and puts His righteousness on us instead.
Revelation 1:5-6
5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
2 Corinthians 5:21
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

So it's as if we had not only never sinned, but as if we had lived our lives as perfectly as He did. Even though none of us has ever even come close to doing that. I know I haven't.
Why would God do this? Because He loves us. And I now know that God loves me, even though I don't deserve it.
John 3:16
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Romans 5:5-8
5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

 

[Silmarien]

It definitely sounds too good to be true. People make promises that sound too good to be true all the time, and most of the time, they actually are too good to be true. People are fallen creatures, and are often dishonest and do and say things for their own gain.
But God is not that way. He isn't fallen. He isn't dishonest.
Numbers 23:19
God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
Titus 1:2
In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

God has promised eternal life to all those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And God can't lie!
So don't be worried about the Gospel being too good to be true. God always only tells the truth. He is always trustworthy. You can absolutely trust Jesus. He never fails.

The problem is that this is all circular logic. Scripture says that God cannot lie, therefore biblical promises must be true. If the Bible is the product of humanity and not in any way divinely inspired, then it has no authority to make statements about God at all.

I'm an Aristotelian theist, thanks in large part to Thomas Aquinas and his modern defenders, but I don't give the Bible more weight than I would, say, the Upanishads without good cause. So this line of reasoning is a dead end.

 

[Occams Barber]

I grew up in church, so I learned about God and about Jesus from a young age. This is kind of why I asked this question. I never doubted God's existence, or the truth of the Bible, or who Jesus is, etc. My struggles and doubts revolved around myself. I would read a verse like "God is love", and I would think, "Yes God is love, because the Bible is true. But I don't think He could love me, because I've done too much." I always thought, "I'm not good enough. I'll never be good enough. I'll never be worthy of God's love."
And you know what? That's absolutely true! But it isn't about that. No one will ever be good enough to earn God's love, or to merit eternal life in Heaven. This is the whole reason why God sent Jesus here to save us from our sins.
Jesus Christ IS good enough. He's the only one who is. And when He died on the cross (which wasn't an accident. It was why He was here.), He placed our sins on Him, so that when He died, our sins died with Him.
John 12:27
Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? "Father, save me from this hour": but for this cause came I unto this hour.
Colossians 2:13-15
13 "And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it."

And when we turn to Him and believe on Him and trust Him to save us from our sins, He washes away our sins completely, and puts His righteousness on us instead.
Revelation 1:5-6
5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
2 Corinthians 5:21
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

So it's as if we had not only never sinned, but as if we had lived our lives as perfectly as He did. Even though none of us has ever even come close to doing that. I know I haven't.
Why would God do this? Because He loves us. And I now know that God loves me, even though I don't deserve it.
John 3:16
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Romans 5:5-8
5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

You're preaching Mr Brooks and nothing annoys atheists/agnostics more than being preached at, particularly by someone quoting slabs of Gospel. For an atheist/agnostic Bible quotes carry very little weight.

It also shows that you weren't really interested in an answer to your question. You were just looking for an opportunity to preach.

Pity - you might have learned something.
OB

 

[Dan Brooks]

The problem is that this is all circular logic. Scripture says that God cannot lie, therefore biblical promises must be true. If the Bible is the product of humanity and not in any way divinely inspired, then it has no authority to make statements about God at all.

I'm an Aristotelian theist, thanks in large part to Thomas Aquinas and his modern defenders, but I don't give the Bible more weight than I would, say, the Upanishads without good cause. So this line of reasoning is a dead end.

Well, then being a theist, believing that God is there, why not pray and ask Him if the gospel really is true. Ask Him if the Bible really is His word. Ask Him if Jesus really is the Savior, and that you really can have eternal life.
Hebrews 11:6
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Yes that's from the Bible, but it isn't just true because it's in the Bible. I know by experience.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Apparently so. I've only been on here about a week.

I got cited for it. Im new too. Here non christians create thread about concerns and non debative questions. Only christians can reply. I dont know if the OP can discuss his question with those who answer him. Non christians cant answer for christians; NC are limited to where we post. At the bottom of the front page there should be discussion forums for both NC and christians. Im look real quick. NC cant really debate. They take it as offensive.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

@Dan Brooks go down to Discussion and Debate.

 

[Dan Brooks]

You're preaching Mr Brooks and nothing annoys atheists/agnostics more than being preached at, particularly by someone quoting slabs of Gospel. For an atheist/agnostic Bible quotes carry very little weight.

It also shows that you weren't really interested in an answer to your question. You were just looking for an opportunity to preach.

Pity - you might have learned something.
OB

No I really do want answers to this question. I explained further down that since I grew up in church, I always had belief in God and Jesus, and that the Bible was true. I didn't have an experience of living 20 or 30 years as an outright unbeliever before I believed on Jesus, so I really wanted to know what people who don't believe think when they hear the gospel. Some believe it when they hear, and others don't. And since I do, I really wanted to know why those who don't, don't.
The person I responded to (where you said I was preaching) expressed a belief or acceptance of the gospel, but had worries about it being too good to be true. So I was just trying to address that particular issue.
That's all I was trying to do there. Sorry for annoying you. I didn't mean to.
BTW, I like your name. It's clever.