|
|
Post by Cindy on Mar 23, 2016 10:46:55 GMT -5
What is wrong with us? How can we not care that sinners are being swallowed by death? Why am I sometimes more concerned about losing my hair than I am that sinners are going to Hell? I grieve that my eyes are dry while I pray for and preach to the unsaved. I recently received the following challenging letter from an atheist I had been witnessing to via e-mail:
“If you’re right, as you say you are, and you believe that, then how can you sleep at night? When you speak with me, you are speaking with someone who you believe is walking directly into eternal damnation, into an endless onslaught of horrendous pain which your loving god created, yet you stand by and do nothing. If you believed one bit that thousands every day were falling into an eternal and unchangeable fate, you should be running the streets mad with rage at their blindness. That’s equivalent to standing on a street corner and watching every person that passes you walk blindly directly into the path of a bus and die, yet you stand idly by and do nothing. You’re just twiddling your thumbs, happy in the knowledge that one day that “walk” signal will shine your way across the road. Imagine the horrors hell must have in store if the Bible is true. You’re just going to allow that to happen and not care about saving anyone but yourself? If you’re right then you’re an uncaring, unemotional and purely selfish b-st-rd that has no right to talk about subjects such as love and caring.”
Comfort, R. (1999). How to win souls & influence people
|
|
|
|
Post by ironbark on Mar 31, 2016 16:03:46 GMT -5
Hi Cindy.
In my opinion, and according to Scripture there's no such thing as an atheist. According to the Bible;
Romans 1:20-21, “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse. Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”
They simply just refuse to believe! It is these who simply refuse to believe there is no God that He will deny knowing as well on the last day.
Matthew 10:33, But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
John. 20:29, "Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."
Psalm 14:1, "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good."
Psalm 53:1, "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good."
There are millions of people who have never heard about God in the past and also today in countries like China, South America, central Australia who have died, and who now live having no knowledge of Him!
For those who have never heard of God, Jesus, or the Bible, and have lived their lives as decent law abiding persons in the society they were raised and lived in, God will do right by them also, for God is no respecter of persons.
Romans 2:11, For there is no respect of persons with God.
V, 12, For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;
V, 13, (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.
V, 14, For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:
Those who have heard and refuse to believe to the end, will be lost. |
|
fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383 
|
Post by fearnot on Apr 1, 2016 0:01:03 GMT -5
I am confused.
I have talked ( not very well tho) to my son about salvation, Jesus, sin.....and I 'feel' like I should be writing him every day because I do fear he might be walking into Hell.
But I may have misunderstood. I thought you encouraged me, not to badger him, as he and his wife asked ( they didn't say badger, but it was more or less their meaning).
I thought I could have hope ( not absolute assurance tho) that God might yet answer my prayers for their salvation, without my help (other than prayer right now, which is far more powerful than I think)?
Did I misunderstand?
I was also thinking of my neighbor friend, and I let her go instead of becoming buddy buddy ( having also talked to her about salvation, Hell, sin, etc.) and she also asked me to not badger her.
She needed to be 'herself' which was super new age. However, she wanted to be friends, minus my talking about the Bible, Jesus and so on. I did offer to talk with her again ( in the future) if she ever wish to talk about the Lord, the Bible and salvation
But should we be talking to every stranger (at these end times) about Jesus.... Stopping people on the street, and in the stores, and where ever we might be out and about?
|
|
|
|
Post by Cindy on Apr 1, 2016 11:53:33 GMT -5
You're confusing two different ways of looking at it hon. What this is intended to show us, is how very important it is for us to tell others about Jesus. You have already done that. This was written by an atheist, a person with no understanding about God or His ways. The authors purpose in sharing it was to hopefully light a fire under people who do not tell others about the Lord, ever.
In one sense, we are to badger people, but not quite the way you're thinking of it. We're to trust God to give us opportunities to tell people the Truth, and not waver from it when the opportunity arises. For instance, say an adult child, who has already been told about God and the gospel at least once, has decided that they're gay and they tell you about it. That is an opportunity the Lord is giving you to let them know how God feels about that particular lifestyle choice and that it is a choice, just as lust, murder, theft, lying and every other sin is, and that it is a sin; and more importantly, that God will cleanse them and forgive them if they will submit to Him. It does NOT mean that we should nag them hourly or daily about their belief or unbelief or about their choices. We should never willingly accept or condone their living in sin unrepented sin, like living with someone without marriage or gay relationships etc. But that also doesn't mean that we beat them over the head with it. It means that we let them know what God says about it and that God loves them and wants to help them; and that we love them to and that's why we're telling them. We don't let them sleep with their partner when they're in our home, anymore then we'd allow them to murder someone in our home. But we love them and pray for them and every time the Lord gives us an opening to speak to them about it, we do so. So for example, every time they say something to us, such as, "you have to accept me the way I am", we can reply to that by telling them how God accepts them but then changes them, and expects them to grow and that we too love them that same way - we "accept" that they're living in sin, although we don't like it anymore then God does, and we pray that they'll repent and turn to Him, so they can have a better life and be with us for eternity. But we don't badger them, or nag them because that would simply turn them away from the Lord and us!
Jesus is to be our example in all things, all the time. Look at how He did it. He told people the truth and anyone could come and listen to Him. IF He was invited, he went to their home and spoke to them, but He never, ever condoned evil or sin, and never participated in it. He refrained from even the appearance of evil. He always told the truth, but He never, ever nagged people or badgered them. In fact, He purposely told people that following Him was costly and hard, in order to weed out those who were only superficial. He simply told people the facts and left it entirely up to them to decide how to deal with it, and that's what we need to do as well. He also prayed for them, which of course we also need to do. We simply have to keep our eyes and ears, and mostly our hearts, open, asking the Lord to give us opportunities to share the truth with them, and then, when we see and opportunity, we should take it. And always, our lives should model to them what it looks like to follow Christ.
Does that help?
As far as speaking to strangers goes, I think that some people are called to do that, but not everyone -though often we're told differently. God gives every one of us a circle of people He has called us to witness to. That circle of people consists of those in our immediate family, friends, co workers, school mates, and every person who is a regular part of our life, whether it's someone we see and speak to regularly at the grocery store, our child, parent, or whoever. If every single one of us simply witnessed to those in the circle God gives us, the whole world would be changed! I should say though that in addition to this circle of people, the Lord will at times send others to us who need to hear about Him. It may be the person who sits next to us at the doctor's office, or on the plane, and asks us a question...maybe they see us reading the bible and that causes them to ask, or maybe we see them with a bible, and it causes us to ask them if they know the Lord. So He does give us others outside our circle at times too, but generally, our biggest responsibility are to those who are a part of our lives.
|
|
fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
|
Post by fearnot on Apr 1, 2016 23:16:44 GMT -5
That was extremely helpful and cleared up a lot of my confusion!!!
I am not sure I ever spoke to my daughter clearly about living with her finance.... tho I think I once said to him that I did not think it was a good example for Hossanah's children ( Probably NOT the best way to have put it).
I am almost certain I said something to my granddaughter ( not about her mom, but about living together with a man....somehow the topic had come up).
And then, Vanessa said something like will Mom is living with Brian....I can't remember our conversation, word of word, as it was like maybe a year ago or so.
I think I asked you about it once before, but it seems like I got the impression that to bring it up now might be counter productive ( not the right words...I am tired.....but there was a reason you gave...I think, but I could be wrong?)
Anyway, thank you soooooooo much what a helpful explanation!!
|
|
|
|
Post by Cindy on Apr 2, 2016 10:22:24 GMT -5
yes, I remember you telling me about both of those things and what you said about them before. I'm only guessing, but I'd guess that the reason I'd have said it wouldn't be good to discuss with your granddaughter would be because it would basically be telling her that her mother wasn't a good person, and that she should be ashamed of her. Of course that's not what you'd mean, but that's likely how any child would take it, even a young teen.
It's better to talk about sin in general, or your own sins rather then using the sins of others as examples, especially family members. If it came up in conversation, it would be ok to explain that we're special to God and He considers us - our bodies, and marriage as being very sacred, and therefore doesn't want us to have sex outside of marriage... or something along those lines. In my family, one of my older granddaughters got pregnant just before her 16th birthday. It was very confusing to Elijah and Grace because many people were congratulating Jessie and acting like her pregnancy was something wonderful, and yet Elijah and Grace's parents, and my husband and I, were not acting or speaking that way. Instead we were sad about it, and that confused them. So of course they asked us why. (thankfully they asked when the only people present were us, and their parents lol) So we were then able to explain it to them; and we were careful to also explain that we loved Jessie and would love her baby too, and that we'd forgiven her in our hearts, but hoped she'd come to understand that she had sinned so she could repent of it and not have to go through even more pain and heartache then she already was. I also made sure I let them know that Jessie had not sinned "more" then I had, or then they or their parents had, that the only difference was that she did not yet see it as sin, and had not repented of it. Even though we explained it then, they still came back and asked questions about it several more times between then and the time Jessie's baby came and they got to see him. So it's obviously not an easy thing for children to process and understand.
|
|
fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
|
Post by fearnot on Apr 17, 2016 12:28:54 GMT -5
Thank you Cindy.
I am not sure ( IF it ever came up again) just how much I should 'share' of my own life ( it might somehow be taken as glorifying sin), and also, from long distant past chats with young folk an often thrown out as an excuse.... is:
"You had to learn your lessons by experiencing the yourself and so do I!!!
But even beside the granddaughter, what about my talking to my daughter at this late date?
Leonard and I go to their house for dinner etc. and basically act as if its okay ( in that, we have never really said anything, other than the 2 times I mentioned).
As an aside, their dad is living with ( and has been for 5 or 6 years) his girlfriend. However, as his girlfriend is now pregnant with what will be his 4th child ( with his 3rd girlfriend), they will be getting married in June (before my daughter and her fiance do...they are still saving money for the wedding).
|
|
|
|
Post by Cindy on May 20, 2016 13:12:30 GMT -5
Thank you Cindy.
I am not sure ( IF it ever came up again) just how much I should 'share' of my own life ( it might somehow be taken as glorifying sin), and also, from long distant past chats with young folk an often thrown out as an excuse.... is:
"You had to learn your lessons by experiencing the yourself and so do I!!!
But even beside the granddaughter, what about my talking to my daughter at this late date?
Leonard and I go to their house for dinner etc. and basically act as if its okay ( in that, we have never really said anything, other than the 2 times I mentioned).
As an aside, their dad is living with ( and has been for 5 or 6 years) his girlfriend. However, as his girlfriend is now pregnant with what will be his 4th child ( with his 3rd girlfriend), they will be getting married in June (before my daughter and her fiance do...they are still saving money for the wedding). |
|
!!
