Posted on 03/03/2015 12:32:27 PM PST by two134711
Some folks here are still mad at him for not keeping his promise.
indeed!
Even pigs can do it!
I remember when you started started the RF forum !!!!!
No one makes anyone read everything that is posted. Hey guys just keep scrolling if it offends you
There’s no judgement needed ... the person tells you ... :-) ...
Again ... no judgement needed (as I said in the previous post) because the person tells you.
But that going into all the world is a “collective” you. I haven’t gone into all the world ... and not only do I not intend to, I don’t expect to either.
When I’m in church and looking around me, I can tell you that the majority of Christians sitting around me are not going to go into all the world, and neither do they intend to. And they are not expected to.
As I said, that’s a collective you or a collective command, made for the church at large and NOT for each individual Christian.
But what is entirely possible for each individual Christian is for them to tell of the hope that is in them, when asked, or to give the Gospel to those around them in the place where they are at.
But once again, it’s NOT to harangue people into believing. They are to ONLY give the Gospel and if it is rejected, they have done what they are supposed to. That’s it ... no guessing needed, no mind reading needed — the person has told you. Any more than that is up to God, himself and not you.
Now, of course ... it should go without saying that if someone does accept the Gospel and wants to enter into a saving faith with Jesus as their personal Savior, then there is more to do after that ... :-) ... as there is a lot more that they will need in the way of help. There’s a lifetime of growth after that.
Yes, that can and may happen, but I can pretty much assure you that it’s a true work of God in those matters.
Of course with everyone, it still is a true work of God, because it does take the Holy Spirit to do his work.
Even though it does take the Holy Spirit with everyone, with most ... a casual observer can almost be fooled into thinking that it was simply related to that Christian (alone) ... giving the gospel, and that’s all it was. Of course, that’s not true ... as it takes the Holy Spirit in each and every individual.
BUT with so-called “witch doctors” (and those over here who do insistently propagate doctrines of demons, incessantly and loudly reject the Gospel) ... with them just about everyone can see it’s truly a miracle that is outside any human agency ... that can bring someone like that to a saving faith in Jesus, according to the Scriptures. Most everyone sees that this sort is the work of God alone.
SO ... if one were to go to the deepest jungles and see a witch doctor, even though that witch doctor may have heard the Gospel many times, especially if someone is going around to many other people in his community ... this missionary is normally going to be rejected right away. At that point, the Gospel has been given and that witch doctor is “on his own” according to the decision he has made. There is no more requirement for the gospel to be given another 100 times to him in order to harangue him to death.
If he comes to a saving faith in Jesus as his personal savior, it will truly be “a work of God” and no one else. God may bring that person around ... and then again, a God may simply harden his heart as God did with Pharaoh. We don’t know and we don’t need to know. That’s not our business.
I don’t know of any promise ... so if some people are mad, I guess that’s something they have personally within themselves ... :-) ... and they can ask God for help with it.
There’s more than enough work for giving out the Gospel without sticking around with one person who rejects it and beating that dead horse to death.
You see ... you move on to where God wants you to be. And how do you know where that is ... very simply it’s where people are accepting the Gospel.
Since you are never going to get to the end of people who need to hear the Gospel ... every person you are STUCK WITH who is continually rejecting it ... is taking you away from many others who are waiting to accept it.
And that has nothing to do with having “God figured out” but simply doing what he says. There are many waiting for you ... so don’t get stuck ... :-) ...
BUT ... to go into it a little more, what I see is that too many people think they are doing God’s job, when they should be doing their own job. God’s job is saving the person through the work of the Holy Spirit. WITHOUT THAT, you’re doing absolutely nothing. All you do is give them God’s Word. You do NOT SAVE ... God does.
If the person is not receiving the Gospel that means that the person is rejecting the work of the Holy Spirit. The Gospel has been given. You don’t save, so you can do nothing more. And as it is with the Word of God, it is alive and continues to work - apart from you. Again ... you do not save, it’s not your work and it’s not your word. Your job is done. The Word of God is fully capable of doing its own work ... since it is alive!
The Word of God requires nothing from you! The Spirit of God requires nothing from you. Salvation of that person requires nothing from you. Unfortunately, too many people think they are “God” in this regard ... :-) ...
Nice sermonette, but the unanswered question was and is...
“Are you sure this once-and-we’re-done approach to evangelization is most pleasing to our Father in Heaven?”
You’re lecturing about an intelligent, business-like approach to evangelization that may or may not be what others are called to do. Your fellowship of Christians may agree with you, but I contend that the one-size-fits-all and once-and-done techniques may build larger ministries and show better and more modern time-management methods but are you CERTAIN this is how He has directed ALL of His children to proceed. I don’t see how you can be.
God gave us all brains to use, to make decisions in the context of God’s Word ... plus using the other facts he’s given us in Scripture. And those are that God gave us all free will to choose or not. God does not force anyone to be with him, against their will.
There are consequences, of course, for those decisions, but he has given it to us. God also respects one’s choice, as we can see from Revelation 20, at the Great White Throne Judgement. Those are all who have not accepted Jesus as their Savior, thus showing God has respected their choice. There is nowhere that God tells us to override one’s choice in this matter, so when they tell you, you know right then what it is.
God respects their choice ... so should you ... :-) ...
Just don’t think like you do about this. I see the Commission differently than you. And you are posting about “overriding one’s choice” when that wasn’t answering my question at all.
We just don’t agree on your limited methodology or on how to directly answer a FReeper’s specific question. The terrible Great White Throne does not speak to a Christian group’s tactics of evangelization or their effectiveness.
Lunchtyme!
If you refuse to accept one’s choice, then that’s the overriding that I’m talking about. God doesn’t even do that. You accept their choice and you give the Gospel to someone else.
Though most of us will not be able to go into "all the world" to preach the Gospel, we CAN do that within our OWN "world" - our sphere of influence - as well as support the missionaries who DO devote their lives to go to the farthest corners of the earth. This, I believe, is how our Lord intended. Paul often made mention of those believers who supported him in his missionary journeys and they were partakers of the rewards and blessings WITH him.
That’s right. There are people all around us, our immediate vicinity.
That’s right ... God is the one in control and who oversees everything, not us. We do a very little piece and move on. According to God’s will and God’s control (and not our control and will) ... He will either bring another, or He won’t. God runs the show ... we don’t.
Another way to put it is ... very simply ... God does not need you to save someone ... :-) ... God manages His creation just fine. So we can accept someone’s refusal of the gospel message you may bring to them and move on. If God has plans for that person, God is very capable of taking care of it, Himself.
Don't get me wrong, I do believe we are called to be faithful in sharing the gospel, but I do not believe anyone will be in hell because someone failed to tell them about Jesus. The Good Shepherd knows His sheep and they know him and WILL come to Him no matter where they are or how far they've wandered. NO ONE goes to hell never having had the chance to respond to the gospel. We ALL deserve an eternity separated from God because we have ALL sinned and fall short of God's glory and perfection, but God is a rewarder of all those who diligently seek Him. We are blessed to be used by Him as instruments of salvation to all those who will believe.
Something on the order of if the divorce went thru; he'd quit preaching.
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