Posted on 03/04/2020 7:44:23 AM PST by Gamecock
All cults and manmade religions are based in “works righteousness.” Their adherents believe they have to do something to earn their way to heaven—pray five times a day, lie on beds of nails, do good works, fast, repeat certain prayers, etc. They do this because they are ignorant of God’s standard of righteousness. This is why they need the Law of God to show them that the leap they are trying to make is infinitely wider than the Grand Canyon. However, before you take them through the Law, help them see that they are indeed trusting in “works” for salvation.
Let’s say there are a couple of cult members at my door. I warmly ask for their names, and then say, “I have a knife in my back. I am dying and have only three minutes to live. What do I need to do to enter heaven/paradise/the kingdom of God?” They look concerned. One says, “A lot.” I ask, “What do you mean ‘a lot’? I have only two minutes to live. Help me.” They will normally say they cannot help someone who has just a couple of minutes to live, because their salvation is based on gaining knowledge and doing “good works.” The fact that they must do things to be saved reveals that they are trusting in their “self-righteousness.”
When I then ask if they think they are “good” people, they almost always say they are, and that is the root cause of their deception. While they know they are sinners, they believe their sin is not so bad that they cannot earn their own way out of it and “merit” heaven. So they must be taken through the Law and made to understand that they are criminals in the sight of a holy Judge, and are guilty of countless crimes. They must be taken through the Law and made to understand that they are criminals in the sight of a holy Judge, and are guilty of countless crimes. They must understand that God is perfect and holy, that He considers lust to be adultery and hatred to be murder, and He will see to it that absolute justice is done. That means adulterers, murderers, liars, and thieves will be damned forever. Once they recognize that, they will understand that their “good” works are not good at all, but are in reality a detestable attempt to bribe the Judge of the universe. Hopefully they will trust in His mercy alone to save them.
That is how the thief on the cross was saved—through mercy alone. He didn’t go anywhere or do anything to save himself. He couldn’t, because he was nailed to the cross. He had no other avenue but to humbly turn to Jesus and say, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom” (Luke 23:42). In doing so, he acknowledged Jesus as Lord, and believed that He would rise from the dead (Rom. 10:9).
That is all that any who are involved in “works righteousness” religions need to do to be saved. They are condemned by the Law. They cannot go anywhere or do anything. All they can do is turn to Jesus and trust in Him alone for their salvation. We are saved by grace through faith, and that not of ourselves; “it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Eph. 2:8,9). So plant that seed in the hearts of those who think they can be saved by their own works, then pray that God causes it to grow and produce fruit.
Ping
Share the gospel and let the holy spirit do its work.
Some say that there are sheep and there are goats. I say there are found sheep, lost sheep, and goats. Believers are found sheep. The rest fall into one of the other two groups. When you share the gospel to a lost sheep, they eventually come to be a found sheep. When you share the gospel with a goat, you get endless grief, often ramped up the more you try.
So just share the GOOD news (none of that hell baloney), and let the holy spirit do its work. You may never even see them come into the fold, but you’ll know about it after this life. :)
I read “The True Believer”. Recommended by Ike.
You can’t make any difference of any sort when you start with a false premise, and this piece absolutely does.
While many cults are works based, a great many others deny the very concept of sin and those must be approached differently
Switching to your religion is doing something. If there is no need to do anything then religion, including your, is pointless.
A question you can ask is: what can you offer me that is better than what I have as a Christian? Everything they offer is based on having to work for it somehow.
Do these so-called ‘witnessers’ realize that in their attempts to be good little christians getting their ‘witnesser’ card punched, that they are crapping on someone else’s 1st Amendment rights, if those being talked at, are American citizens?
There is JOY in knowing Christ and His Salvation.
1 Thessalonians 5:16
Show it!
You’d be surprised how many people will come up to you wondering what’s your secret.
Sometimes a simple smile to anonymous people will bring about conversations as well.
With all that his going on in the world, the lost are looking for answers in all of the wrong places. They need Jesus!
Oh poo.....
Acts 5:29
Flattering folks with 1st Amendment “rights” straight into hell.
The 1st Anendment doesn’t mean you have the right to not hear things you disagree with!
If you don’t like Christian proselytizing, just say “no thanks,” and walk away! Don’t say “how dare you violate my 1st Amendment rights to not be talked at!”
Terry is confused about our 1st Amendment rights, believes it means the right to not be offended by other people’s 1st Amendment rights. :)
Mat_10:14 And whoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when you depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.
Mar_6:11 And whoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Truly I say to you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.
Luk_9:5 And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them.
The “shaking the dust story” is told in 3 of the Gospels so that should get our attention. Each has a different flavor, adding to the recipe.
What exactly was the message? Clues are given if anyone wants to read in context. But it was the same message the that the Prophets preached, that John the Baptist preached, that Jesus preached, that the Apostles preached.............................an offensive message that takes “ears to hear”.
“none of that hell baloney”
By which I presume you mean to not focus on the eternal damnation aspect of (lack of) salvation?
My point is that when you come up to a person that believes this life is all there is, and then you die, and you give them “good news” that they are going to be tortured for all eternity, that’s not “good news”.
The message is called the “good news” because we are all created to live and then die, thanks in part to our nature that was demonstrated in the garden and continues to be demonstrated through the entire history of man.
But Jesus offers a better way - accept his free gift and enjoy an eternity with Him, beginning the day you accept.
It’s how it’s done in Acts. That is an excellent guide to how to do it.
What exactly was the message?
Well, you might explain your thinking on that...
If I have good news, why wouldn't I want to share it? How in the world is that an infringement on someone else's FA rights? Not sharing it would be, if I catch your drift (and I admit I'm not sure I do) an infringement on my FA rights?
Witness to them from your heart as best you can, then turn it over to the Holy Spirit to work in their hearts.
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