Posted on 12/19/2023 2:24:19 AM PST by metmom
"How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard" (Heb. 2:3). Many people know the facts of the gospel but won’t make a commitment to it.
I will never forget a lady who came to my office, confessing that she was a prostitute and was desperate for help. I presented the claims of Christ to her and asked if she wanted to confess Christ as Lord of her life. She said yes and prayed, seemingly inviting Christ into her life.
Then I suggested that we burn her book of contacts. She looked at me incredulously and said, "What do you mean?" "If you want to live for Jesus Christ," I explained, "and you've truly accepted His forgiveness and embraced Him as Lord, then you need to prove it." "But that book is worth a lot of money," she said. "I don't want to burn it." After putting it back in her purse, she looked me right in the eye and said, "I guess I don't really want Jesus, do I?"
When it came to counting the cost, she wasn't ready. I don't know whatever became of her, but my heart aches for her and others like her.
I'm sure you know people like her—they know and believe that Christ is the Savior, they know they need Him, but they are unwilling to make a commitment to Him. Perhaps they even go to church and hear the Word of God. They are like the proverbial man who says he believes a boat will keep him afloat, but never sets foot in one.
Those people are the most tragic of all. They need to be warned—to be given a powerful shove toward Christ. May the Lord use you as His instrument for that purpose in the lives of many who are on the edge of a decision for Christ.
Suggestion for Prayer
Ask God to soften the hearts of people you know who understand the facts of the gospel, but haven't yet made a commitment to it.
For Further Study
Read Matthew 19:16-22. What kinds of questions should you ask of someone who appears eager to become a Christian?
From Drawing Near by John MacArthur Copyright © 1993. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.com.
Studying God’s Word ping
How many of us still cling to some of the old things?
Things that appeared to sustain us in the past, but are afraid if we REALLY give them up, GOD will somehow fail us in the future.
Is it fear? Lack of faith?? Memories of pleasure those things gave us in the past???
JM is a fearless preacher. He’s a modern day apostle and one of my favorites!
Is it fear? Lack of faith?? Memories of pleasure those things gave us in the past???
I say...
None of the above.
They were both afraid to wait for God to work in her life. He wanted her to demonstrate before his eyes the miracle so that he could notch his bible. She was discouraged by his impatience and demands that flogged her out of the house.
Hopefully, she’s not forever discouraged. If she allows the spirit to continue his work in her life. She will eventually experience the miracle and lay that little book at the foot of the cross.
Faith is a difficult thing to explain to some people.
This story is simple to understand when you acknowledge that MacArthur believes in salvation by works. It is difficult at first to see through the Calvinist doublespeak, but their is a chain of logic to it.
If A=B, and B=C, then A=C.
Salvation is by grace through “faith”. Faith without works is not faith. The “grace” force which causes you to go through the belief theater, also forces you to do good works. Therefore, salvation is by works; you just pretend that God is the One doing them. If you do not do the works you go to Hell.
Under his form of Calvinism, generally known as “Lordship Salvation”, it is pointless to feel anything about this woman because under that doctrine she is totally unable to give up her book of contacts until irresistible “grace” makes her do so. Your comment Samurai, presumes that believing is something real that the woman is actually doing.
“presumes that believing is something real that the woman is actually doing.”
Trust the Lord folks!
It seems many people don’t take the leap of faith out of fear and a lack of trust in God. For some it takes take to develop. I personally had trust issues so it took me a long time. Thankfully God is patient and never gave up on me.
He wanted her to demonstrate before his eyes the miracle so that he could notch his bible. She was discouraged by his impatience and demands that flogged her out of the house.
.....................................
Maybe not. Jesus told the woman at the well to go and sin no more. Stating the next steps in faith can be done with love, understanding and concern.
Then I suggested that we burn her book of contacts. She looked at me incredulously and said, “What do you mean?” “If you want to live for Jesus Christ,” I explained, “and you’ve truly accepted His forgiveness and embraced Him as Lord, then you need to prove it.” “But that book is worth a lot of money,” she said. “I don’t want to burn it.” After putting it back in her purse, she looked me right in the eye and said, “I guess I don’t really want Jesus, do I?”
........................................
Matthew 19:16-24
A Rich Man Refuses to Follow Jesus
16 A man came to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to have eternal life?”
17 Jesus answered, “Why do you ask me about what is good? Only God is good. But if you want to have eternal life, obey the law’s commands.”
18 The man asked, “Which ones?”
Jesus answered, “‘You must not murder anyone, you must not commit adultery, you must not steal, you must not tell lies about others, 19 you must respect your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor the same as you love yourself.’”
20 The young man said, “I have obeyed all these commands. What else do I need?”
21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, then go and sell all that you own. Give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come and follow me!”
22 But when the young man heard Jesus tell him to give away his money, he was sad. He didn’t want to do this, because he was very rich. So he left.
23 Then Jesus said to his followers, “The truth is, it will be very hard for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom. 24 Yes, I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom.”
Samurai_Jack: “They were both afraid to wait for God to work in her life. He wanted her to demonstrate before his eyes the miracle so that he could notch his bible. She was discouraged by his impatience and demands that flogged her out of the house.”
BDParrish: “It is difficult at first to see through the Calvinist doublespeak, but their is a chain of logic to it... Under his form of Calvinism, generally known as ‘Lordship Salvation’, it is pointless to feel anything about this woman because under that doctrine she is totally unable to give up her book of contacts until irresistible ‘grace’ makes her do so.”
Wow. Amazingly, you both find fault with MacArthur’s expectation that a repentant person behaves consistently with this claim. Do you likewise fault John the Baptist for demanding the Pharisees and Sadducees to produce fruits of repentance? How about Christ telling the rich young ruler to sell his possessions and give to the poor? Or His instructions to the adulteress to “go and sin no more”?
1 Corinthians 12:3 NKJV
Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.
Anyone who thinks salvation is possible without the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit to reveal Christ as Lord and Savior does not know the true Gospel of Christ and does not possess salvation or eternal life.
This was posted as a devotional. If you came to attack the message posted you need to start your own thread. This is not the place to do so.
The thing about demanding instant works is that it can give a person a false sense of being saved. They did X, Y, and Z because they were told they were supposed to and therefore they are saved, even if they might not be.
I am forever grateful that nobody pounced on me and demanded I start going to church, get a Bible and start reading it, start giving to church, etc. I did it because I felt I needed to, but it did NOT happen instantly. Soon after my decision, yes, but it was a process.
And now I can look back and see that I did it because of the regenerated nature, not because someone told me I was *supposed* to be doing those things.
If this story is true and not some Christian urban legend, then God dealt with her if her commitment was genuine. But I can see why she’d never go back to MacArthur’s church.
Sorry to spotlight your devotional.
Carry On...
I moved into a basement apartment which in time would learn the gal above me was a Stripper. Short story we ended up chatting on several occasions much to her astonishment as most would not when they learned what she did.
There came a time where I mentioned to the Pastor she wanted to come to church but was afraid some of the men might recognize her. His response was Golden as he said to me...”That would be their problem not hers now wouldn't it”.
“The thing about demanding instant works is that it can give a person a false sense of being saved.”
The thing about basing assurance of salvation on having said the “sinner’s prayer” might also give a person a false sense of being saved.
“I can see why she’d never go back to MacArthur’s church.”
Nothing about MacArtur’s request was inconsistent with Biblical preaching that calls for repentance and faith. Why would asking a repentant prostitute to burn her list of contacts be unreasonable?
“If this story is true and not some Christian urban legend, then God dealt with her if her commitment was genuine.”
Maybe I’m misunderstanding your post. Are you suggesting that MacArthur made up this story? Wouldn’t her refusal to get rid of her customer contacts be an indication that her commitment was not genuine?
“I am forever grateful that nobody pounced on me and demanded I start going to church, get a Bible and start reading it, start giving to church, etc. I did it because I felt I needed to, but it did NOT happen instantly. Soon after my decision, yes, but it was a process.”
Certainly, MOST of the outward changes in believers’ lives occur over time. But there is a big difference between expecting a believer to demonstrate spiritual growth in their Bible study or church attendance versus expecting gradual change to happen when it comes to things like murder, adultery, or, in this case, prostitution. A new believer may gradually break away from the habits of cigarette smoking, overeating, or getting irritable in bad traffic, but he does not start cutting back on the number of murders he is committing. He quits altogether. Some changes are reasonably expected to be instant.
Is it possible for a true believer to fall into such sins? Certainly. But that’s a big difference from choosing to remain in this lifestyle when a way out is being offered. The choice to hang onto her book of clients of prostitution (and specifically because of its monetary value) shows a bad intention. Anyone can say the words of a “sinner’s prayer”, but the behavior that follows is the true measure of whether the prayer was sincere. Ironically, even the woman herself recognized that this indicated she was not fully sincere.
Repentance goes beyond just giving up a certain lifestyle. It is evidenced by doing the opposite. Zacheus didn’t just stop stealing. He made restitution. What does that show about his life?
Luke 19:8-10 NKJV
Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
It’s not my devotional.
Just suggesting that the point of a devotional is to provoke thoughtful conversation but not supposed to be a point of deep theological debate.
Perhaps debate is unavoidable. Personally, I didn’t find anything in the devotional to be at all controversial.
Assurance of salvation is based on Scripture, not a *sinner’s prayer*.
Zaccheus immediately make that decision for himself to give half his possessions to the poor, but when the Christians in Ephesus burned their scrolls, it was a choice they made and not at the demand of Paul and i doubt it happened immediately.
I’m not going to be legalistic about someone because they don’t immediately do what I think they should or what I demand. I wait to see the fruit. THAT is what proves the genuineness of their faith.
I’ll help them, give them advice, etc, but for their faith to mean anything, it must be a genuine outworking of the Holy Spirit in their lives.
I get it. Back in the day I actually worked at a strip club and clubs on Bourbon Street, and private parties. I knew a lot of call girls in New Orleans. Once I went to a church to see a specific pastor preach. There was a family sitting in the pew in front of me. The father/husband turned around and saw me, and recognized me as the DJ from the strip club. He then quickly turned back front and didn’t look back again as he was sitting with his wife and kids. God used that time in my life to give me insight into people in those lifestyles. There are lots of people there that want God, but don’t know how to go about it. Many I knew are dead now from drug overdoses.
John McArthur suggested to the stripper that she get rid of her little black book. She wasn’t ready at the moment, he didn’t demand it. In fact he stated he continued to pray for her over the years. Hopefully the Holy Spirit worked in her life over the years. Eventually strippers/hookers get tired and give it up because they get too old or end up addicted to drugs or unhealthy lifestyles. Whenever I’m in NOLA sometimes I’ll stop back into the old places to bring the Good News to the people there. A lot of people want to hear it.
Well then you understand as I do.
Amen. I’m thankful God never leaves us nor forsakes us.
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