In recent weeks there has been a lot of newspaper reports about the activities of a group of Islamic Fundamentalists going under the name of "Islamic State" (or ISIS or ISIL). This group has been causing a huge amount of havoc in Syria and Iraq, carrying out atrocities including the decapitation of westerners who have had the misfortune to fall into their hands.
One of the terrorists responsible for this barbarity has been a man with a British accent dubbed "Jihadi John". This "person" has appeared on videos purporting to show the murder of at least 4 westerners (2 Brits and 2 yanks). I understand that there is a huge manhunt underway to capture him and bring him to some kind of justice.
It is right that we condemn the wickedness of I.S. and the one termed Jihadi John but, before we do, let us remember that we are all murderers, we have all committed acts of killing. I state this fact for 2 reasons:
Firstly, in the New Testament Jesus taught that if we hate someone then we as guilty as killers (Matthew 5 v 21-22). Simply hating someone in our hearts is just as if we had killed them. God sees everyting and, if we don't repent of hating someone the Lord will bring us to account in the same way as if we had killed.
Secondly, when Jesus died on the cross He did so as a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. It was part of the divine plan that He would pay the price for our sins. Therefore, it was not the Romans alone who killed Him (or the Jews for crying out for His blood) but it was us. We all killed Christ - we all had a hand in putting to death the Son of God, a dreadful crime because Christ was sinless and perfect.
Consequently we must conclude that we are all guilty before God, and we all need to repent of these acts of wickedness. Having repented we must all then accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour - He is the ONLY way to eternal life.
Jesus said: "I am the way, the truth and the life; no-one comes to the Father but by me" John 14 v 6
Tuesday, 14 October 2014
Friday, 3 October 2014
I'm quite relaxed about it.
My last article mentioned a number of people (with identities concealed to protect them from cyber bullying) who have been saved as a result of street evangelism. However, what about the many who refuse the Gospel? What about the hordes of people who are offered tracts and do not avail themselves of the offer of eternal life?
My response to this question is simple - I'm quite relaxed about it; why is this? There are 3 reasons I give in answer to that:
1. Jesus said that most people will not get saved.
In Matthew 7 v 13-14 Jesus made it clear that many are travelling on the broad way which leads to judgement and few on the narrow way which leads to life. Although there will be many people in Heaven (a great multitude that no one can number - Revelation 7 v 9) as a percentage of the whole human race it will be a minority, therefore, in relative terms - a few.
2. The loss is theirs.
When most people refuse tracts they are quite polite but sometimes they can be terse and spiteful; my response to such people is often to say "it's your loss!" Why do I say that - because one day they will give account to God for refusing His offer of eternal life. They refused to have their names written in the book of life by accepting Christ as their personal Saviour. Therefore, they will end up in the Lake of Fire - Revelation 20 v 15. It's obviously very sad when this happens, but it's no loss to me - I've made reasonable efforts to show them the way to Heaven.
3. God's Holy Spirit is stronger then man's rebellious spirit.
I know of people who once refused (and refused very strongly) to repent of their sins and accept Christ. However, over time the Holy Spirit worked upon them and drew them to the foot of the cross in repentance and faith. There are people who were once enslaved in sexual perversion and vile filth who have been drawn to repentance by God and are now reaching out to gay communities telling them that Jesus can change them. There are people who were once trapped in cults, who have found freedom in Christ, and are now telling their former cult colleagues about this new freedom. If God is drawing someone to repentance and faith in Christ then they will come - John 6 v 37 and 6 v 44 teach us this quite distinctly.
So you see then, while it is right to be zealous in evangelism, we don't need to get angry and upset when people refuse the Gospel. We have done God's work to give the free offer of the Gospel, the results are out of our hands.
My response to this question is simple - I'm quite relaxed about it; why is this? There are 3 reasons I give in answer to that:
1. Jesus said that most people will not get saved.
In Matthew 7 v 13-14 Jesus made it clear that many are travelling on the broad way which leads to judgement and few on the narrow way which leads to life. Although there will be many people in Heaven (a great multitude that no one can number - Revelation 7 v 9) as a percentage of the whole human race it will be a minority, therefore, in relative terms - a few.
2. The loss is theirs.
When most people refuse tracts they are quite polite but sometimes they can be terse and spiteful; my response to such people is often to say "it's your loss!" Why do I say that - because one day they will give account to God for refusing His offer of eternal life. They refused to have their names written in the book of life by accepting Christ as their personal Saviour. Therefore, they will end up in the Lake of Fire - Revelation 20 v 15. It's obviously very sad when this happens, but it's no loss to me - I've made reasonable efforts to show them the way to Heaven.
3. God's Holy Spirit is stronger then man's rebellious spirit.
I know of people who once refused (and refused very strongly) to repent of their sins and accept Christ. However, over time the Holy Spirit worked upon them and drew them to the foot of the cross in repentance and faith. There are people who were once enslaved in sexual perversion and vile filth who have been drawn to repentance by God and are now reaching out to gay communities telling them that Jesus can change them. There are people who were once trapped in cults, who have found freedom in Christ, and are now telling their former cult colleagues about this new freedom. If God is drawing someone to repentance and faith in Christ then they will come - John 6 v 37 and 6 v 44 teach us this quite distinctly.
So you see then, while it is right to be zealous in evangelism, we don't need to get angry and upset when people refuse the Gospel. We have done God's work to give the free offer of the Gospel, the results are out of our hands.
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