God: Evangelism
there are some people whom i try to talk to about God. for those who have tried evangelising, you would know that winning souls for God's Kingdom is an uphill task.
in my opinion, there are a few categories of non-believers (atheists only, discounting those who believe in other religions.)
there are certain people who are non-believers because they do not yet know the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
there are others who are non-believers because they do not see the need for a God in their lives. they think, "i'm not that bad am i? why would i need some god to save me?"
then there are those who know about God, but do not want to believe because believing would mean a radical change to their lifestyles. they would have to try to stop all their sinful activities, change the way they behave and try to live in step with God's Word. to some, that is just too much trouble.
there are, of course, others, but i'm generalising here.
for those in the first two categories above, it's not that difficult to get the message into them. the problem is with those in the third category, which i believe are most of the people around me.
most non-Christians are not as uninformed about the Gospel as i think. they know about the Gospel. they know a little about Jesus. they know a little what Jesus did on the Cross. they know enough. they also know that being a Christian entails alot of other things. and that's where the problem comes in.
they are simply too happy with the life that they are living now and they are not willing to change anything about it. to them, believing in God would mean that they have to "be holy and goody-two-shoes, disrupt their activities because those would probably be wrong, admit that they are nobodies who need a God in their lives to direct them". they do not want to change.
however, the change that comes about from being a Christian is brought about by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and it is God who changes you, not you change yourself. we are powerless to change ourselves!!!
as a Christian, we must admit that we are weak and our God is strong, and it is through Him that we are changed. God says in Ezekiel 11:19-20 "...I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God." God says that it is HE who will change the hearts of His people, and He doesn't expect His people to change themselves.
so what does this mean for Christians who try to evangelise? well this means good news!!! we can leave the toughest part of the job to God. our task, as stated in earlier parts of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 3:16-19), we are simply to be a "watchman" who speaks out to non-believers to "dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life".
we should simply tell people about God and the good news that God came down to earth in the form of Jesus to die for man's sin and that through Him we can be made pure in the presence of God. of course, telling that person one time is not good enough. continually bring up this topic in love, for the sole reason of that person's salvation.
this is an important task. when the dead are judged (see Revelation 20:11-15) would we want to find out that our loved ones and friends' names are not in the book of life? verse 14 and 15 says "... The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire". how would we as Christians react on that day when we see our friends and loved ones thrown into the lake of fire??? perish that thought! because of this, the salvation of souls is important.
personally, the issue of me sharing the Gospel with my friends is, unfortunately, very dismal. i don't do it enough. there are many friends around me whom i want to share the Gospel with, but i do not have enough courage. sigh...
it's so hard to do! i quote "it is easier to preach ten sermons than to live one" (by i forgot who...). how true that is...
so, all of my Christian friends, please pray for courage for me and for the Spirit to guide me!
ps: i have written some other stuff on the same few verses in Ezekiel; check them out on my main blog.
in my opinion, there are a few categories of non-believers (atheists only, discounting those who believe in other religions.)
there are certain people who are non-believers because they do not yet know the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
there are others who are non-believers because they do not see the need for a God in their lives. they think, "i'm not that bad am i? why would i need some god to save me?"
then there are those who know about God, but do not want to believe because believing would mean a radical change to their lifestyles. they would have to try to stop all their sinful activities, change the way they behave and try to live in step with God's Word. to some, that is just too much trouble.
there are, of course, others, but i'm generalising here.
for those in the first two categories above, it's not that difficult to get the message into them. the problem is with those in the third category, which i believe are most of the people around me.
most non-Christians are not as uninformed about the Gospel as i think. they know about the Gospel. they know a little about Jesus. they know a little what Jesus did on the Cross. they know enough. they also know that being a Christian entails alot of other things. and that's where the problem comes in.
they are simply too happy with the life that they are living now and they are not willing to change anything about it. to them, believing in God would mean that they have to "be holy and goody-two-shoes, disrupt their activities because those would probably be wrong, admit that they are nobodies who need a God in their lives to direct them". they do not want to change.
however, the change that comes about from being a Christian is brought about by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and it is God who changes you, not you change yourself. we are powerless to change ourselves!!!
as a Christian, we must admit that we are weak and our God is strong, and it is through Him that we are changed. God says in Ezekiel 11:19-20 "...I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God." God says that it is HE who will change the hearts of His people, and He doesn't expect His people to change themselves.
so what does this mean for Christians who try to evangelise? well this means good news!!! we can leave the toughest part of the job to God. our task, as stated in earlier parts of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 3:16-19), we are simply to be a "watchman" who speaks out to non-believers to "dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life".
we should simply tell people about God and the good news that God came down to earth in the form of Jesus to die for man's sin and that through Him we can be made pure in the presence of God. of course, telling that person one time is not good enough. continually bring up this topic in love, for the sole reason of that person's salvation.
this is an important task. when the dead are judged (see Revelation 20:11-15) would we want to find out that our loved ones and friends' names are not in the book of life? verse 14 and 15 says "... The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire". how would we as Christians react on that day when we see our friends and loved ones thrown into the lake of fire??? perish that thought! because of this, the salvation of souls is important.
personally, the issue of me sharing the Gospel with my friends is, unfortunately, very dismal. i don't do it enough. there are many friends around me whom i want to share the Gospel with, but i do not have enough courage. sigh...
it's so hard to do! i quote "it is easier to preach ten sermons than to live one" (by i forgot who...). how true that is...
so, all of my Christian friends, please pray for courage for me and for the Spirit to guide me!
ps: i have written some other stuff on the same few verses in Ezekiel; check them out on my main blog.
posted by Jase | 9:33 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home