Christians, have no doubt about the existence of our Lord and God. Now we can assume then that non-believers have doubt about our Creator's existence.
Personally, I try to live my life according to what God/Christ has commanded me. Of course I still sin, but the difference is that I know what I do is wrong, whereas non-Christians don't realize they are doing wrong.
Now when I encounter times of hardship, I turn to God for support and hope. I have experienced non-believers doing this as well (I'm not sure if I could refer to them as "non-believers" then?). To me, it is almost certain that everybody believes that there is some supreme being, they only choose to "believe" in him during hard times. I could classify this as hypocritical, but by the same token, I am being hypocritical when I sin as well.
Anyways, here is my point: I think that most non-Christians are actually closer than we think to understanding the Truth of Life.
Here are some quotes from Non-Christians about our religion, God, and Jesus:
Isaac Asimov, Author/Biochemist:
"If I were not an atheist, I would believe in a God who would choose to save people on the basis of the totality of their lives and not the pattern of their words. I think he would prefer an honest and righteous atheist to a TV preacher whose every word is God, God, God, and whose every deed is foul, foul, foul."
Mahatma Gandhi, Indian Philosopher:
"Whenever you are confronted with an opponent, Conquer him with love." "There is nothing that wastes the body like worry, and one who has any faith in God should be ashamed to worry about anything whatsoever.”
Voltaire, French Philosopher/Atheist:
"If there were no God, it would be necessary to invent him."
George Santayana, Atheist/US Philosopher:
"The Bible is a wonderful source of inspiration for those who don’t understand it."
Blaise Pascal, French Philosopher/Mathematician/Converted Christian after near-death experience and heavenly vision:
"There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus.”
“Jesus is the God whom we can approach without pride and before whom we can humble ourselves without despair.”
Napoleon I, Emperor Of France/Atheist or Deist:
"Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and myself founded empires; but what foundation did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded an empire upon love; and at this hour millions of men would die for Him.”
Bob Dylan, American Songwriter:
"I don't go to church or to a synagogue. I don't kneel beside my bed at night. I don't think I will. I have yet to face the terror I read about in all the great literature. But, since politics, economics and war have failed to make us feel any better—as individuals or as a nation—and we look back at long years of disrepair, then maybe the time for religion has come again, and rather too suddenly—'like a thief in the night.'"
Thomas Paine, American revolutionary&political writer:
“Is it a fact that Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world, and how is it proved? If a God, he could not die, and as a man he could not redeem.”
Mahatma Gandhi, Hindu Follower:
"I consider Western Christianity in its practical working a negation of Christ’s Christianity."
"A man who was completely innocent, offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including his enemies, and became the ransom of the world. It was a perfect act."
H G Wells, British Writer/Historian:
"I am an historian, I am not a believer, but I must confess as a historian that this penniless preacher from Nazareth is irrevocably the very center of history. Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure in all history."
Unknown:
"Socrates taught for 40 years, Plato for 50, Aristotle for 40, and Jesus for only 3. Yet the influence of Christ's 3-year ministry infinitely transcends the impact left by the combined 130 years of teaching from these men who were among the greatest philosophers of all antiquity."
"Buddha never claimed to be God. Moses never claimed to be Jehovah. Mohammed never claimed to be Allah. Yet Jesus Christ claimed to be the true and living God. Buddha simply said, "I am a teacher in search of the truth." Jesus said, "I am the Truth." Confucius said, "I never claimed to be holy." Jesus said, "Who convicts me of sin?" Mohammed said, "Unless God throws his cloak of mercy over me, I have no hope." Jesus said, "Unless you believe in me, you will die in your sins."
Albert Einstein, Physicist/Time Magazine's "Greatest Person Of 20th Century":
"As a child I received instruction both in the Bible and in the Talmud. I am a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene....No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life."
Pinchas Lapide, German Jewish Orthodox Scholoar:
"I accept the resurrection of Easter Sunday not as an invention of the community of disciples, but as a historical event. If the resurrection of Jesus from the dead on that Easter Sunday were a public event which had been made known...not only to the 530 Jewish witnesses but to the entire population, all Jews would have become followers of Jesus."
Mike Tyson, American Boxer:
“I'm a Muslim, but do you think Jesus would love me? I think Jesus would have a drink with me and discuss why are you acting like that? Now, he would be cool. He would talk to me. No Christian ever did that and said in the name of Jesus even. They'd throw me in jail and write bad articles about me and then go to church on Sunday and say Jesus is a wonderful man and he's coming back to save us. But they don't understand that when he comes back, that these crazy greedy capitalistic men are gonna kill him again.”
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, French Philosopher:
“Socrates died like a philosopher; Jesus Christ died like a god.”
Larry King, US Telivision Personality:
"I would like to ask Him if He was indeed virgin-born. The answer to that question would define history."
Jesus Christ, Lord and Savior, on himself:
"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Blessed are those who do his commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of Life."
Written by: Tyler Bancoft
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Whats Love Got To Do With It?
Here are some random quotes regarding love:
"Love is a feeling directed at someone which acknowledges their goodness."- Dr. John Gray"
"The willful intent to serve the well being of another." - Unknown
"To describe love is very difficult, for the same reason that words cannot fully describe the flavor of an orange. You have to taste the fruit to know its flavor. So with love."- Paramahansa Yogananda"
Love is the ability and willingness to allow those you care for to be what they choose for themselves, without any insistence that they satisfy you."- Leo Buscaglia
"When you tell someone something bad about yourself and you're scared they won't Love you anymore. But then you get surprised because not only do they still Love you, they Love you even more."- Matthew - age 7
"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day."- Mary Ann - age 4"
Logic says everything in this world has a cause and an effect. True Love is the only feeling which is its own cause and its own effect. It is something illogical and yet above all logic. I Love her because I Love her, and I Love her so I Love her."- Prateek Kumar Singh
"I was nauseous and tingly all over. . . I was either in Love or I had smallpox."- Woody Allen
"Love seeks no cause beyond itself and no fruit; it is its own fruit, its own enjoyment. I love because I love; I love in order that I may love."- St. Bernard 1090-1153, French Theologian and Reformer
"Can't Buy Me Love!"- The Beatles
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."- 1 Corinthians 13:5-7
Here are some verses in the Bible that describe love:
1. Love is a commandment. (John 13:34)
2. Love is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost. (Rom 5:5)
3. Love is the fulfilling of the law. (Rom 13:10)
4. Love is the catalyst that gives meaning to speaking in tongues, to prophesying, to understanding, to faith, to charitable works, and to self-sacrifice. (1 Cor 13:1-3)
5. Love is kind. (1 Cor 13:4)
6. Love is greater than faith. (1 Cor 13:13)
7. Love is greater than hope. (1 Cor 13:13)
8. Love is the fruit of the Spirit. (Gal 5:22)
9. Love is the bond of perfectness. (Col 3:14)
10. Love is of God. (1 John 4:7)
11. Love is living according to God's commandments. (2 John 6)
Here are nine things that love does:
1. Love suffers long. (1 Cor 13:4)
2. Love rejoices in truth. (1 Cor 13:6)
3. Love bears all things. (1 Cor 13:7)
4. Love believes all things. (1 Cor 13:7)
5. Love hopes all things. (1 Cor 13:7)
6. Love endures all things. (1 Cor 13:7)
7. Love abides now. (1 Cor 13:13)
8. Love covers a multitude of sins. (1 Pet 4:8)
9. Perfect love casts out fear. (1 John 4:18)
My Two Cents (as of present):
If God is Love, then when we search for what love is, we should be searching for who God is.
So then, what is the nature of love? We know that God is love and that he is the ultimate source of all love. So what about God's character can shine some light on how love works?
One Way Love
I have always wondered if true love could ever be "true" if only one person in a relationship actually loved the other. Then upon studying my favorite piece of scripture, 1 Corinthians 13:5-7, I realized that a one sided love is possible because love "is not self-seeking". Love doesn’t expect anything in return, and therefore true love can be a one sided street.
So where does that leave us? Are we to love everyone, even if they don’t love us back? Loving takes a lot of energy, especially in a one sided relationship where love is not being returned. These one sided love relationships are draining because we do not get something back to help keep our "stock" up. Sometimes we eventually get to the point where we have no love left to give.I
know that this whole loving on a one way street thing is hard and draining, but just like a miner after he sells all of his gold in town goes back out to the mine, we too must return to loves source. GOD IS LOVE. God promises that if we go to him he will provide. He will pour into us enough love so that we can continue on in loving others.
Love: The Two Way Street Type
Ok, so we've kind of talked a bit about "one sided" love. But the more trivial part for us here and now is relational love. We know that the best relationship between a father and son, or a mother and daughter, or a man and a woman in marriage etc. is a mutual love. Two way love is freakin sweet and it shows. Two people can get through anything when they have two way true love (twtl) going on. In fact, if there were more married couples in the world today who had "twtl", then I bet you that the divorce rates would be significantly lower then they are now.
And that is what we are all looking for isn't it… our own TWTL. But how do we find it? Or, how do we even know if we have found it? It’s a trivial process that I'll try and figure out another day when I am not sick and laying in bed. But it is a process that we all go through. Well ok, I lied just earlier when I said I wasn’t going to try and figure this out…cause now I have my own interest. It will be quick, and probably not revolutionary, but I will say it anyway. And I'll do it the best way I know how… using an analogy…
The Love Artist
When an artist paints on a canvas he does so using certain brush strokes, colours, paint types, and brushes. Each painting could be created uniquely, one could be of a flower using water colours and a large brush, and the next of a city street corner using oil based paint and a smaller more detailed brush. These two paintings may look very different from each other, but there will be certain simularities. There will be simulartities because despite the different styles of the paintings, they were created by the same artist. If one was well aquainted with the artist and his or her style, one would most likely be able to pick out which paintings were painted by this particular artist.
Why are there so many similar things in our world? Most animals breath oxygen, have two eyes, some sort of nose or nasal cavity. Plants seem to need sugar and sunlight to survive no matter what species they are. Everything biological needs water to survive, no matter what it is. I could go on with all the things that science has discovered about this world that show us how everything is so closely related. I believe that everything is so similar because it was all created by the same artist. God's handprints are all over the place and we can see his same "artistic" style through out all creation, man, beast, or vegetation. Anyways, my point is that the art of a artist reveals some qualities about him/her that are constant.Take music for another example. Listen to every single U2 album that has ever been released. There are a lot of simularities between their albums. And that is the same with Coldpay, Creed, Metallica, Rush, Queen, or any other band. They may be different songs on different albums, but for the most part a U2 song is a U2 song, and a Metallica song is a Metallica song…you know what I mean. Each artist has their own style that transcends all of their music. And people that like U2 or that like Rush, like them because of that style. And when they go out to look for music they take the style (or styles) that they like and listen to music until they find something that fits that style and then they buy it.
Ok, let me kind of tie this all together here. What I have been trying to say (more or less) is that any artist has a style that goes beyond any one work and that people who know this style will recognize it. God is no different, he too has a style. And if the term "God is Love" isn't atleast a partial definition of His style then I don’t know what would be. My last point was that people who appreciate a certain style will recognize it and if they see a pattern of it (like in the music of a certain band) they will subscribe to that band.
In conclusion I would like to say this about love. God is love. Therefore if you honestly and wholeheartedly love God and pursue His will for your life, then others (like that special someone that you may be looking for ;) who are wanting the same thing, such as true love, will recognize "God's style" in your life. Because God is your artist, and if you let his style shine through then others who are after Gods style will be attracted to you.
So instead of always being focused on finding your true love…(sometimes so focused that you go crazy)… focus on who you are in Christ…because eventually, if it is meant to be, your true love will recognize Christ living in you and then the rest will be history.
PS - May God bless you in your journey to find true love…cause you'll need it ;)- Jordan
One day I would really like to write a book or two, or do a PhD. on love. Because if God is love, then I believe that the more we learn about love, the more we discover about our creator and vise versa. It is a huge concept and one that most people largely misunderstand. I would love to let God reveal to me His love and what it means to Him!
"The willful intent to serve the well being of another." - Unknown
"To describe love is very difficult, for the same reason that words cannot fully describe the flavor of an orange. You have to taste the fruit to know its flavor. So with love."- Paramahansa Yogananda"
Love is the ability and willingness to allow those you care for to be what they choose for themselves, without any insistence that they satisfy you."- Leo Buscaglia
"When you tell someone something bad about yourself and you're scared they won't Love you anymore. But then you get surprised because not only do they still Love you, they Love you even more."- Matthew - age 7
"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day."- Mary Ann - age 4"
Logic says everything in this world has a cause and an effect. True Love is the only feeling which is its own cause and its own effect. It is something illogical and yet above all logic. I Love her because I Love her, and I Love her so I Love her."- Prateek Kumar Singh
"I was nauseous and tingly all over. . . I was either in Love or I had smallpox."- Woody Allen
"Love seeks no cause beyond itself and no fruit; it is its own fruit, its own enjoyment. I love because I love; I love in order that I may love."- St. Bernard 1090-1153, French Theologian and Reformer
"Can't Buy Me Love!"- The Beatles
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."- 1 Corinthians 13:5-7
Here are some verses in the Bible that describe love:
1. Love is a commandment. (John 13:34)
2. Love is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost. (Rom 5:5)
3. Love is the fulfilling of the law. (Rom 13:10)
4. Love is the catalyst that gives meaning to speaking in tongues, to prophesying, to understanding, to faith, to charitable works, and to self-sacrifice. (1 Cor 13:1-3)
5. Love is kind. (1 Cor 13:4)
6. Love is greater than faith. (1 Cor 13:13)
7. Love is greater than hope. (1 Cor 13:13)
8. Love is the fruit of the Spirit. (Gal 5:22)
9. Love is the bond of perfectness. (Col 3:14)
10. Love is of God. (1 John 4:7)
11. Love is living according to God's commandments. (2 John 6)
Here are nine things that love does:
1. Love suffers long. (1 Cor 13:4)
2. Love rejoices in truth. (1 Cor 13:6)
3. Love bears all things. (1 Cor 13:7)
4. Love believes all things. (1 Cor 13:7)
5. Love hopes all things. (1 Cor 13:7)
6. Love endures all things. (1 Cor 13:7)
7. Love abides now. (1 Cor 13:13)
8. Love covers a multitude of sins. (1 Pet 4:8)
9. Perfect love casts out fear. (1 John 4:18)
My Two Cents (as of present):
If God is Love, then when we search for what love is, we should be searching for who God is.
So then, what is the nature of love? We know that God is love and that he is the ultimate source of all love. So what about God's character can shine some light on how love works?
One Way Love
I have always wondered if true love could ever be "true" if only one person in a relationship actually loved the other. Then upon studying my favorite piece of scripture, 1 Corinthians 13:5-7, I realized that a one sided love is possible because love "is not self-seeking". Love doesn’t expect anything in return, and therefore true love can be a one sided street.
So where does that leave us? Are we to love everyone, even if they don’t love us back? Loving takes a lot of energy, especially in a one sided relationship where love is not being returned. These one sided love relationships are draining because we do not get something back to help keep our "stock" up. Sometimes we eventually get to the point where we have no love left to give.I
know that this whole loving on a one way street thing is hard and draining, but just like a miner after he sells all of his gold in town goes back out to the mine, we too must return to loves source. GOD IS LOVE. God promises that if we go to him he will provide. He will pour into us enough love so that we can continue on in loving others.
Love: The Two Way Street Type
Ok, so we've kind of talked a bit about "one sided" love. But the more trivial part for us here and now is relational love. We know that the best relationship between a father and son, or a mother and daughter, or a man and a woman in marriage etc. is a mutual love. Two way love is freakin sweet and it shows. Two people can get through anything when they have two way true love (twtl) going on. In fact, if there were more married couples in the world today who had "twtl", then I bet you that the divorce rates would be significantly lower then they are now.
And that is what we are all looking for isn't it… our own TWTL. But how do we find it? Or, how do we even know if we have found it? It’s a trivial process that I'll try and figure out another day when I am not sick and laying in bed. But it is a process that we all go through. Well ok, I lied just earlier when I said I wasn’t going to try and figure this out…cause now I have my own interest. It will be quick, and probably not revolutionary, but I will say it anyway. And I'll do it the best way I know how… using an analogy…
The Love Artist
When an artist paints on a canvas he does so using certain brush strokes, colours, paint types, and brushes. Each painting could be created uniquely, one could be of a flower using water colours and a large brush, and the next of a city street corner using oil based paint and a smaller more detailed brush. These two paintings may look very different from each other, but there will be certain simularities. There will be simulartities because despite the different styles of the paintings, they were created by the same artist. If one was well aquainted with the artist and his or her style, one would most likely be able to pick out which paintings were painted by this particular artist.
Why are there so many similar things in our world? Most animals breath oxygen, have two eyes, some sort of nose or nasal cavity. Plants seem to need sugar and sunlight to survive no matter what species they are. Everything biological needs water to survive, no matter what it is. I could go on with all the things that science has discovered about this world that show us how everything is so closely related. I believe that everything is so similar because it was all created by the same artist. God's handprints are all over the place and we can see his same "artistic" style through out all creation, man, beast, or vegetation. Anyways, my point is that the art of a artist reveals some qualities about him/her that are constant.Take music for another example. Listen to every single U2 album that has ever been released. There are a lot of simularities between their albums. And that is the same with Coldpay, Creed, Metallica, Rush, Queen, or any other band. They may be different songs on different albums, but for the most part a U2 song is a U2 song, and a Metallica song is a Metallica song…you know what I mean. Each artist has their own style that transcends all of their music. And people that like U2 or that like Rush, like them because of that style. And when they go out to look for music they take the style (or styles) that they like and listen to music until they find something that fits that style and then they buy it.
Ok, let me kind of tie this all together here. What I have been trying to say (more or less) is that any artist has a style that goes beyond any one work and that people who know this style will recognize it. God is no different, he too has a style. And if the term "God is Love" isn't atleast a partial definition of His style then I don’t know what would be. My last point was that people who appreciate a certain style will recognize it and if they see a pattern of it (like in the music of a certain band) they will subscribe to that band.
In conclusion I would like to say this about love. God is love. Therefore if you honestly and wholeheartedly love God and pursue His will for your life, then others (like that special someone that you may be looking for ;) who are wanting the same thing, such as true love, will recognize "God's style" in your life. Because God is your artist, and if you let his style shine through then others who are after Gods style will be attracted to you.
So instead of always being focused on finding your true love…(sometimes so focused that you go crazy)… focus on who you are in Christ…because eventually, if it is meant to be, your true love will recognize Christ living in you and then the rest will be history.
PS - May God bless you in your journey to find true love…cause you'll need it ;)- Jordan
One day I would really like to write a book or two, or do a PhD. on love. Because if God is love, then I believe that the more we learn about love, the more we discover about our creator and vise versa. It is a huge concept and one that most people largely misunderstand. I would love to let God reveal to me His love and what it means to Him!
Sunday, October 22, 2006
InsideOut Discussion Questions
Hey
These are a few extra questions from the Round Table Discussion Night at InsideOut. Feel free to comment and/or post a response regarding any of these questions to between.the.trees@hotmail.com .
According to the Bible, does a person need to be "legally" married in order to be seen as married in God's eyes?
Is it wrong in God's eyes to associate with homosexuals, transgenders etc?
Is it alright to kill someone in self defence if they come after you with the intent to kill you or yours?
Does God change his mind?
Why didn't God make slavery a sin along with the 10 commandments?
How does salvation work?
Also, check out some of these links that have resources regarding some of what we talked about Monday night.
http://debate.org.uk/topics/history/bib-qur/bibmanu.htm
http://www.godandscience.org/
http://www.gotquestions.org/
These are a few extra questions from the Round Table Discussion Night at InsideOut. Feel free to comment and/or post a response regarding any of these questions to between.the.trees@hotmail.com .
According to the Bible, does a person need to be "legally" married in order to be seen as married in God's eyes?
Is it wrong in God's eyes to associate with homosexuals, transgenders etc?
Is it alright to kill someone in self defence if they come after you with the intent to kill you or yours?
Does God change his mind?
Why didn't God make slavery a sin along with the 10 commandments?
How does salvation work?
Also, check out some of these links that have resources regarding some of what we talked about Monday night.
http://debate.org.uk/topics/history/bib-qur/bibmanu.htm
http://www.godandscience.org/
http://www.gotquestions.org/
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Apologetics
How do we approach others with the Gospel? This question has been debated about for years and is one that people think a lot about or don't think about at all.
I've sat in on a few debates about apologetics and I hear two very clear and very extreme opinions. I've heard fellow Christians say that: "We should not be afraid to voice the truth about God! We should not shy away from the Gospel! We should never worry about offending someone when we speak the truth!" I also hear fellow Christians say that: "We shouldn't force ourselves on others. If people ask about Jesus Christ, then we should tell them, but we have no right to get into peoples faces with our beliefs."
Should we be confident, forceful, and sometimes even offensive to others when communicating the Gospel? Or, should we be passive and only talk about our beliefs when someone else asks us about them? I don't believe that it is a question of whether or not we are to be "offensive" or "defensive".
Those who believe in the "offensive' approach usually quote scripture that talks about Jesus turning over the market place tables in the temple courts. (Matthew 21:12-13) "12Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13"It is written," he said to them, " 'My house will be called a house of prayer,'[e] but you are making it a 'den of robbers.'[f]"" Or they refer to verses such as Matthew 3:7, 12:34, 23:33, or Luke 3:7. These verses are examples of when Jesus accused people of being "brood of vipers". These are examples in scripture of when Jesus was forceful, offensive, and direct in his ministry. So, some say that because Jesus is like that, we should do the same because we are called to be Christ-like.
Those who believe in the "defensive" approach usually quote scripture that talks about loving your neighbour. "The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." (Romans 13:9) "Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." (Romans 13:10). Or they refer to verses such as Leviticus 19:18, Zechariah 8:17, Matthew 5:43, 19:19, 22:39, Mark 12:31, 12:32-34, Luke 10:27, Galatians 5:14, James 2:8, James 2:8. They say that because we are to 'love our neighbour" we have to avoid being forceful or offending others.
Now again, I do not believe that it is a question of whether or not we are to be "offensive" or "defensive" when proclaiming truth. I believe that in realizing one of Christ's greatest gifts we find the answer to the question of apologetics. The gift that I am referring to is understanding. Jesus Christ as the son of God had an ultimate understanding of truth in creation as well as the truth of God's character. Every single person he met and interacted with he knew. He knew who they were and where they were coming from. He understood them, how they thought, how they related to others, what they believed, and what they were gifted in and not gifted in.
Because he knew these things, because he had a clear understanding of the person and the situation, he could approach relationship and communicate to any person in the most effective way. He understood them and because of his understanding he knew how to communicate the Gospel in a way that was specific and most efficient. So when Jesus preached about hell and made accusations, and when he pointed his finger and got angry with someone, or when he showed someone mercy and grace, and when he invited sinners into his house he did so with full knowledge and understanding of that person. So when, where, how, and to whom Jesus preached the good news to, he did so with full consideration of the person or audience.
Now I realize that Jesus was and is the son of God, so his understanding of others was and is far greater then ours is. However, I think that because we are called to be Christ-like, we should strive for a greater and deeper understanding of others that we are sharing the gospel message to. We should consider others in regards to who they are, where they came from, what their world view is, etc. before we through the Gospel message in their face.
Now I know that in passing we meet people that we should share the gospel with and that it is not always possible to know and understand someone in passing. We should then treat those situations with great care. I believe that our knowledge and understanding about someone has a direct connection to how accountable we are in explaining the gospel. We must strive to understand others around us, and then reveal more and more about the truth that we have come to know through Christ to them. This is how God relates to us. God knows where we are and where we have been, and he treats us accordingly. He also reveals more about himself to us when we grow deeper in our relationship with him.
My prayer for you is that you would strive to understand and love the people around you. Treat each person specifically, because everyone is created unique and special by God. Truth is universal, so don't be afraid to communicate it in different ways to different people.
"All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them." - Galileo
"You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him discover it in himself." - Galileo
"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use." – Galileo
Posted By Jordan Todd
I've sat in on a few debates about apologetics and I hear two very clear and very extreme opinions. I've heard fellow Christians say that: "We should not be afraid to voice the truth about God! We should not shy away from the Gospel! We should never worry about offending someone when we speak the truth!" I also hear fellow Christians say that: "We shouldn't force ourselves on others. If people ask about Jesus Christ, then we should tell them, but we have no right to get into peoples faces with our beliefs."
Should we be confident, forceful, and sometimes even offensive to others when communicating the Gospel? Or, should we be passive and only talk about our beliefs when someone else asks us about them? I don't believe that it is a question of whether or not we are to be "offensive" or "defensive".
Those who believe in the "offensive' approach usually quote scripture that talks about Jesus turning over the market place tables in the temple courts. (Matthew 21:12-13) "12Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13"It is written," he said to them, " 'My house will be called a house of prayer,'[e] but you are making it a 'den of robbers.'[f]"" Or they refer to verses such as Matthew 3:7, 12:34, 23:33, or Luke 3:7. These verses are examples of when Jesus accused people of being "brood of vipers". These are examples in scripture of when Jesus was forceful, offensive, and direct in his ministry. So, some say that because Jesus is like that, we should do the same because we are called to be Christ-like.
Those who believe in the "defensive" approach usually quote scripture that talks about loving your neighbour. "The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." (Romans 13:9) "Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." (Romans 13:10). Or they refer to verses such as Leviticus 19:18, Zechariah 8:17, Matthew 5:43, 19:19, 22:39, Mark 12:31, 12:32-34, Luke 10:27, Galatians 5:14, James 2:8, James 2:8. They say that because we are to 'love our neighbour" we have to avoid being forceful or offending others.
Now again, I do not believe that it is a question of whether or not we are to be "offensive" or "defensive" when proclaiming truth. I believe that in realizing one of Christ's greatest gifts we find the answer to the question of apologetics. The gift that I am referring to is understanding. Jesus Christ as the son of God had an ultimate understanding of truth in creation as well as the truth of God's character. Every single person he met and interacted with he knew. He knew who they were and where they were coming from. He understood them, how they thought, how they related to others, what they believed, and what they were gifted in and not gifted in.
Because he knew these things, because he had a clear understanding of the person and the situation, he could approach relationship and communicate to any person in the most effective way. He understood them and because of his understanding he knew how to communicate the Gospel in a way that was specific and most efficient. So when Jesus preached about hell and made accusations, and when he pointed his finger and got angry with someone, or when he showed someone mercy and grace, and when he invited sinners into his house he did so with full knowledge and understanding of that person. So when, where, how, and to whom Jesus preached the good news to, he did so with full consideration of the person or audience.
Now I realize that Jesus was and is the son of God, so his understanding of others was and is far greater then ours is. However, I think that because we are called to be Christ-like, we should strive for a greater and deeper understanding of others that we are sharing the gospel message to. We should consider others in regards to who they are, where they came from, what their world view is, etc. before we through the Gospel message in their face.
Now I know that in passing we meet people that we should share the gospel with and that it is not always possible to know and understand someone in passing. We should then treat those situations with great care. I believe that our knowledge and understanding about someone has a direct connection to how accountable we are in explaining the gospel. We must strive to understand others around us, and then reveal more and more about the truth that we have come to know through Christ to them. This is how God relates to us. God knows where we are and where we have been, and he treats us accordingly. He also reveals more about himself to us when we grow deeper in our relationship with him.
My prayer for you is that you would strive to understand and love the people around you. Treat each person specifically, because everyone is created unique and special by God. Truth is universal, so don't be afraid to communicate it in different ways to different people.
"All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them." - Galileo
"You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him discover it in himself." - Galileo
"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use." – Galileo
Posted By Jordan Todd
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