Saturday 08-27-11

I talked to an atheist named George for a while last week. He was very set in his disbelief and wouldn't even consider the Bible at all. He doesn't see any difference in this world between himself and me. I explained the difference is not in this life but the next, but he saw no benefit if it wasn't profitable in this life, revealing that his god is his money. He was very hardened against the Gospel and argued with some of the others for a while as well.

This week, Tom's sign caught the eye of a guy named Kevin, who came over to see what we were doing. Tom took him through the Good Person Test (GPT) and explained the Gospel to him. Kevin said he was from IA, out here going to Mesa Community College, and seemed to understand and agree with what we were doing. Tom gave him one of his cards to see if he might email him and consider going to an evangelism class sometime.

A couple of guys named Stevo and Will came up to question us about the GPT. Will was a little more receptive, but still didn't seem to grasp the Gospel message that we were giving. They both thought that Stevo would be ok, having "basically repented without using the same words." I tried to explain that the words are important, and that there is no other name under heaven by which men might be saved. But in the end, Stevo considered himself to be a pretty good person, even after going through the GPT, and felt that he had suffered enough on this earth that God would allow him into heaven. I explained that He will not, but he rejected anything from the Bible and preferred to make up his own god. We had an amiable conversation though, please pray that both Stevo and Will would be convicted of their sins and self-righteousness and realize their need for a Savior before it's too late.

There were a few people preaching and handing out papers on the corner across the street, so Dan and I went over to see what they were preaching. We talked to Sirus and Patrick, who turned out to be from the Door. They could only name about four of the Ten Commandments, and didn't really know God's Law. They held to some charismatic beliefs, such as speaking in tongues, but they stated that it was not a requirement, so I didn't have a problem with that, even though I disagree and hold more to the ceasationist beliefs like John MacArthur.

They also claimed that we are saved by grace alone and not works, but they did seem to require some works. I guess it's a fine line between good works as a result of salvation and good works to keep your salvation, but it's a very important line. Sometimes it's not easy to tell were a person stands on that issue until you've been around them for a while. In talking with Marcus, who is more familiar with their teachings and has spoken to them on more occasions, he said that they believe you can lose your salvation and must do works in order to maintain it.

Melissa Trible, the woman with the URLs who comes out to hassle us, was back, blowing bubbles and arguing with anyone who would listen to her. She wastes a lot of our time in arguments, but who knows? Maybe the Lord will one day convict her of her sins, having heard the Gospel message many times on the streets. She likes to argue about Darwinian evolution and claims that "nylonase" is proof that things do get more complex (in violation of the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics). She insisted that I look that up as proof, and so I did a search on it. I found that the idea is definitely debatable, and still the same old thing as Darwinists always do, in misinterpreting the evidence that they find in an attempt to make it back their bad theory. I printed off a couple of pages to give her the next time we see her out there.

It was hot, but a good night of witnessing and distributing tracts.

Soli Deo Gloria

URL Response

I received a couple of urls on strips of paper from a woman on Mill Ave who stated that she is the author of the first one, and believes that everyone should read the second one. According to the article that she says she wrote, her name is Melissa Trible.

http://relijournal.com/christianity/extreme-atheism-and-hypertheism/
http://www.cracked.com/article_15663_10-things-christians-atheists-can-and-must-agree-on.html

So, here’s my response. Both articles are interesting and make some good points, although they seem to lack a full understanding of the core beliefs of Christianity. It’s not about some sort of fight with atheists to determine who is right in the end, or who can debate better. It’s not about us at all, but about the wrath of an eternal, holy, righteous and just Creator upon His rebellious creation . It’s about the danger of hell, whether you believe it or not really makes little difference. Go stand in on the freeway and state that you don’t believe in trucks – your belief or lack of it - is not going to make any difference in the outcome.

As Christians, we care about the atheist, the homosexual, the pagan, the heathen – they are all created in God’s image and all have value. If we didn’t care, we really wouldn’t need to say anything, there would be no “proselytizing” - the clumsy word unbelievers prefer to use. We call it “witnessing” or “evangelism”, but it all means the same thing.

Let’s get a few things straight. First, no Christian is any better than any unbeliever. If there is a self righteous arrogance in a professing Christian, there is a problem and that person is not holding to the Christian belief system that they claim to be holding to and need to check themselves in order to determine if they are truly in the faith or not.

Second, no one goes to hell because they don’t believe in the right thing. God’s moral Law is written on our conscience, and yet there is not a person on the planet who has not broken that Law. Thus every single one of us actually deserves punishment. That is why people go to hell, not because they don’t believe something. They go to hell because that is the punishment God has ascribed to those who break His Law, and it really doesn’t matter at that point what they believe or don’t believe or what lifestyle they choose to live during their short time on this earth.

Third, Christians are commanded to go forth and proclaim the Good News. And that is: Even though we all deserve eternal punishment for breaking God’s Law, He is loving and full of mercy, and He has provided a way to keep us out of the hell that we all deserve. He paid the fine for us, by coming down as a man, living a perfect life and then laying down that life as a sacrifice on our behalf. This leaves us only to repent, forsake and turn away from our sins and trust in Jesus Christ alone for the payment of our eternal fine. There is no other way and no hope other than this one way that has been provided for us.

So, the question arises to all professing Christians: “Do you really believe, that what you believe is really real?” The question may sound silly on the surface, but there is a deeper meaning if you contemplate it. If we truly did believe as we claim, wouldn’t there be more of us out there warning people and sharing the knowledge of eternal life? And doing so in a Biblical manner that glorifies our Lord?