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| Foolish and Offensive |
| Written by Administrator |
| Tuesday, 24 March 2009 18:01 |
 As I continue to go out to witness, I find that most people are quite open to a listening to the presentation of the Gospel if I do it in a conversational manner. I’ve been going out on the streets and in the malls just to begin a conversation in the natural with strangers. I hope to move that conversation to a spiritual conversation and follow the pattern of presenting the Gospel as taught by Ray Comfort in the Way of the Master course. I have been so blessed by God’s awesome divine appointments. I have left these conversation times excited and overwhelmed at how the Gospel is the light onto salvation. The strangers that I meet are open to talking about spiritual matters because I’m addressing their conscience with the Word of God and the Holy Spirit is working with them.
Occasionally I come across some individuals who consider what I am saying about heaven and hell as foolishness. This is not surprising since the Bible says that the Gospel is foolishness to the Gentile (1 Cor 1:23). I understand Gentiles to mean those who are currently unsaved and have no knowledge of things about God. Part of the reason they consider what I’m saying is foolishness because they consider that their life is normal. When I talk about how they have broken God’s moral law as outlined in the 10 Commandments, a few of them think that these moral laws are outdated and don’t apply today. They look around at others in their circle of contacts and see that others are living the way they do. Occasionally they also look at church people and find they are living contrary to the moral laws of God. The ones I am witnessing to have so squashed their conscience over time that they no longer have any sense of wrong doing. Therefore what I’m saying is foolishness to them. Most then go on to begin to justify why they act the way they do. I do not argue with them but often end the conversation knowing that the Holy Spirit will continue to work with them. Occasionally I also encounter those who come up with some really foolish understandings of spiritual things. Recently I was talking to an individual who thought heaven and hell are right here now in earth. I asked him what he meant. He said that we live in hell because we have bad life experiences and then we when we die we move over to heaven but we are still here on earth. I asked him why he thought this and he went on to explain this is why houses are haunted – the spirits of people still hanging around. To him they are now in heaven here on earth. This is foolishness! I am convinced that the only way the Gospel will move from foolishness to making sense is by the work of the Holy Spirit. His work is to remove the spiritual blinders that are on people’s eyes (2 Cor. 4:4) so they can see the Gospel. The Holy Spirit convicts them that they are indeed sinners, having broken the moral law of God. The Holy Spirit convinces them that they are helpless to help themselves and that Jesus Christ is the only solution (John 16:8). Other people that I encounter consider what I’m saying about Jesus Christ as offensive. Most often these are church attending religious people or those with a churched background. They find what I’m saying as offensive because they think they are in good standing with God because of their religious practices and their good works. As we talk about God’s 10 Commandments, the Holy Spirit begins to convict their conscience. At that moment there is a confrontation between light and dark. Their conscience is convicted of the sin that they have committed and are committing but their mind is working hard to justify them and say that they are okay. This internal conflict causes them to be offended. Others are offended because they have believed the lie that tolerance means that all ideas (in this case other religions) have an equal footing. They think that all beliefs are equal. God seems quite “intolerant” to say that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven. “How could God be so exclusive?”, they ask. Even some Christians no longer believe that Jesus is the only way to salvation. This is the mind being offended at the truth of God rather than acknowledging the need to come to Christ in repentance as the Only Way to the Father and heaven. With any of us, when the Holy Spirit shows who we really are, we could say that He is offending us. I’m surprised at the number of Christians who are offended at the Word of God. I’m surprised at the number of Christians who are offended at God! They’re mad at God because he didn’t answer a prayer or didn’t do what they thought He should have done. The reality still remains that we are to serve God and He is not there to serve us! Did I offend you by saying that? Did it seem foolish to you? I trust not!! Let’s humble our mind to the wisdom of God and the ways of God and then He will apply His grace that we may live with His life. |