hardest people to witness to

[Blood Bought 1953]

51 minutes ago, Yowm said:

 

You know that isn't true. The devils don't believe that Jesus died for their sins, because there is no such promise given to them. There is no such promise given because God never became an angel and actually died for their sins.

James is speaking of devils faith which is mere assent without trust. We not only believe the things about God (He is one etc.) but we personally trust Him and His work for our redemption.

 

James....the last refuge of modern -day Judaizers. Of course every Word in James is Holy Spirit breathed.But as Peter said in his second letter, people wrest the Word Of God and it seems like James is where the wresters love to hang out.In a time when some religions had thousands of gods, there were those that thought they were really something to believe in just one god.James called them out——“ you believe in ONE god, you have done well , the demons believe as much”.That was ALL he said.Judaizers must rely on Biblical ignorance to make There points. Sorry—- we are not all ignorant- find some more obscure verses to wrest or twist

 

 

Edited June 1, 2018 by Blood Bought 1953

[Justin Adams]

I used to listen to Harold Camping on the way home in OR.

Some of what he said seemed OK. At the end of his preaching he would always say the provisio - the disclaimer, that I also heard similar from Sproul. 

It went like this. "Well, we hope we are saved because we work hard, but we will not know who God predestined to be saved until after we die. Have a great day."

He basically was pushing the most horrific of all doctrines "OSAS - IF", I called it. You are saved regardless of what you do if God pre-ordains it. You will not know for sure until then end - meanwhile, work like a beaver just in case you are actually saved so you can get brownie points.

So then, to offset this Calvinistic stuff, they bore the equally foolish idea that if you say you are saved, then you are saved no matter what you do. OSAS. This giant see-saw seems to swing to one extreme or the other.

If one attempts to point to Jame's idea that the witness of salvation is your good works, then you are branded legalistic. 

The idea of OSAS and Predestination (as taught vie TULIP) seem to be both equally flawed.

[Neighbor]

What excuse will be brought forth at the Bema judgement? But Lord they looked rich so I did not share of you with them?

Seems to me the whole subject of trying to declare who is the hardest to witness to is bogus. Seems to me to be a self defeating diversion that attempts to validate a series of excuses, none of which are valid. Might as well just say, I didn't think my testimony would bear any fruit that I would ever see, so I never even planted the seed, nor did I nurture the tree, no sir I did not. I only shared when I thought that I will have seen and enjoyed the fruit of my own labor. Oops on me eh?

My Lord does not tell me to only pick low hanging fruit of the tree planted and nourished well by others. He has told me instead to be part of all that go into all the world proclaiming Jesus is Lord God and personal Savior.  The end result is not to be my goal, obedience to the command of God is. It just does not matter that I do not get to see someone turn about having received their own specific call to do so from the Holy Spirit who is God.

So I suggest caution,  don't be suckered into  such a trap, the trap of discussing and deciding who is hardest to witness to, as to end up thinking this one or that one is not worthy of seeing and hearing one's own personal testimony  that Jesus lives and by Him must one come to be saved away from destruction and live eternally with God. Don't go there  there is no victory in it.

 

[Adstar]

19 hours ago, creativemechanic said:

i once read this quite in a book called the death  of a guru.  In it  the former Hindu guru turned Christian pastor  indicated that the hardest people  tovreach with the gospel are the long time  church attending individuals  ie people who go to church all that life  but never actually  get saved.

 what what you think 

In my personal experience the closer a person is to the truth the harder it is to move them to the truth...

So the closer the religion is to true Christianity without being true Christianity the more powerful the hold is upon the adherent..

Edited June 1, 2018 by Adstar

[Still Alive]

I no longer actively witness. I do it more "passively". That is, I bring up stuff in conversation with people, be it a cashier, waiter, guy I'm standing next to, waiting for a light to change. Heck, I ended up witnessing to the young lady cutting my hair at Bellevue Square once. She poured out her frustrations in her personal life and her struggles with religion in general. Basically my "witnessing" was sharing Ecclesiastes and then the Gospel tied in to it. I told her, at the end, that she should read Ecclesiastes and then John, and in that order. She was quite excited and actually wrote it down. I told her to pray before starting and that it will change her life.

I'm not a fan of actively cramming this down people's throats. If they are interested, they will show it, and then I share the good news. But what I share IS the Good News, and in it there is no place for "eternal suffering of the lost".

Edited June 1, 2018 by Still Alive

[Sower]

4 hours ago, Neighbor said:

What excuse will be brought forth at the Bema judgement? But Lord they looked rich so I did not share of you with them?

Seems to me the whole subject of trying to declare who is the hardest to witness to is bogus. Seems to me to be a self defeating diversion that attempts to validate a series of excuses, none of which are valid. Might as well just say, I didn't think my testimony would bear any fruit that I would ever see, so I never even planted the seed, nor did I nurture the tree, no sir I did not. I only shared when I thought that I will have seen and enjoyed the fruit of my own labor. Oops on me eh?

My Lord does not tell me to only pick low hanging fruit of the tree planted and nourished well by others. He has told me instead to be part of all that go into all the world proclaiming Jesus is Lord God and personal Savior.  The end result is not to be my goal, obedience to the command of God is. It just does not matter that I do not get to see someone turn about having received their own specific call to do so from the Holy Spirit who is God.

So I suggest caution,  don't be suckered into  such a trap, the trap of discussing and deciding who is hardest to witness to, as to end up thinking this one or that one is not worthy of seeing and hearing one's own personal testimony  that Jesus lives and by Him must one come to be saved away from destruction and live eternally with God. Don't go there  there is no victory in it.

 

Hello Neighbor. Interesting post. First off, I will concede you might have misunderstood. If not, I state flatly, you are wrong. You said  'Bogus' =not genuine or true; fake. Emotional response to legitimate (important) question. I cannot understand your objection discussing this subject. It is to me one of the reasons I joined this forum, a very important subject, little discussed, and not as  popular as debating theology/doctrine, or cats. Sharing the 'Good News'. This subject is not about who is 'more worthy' than others. It is about who is difficult to 'see the truth', to reach.  And share with others our 'methods' that works for us, that has the best methods of tilling the soil for planting. At my church, we go over this 'subject' before knocking on doors. Yowm brought up the rich man. Well, so does God. God also  talks about dusting off your feet somewhere. Wise as a serpent, harmless as a dove.  As fishers of men, sowing seed, you look  for fertil  ground. No mater the beggarly clothes, nor the suit and tie. My best sharing the good news never comes when I'm all prayed up, but when least expecting it. Knocking on doors has not been very fruitful for me. But sharing on a job site,  or delivery men/ladies, those I encounter naturally, daily, receive the word the most graciously.  I share this freely, hoping others also share their methods. Is this not what this forum is about?   Preaching Jesus Christ and Him Crucified!
I have seen your posts about sharing the gospel, so I know you care. But I DO BENEFIT from others testimony, their methods and experiences. The ones that do share, anyway. The statement about those who are 'church ed' but still lost is true, as there are many. (I was one)  And they are so secure in their belief's,  they have no need for someone preaching to them. Yes, I believe they are some of the hardest to receive truth. The god of this world hath blinded their minds.
Sowing seeds. Running the race.

You said; What excuse will be brought forth at the Bema judgement? But Lord they looked rich so I did not share of you with them? (guilt doesn't work much)
What about those who rarely if ever sow seed, but who might after hearing what others do. Going two by two, one leading, one learning. This could be a great thread, if it could just stay on track. 

 

 

[Neighbor]

Hi back,

It's okay to disagree with me, LOL. 

 

[Behold]

On 5/31/2018 at 1:28 PM, Yowm said:

Perhaps but in that group (or any group), I found in street witnessing, the hardest group to get through to is the wealthy...

Mat_19:24  And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

Their trust is in their riches...

What you said is quite valid.

There is also the fact that, smart, famous, wealthy, people, live in such ease and comfort, that its difficult for them to even consider Salvation.

And honestly, the worst witness ever found, that will keep an educated professional person from even considering Jesus, is a TV Evangelist., as this hokey, fakery, nonsense.... is not universal, but OMG,  nearly the whole situation is infected with PRETENSE, and a smart educated person, is repulsed by it.....and thats a fact.     It is a fact that if the only "Jesus" a smart, rich, famous, educated, person, ever sees, is a TV evangelist.........then God help them, as most, not all, but most, are infected with incurable pretense.

And as i was saying.....If your lifestyle is to get up, and climb in a Limo, and later, climb back out of a Limo, as you enter your 8.8 Million dollar palace in the Hollywood hills, then its unlikely that you are going to be reaching out to Jesus, anytime soon., as.........do you feel LOST?..........not quite.

The truth is.... Most people call out to the Lord when they are in a mess, and when you have riches, fame, and are quite educated, you dont normally find yourself in a situation that can't be solved quite easily,  by what you already possess.

Where this ticket straight to hell  breaks down for them is when they lose it all, or they just find themselves with something incurable.

Or, they find someone they love, in the same situation., as once that happens then they tend to reach out to the only real solution for it all.

 

Edited June 1, 2018 by Behold

[Neighbor]

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[Sower]

This could be a great thread, if it could just stay on track. 

For a couple of very knowledgeable, born again, bible believing, scriptural literate, sold out for Jesus, forgiven, believing, trusting, not perfect yet, Christians,  this diatribe really is getting old                    If the shoe fits.