Believers vs. non-believers

[nebula]

rafter - Exactly!!  (with regards to "witnessing" to "believers" - we can call them church-goers, religious folk, people who believe in God but never do anything with or about it, complacent or casual Christians, Christians who are still very worldly, etc., etc., etc.)

Yes, His interactions with Gentiles were few, but of course, there were very few Gentiles in the area for Him to interract with!  What I am looking at is the interractions He did have.  I believe there was significance to those interractions.

I wonder if the testimony of the man from the Gaderenes helped in preparing the way for the Gospel that was soon to come?

About the line of giving bread to the dogs, I believe He was making a point with her.  What do you suppose she believed about the gods of her land verses the God of Israel?  What did she believe about who or what Jesus is?  Did Jis reaction to her challenge any of her beliefs with regards to any of these points?  What did His initial reaction to her cause her to do?  Is it possible that He turned His back on her as a means of provoking faith out of her?  (The video series Matthew shows it this way.  When she replied about the dogs eating the crumbs, you could almost see Him thinking, "YESSS!!!  She got it!)  What do you suppose the impact of Him receiving her faith had on her?

Well, have fun with the grandkids!  :il:   It's OK if you take a while, but I am glad you are looking into it.  

[Guest]

Nebula, sure  am enjoying this post. I only have time for a quick thought. It is not so much an answer to your question, but an observation as I was thinking on it.  The non jews were not under the law and as such would have been addressed different. The jews were under the law and chosen.

Not sure what this means yet, but am keeping an open heart before the Lord on this.

Having said that, it is pretty amazing that non jews even came to Jesus.

And It was pretty impressive the way Jesus sparked there faith..... :a:

[Guest yod]

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[Guest]

I want to add something else. I think the real difference is in how we view our condition. I mean some people know they need God. Some people think they are good enough. I think the jewish leaders of the day thought they had the answers. They had arrived. Many of the gentiles new they had nothing to offer God and they needed Him.

I think many religious people of today suffer the same fate. They don't really understand how much they need God. So they have a lukewarm relationship with God.

Take a womanizing, drunken man who finds Jesus. And he will know what he was saved from. There are "good" people going to #### because they don't recognize the need to give their life to Jesus.

Take the drunk out of the gutter and he will recognize his need to stay close the Jesus.  Just my two cents on the subject............. :a2:

  God bless one and all.............

[Guest yod]

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[martyr]

Excellent post, Yod!

No matter how "good" someone is, without Christ in their life they will not be totally happy nor full.  It is said that to starve to death, you must first reach the point of not being hungry.  We must wake these people up to the realization that they are spiritually hungry, so they won't die in starvation.

[nebula]

True, bu-u-u-u-u-t:

I interract with scientist (logical thinkers, reasoners) who do not know they are evil, do not know they need God, do not even believe there is a God (can't prove a god exists, you know).

Then there are the agnostics of varrying degree - from the possibility of a supreme or spiritual being existing to there definantly is one and there is an afterlife, but beyond being a good person there is no method to follow.

I also have a friend who chose Buddhism: God exists, she prays to "Him," but in her mind God is unknowable and undefinable.  All religious beliefs have merit, but there is no one that is more "right" than the other.

** These are the kinds of people I have to deal with on a regular basis.  How can you "catch someone in sin" (something by which they see the need to repent) when they either reject the Bible's authority or have convinced themselves they are a good person or even if you could make them realize they are caught they still cannot believe that Jesus is the source of redemption?

So, you know, witnessing by laying on the commands of God or presenting "the four laws of salvation" or any other "tried and true method" that I have heard of just do not work!  :uhh:  

[Guest yod]

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[traveller]

Correct Yod! The power of prayer.

I prayed for a long time for my boss. Never, not one time, did I approach him concerning my faith, but I prayed for him. He started coming to me and asking questions about God and Jesus and what does this mean and that mean - out of the clear blue!

[Timothy]

Amen Traveller!