Comments on: Why Must We Be Careful in Encouraging People to “Accept Christ”? http://www.evangelism.net/why-must-we-be-careful-in-encouraging-people-to-%e2%80%9caccept-christ%e2%80%9d.htm Equipping You to Share the Gospel Fri, 03 Sep 2010 18:48:17 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Christopher http://www.evangelism.net/why-must-we-be-careful-in-encouraging-people-to-%e2%80%9caccept-christ%e2%80%9d.htm/comment-page-1#comment-6212 Christopher Sat, 05 Jun 2010 05:07:00 +0000 http://evangelism.net/why-must-we-be-careful-in-encouraging-people-to-%e2%80%9caccept-christ%e2%80%9d.htm#comment-6212 Hello Larry. Here is a personal story to illustrate "about being careful". We deal with allot of Indians here in Australia. I led a man to Christ & he made a profession of faith. About 5 months later I got a call from him and came and did a follow up Bible study explaining the way of Salvation and trusting Christ alone. He reminded me he was saved and he did not want to go to hell, great! As I was leaving he had a poster on his wall from India with a gold mosque. Over the top of the mosque there were twelve spiritual gurus. I asked him what about these men, where would they go when they died and he said this, that shocked me. Those men are just another face of Jesus. I was later told if an Indian is truly saved and trusting Christ alone he will get baptized. Baptism to them is telling the world they are leaving their religion, he has yet to be baptized - Chris Hello Larry. Here is a personal story to illustrate “about being careful”. We deal with allot of Indians here in Australia. I led a man to Christ & he made a profession of faith. About 5 months later I got a call from him and came and did a follow up Bible study explaining the way of Salvation and trusting Christ alone. He reminded me he was saved and he did not want to go to hell, great! As I was leaving he had a poster on his wall from India with a gold mosque. Over the top of the mosque there were twelve spiritual gurus. I asked him what about these men, where would they go when they died and he said this, that shocked me. Those men are just another face of Jesus.
I was later told if an Indian is truly saved and trusting Christ alone he will get baptized. Baptism to them is telling the world they are leaving their religion, he has yet to be baptized – Chris

]]> By: Pilgrim http://www.evangelism.net/why-must-we-be-careful-in-encouraging-people-to-%e2%80%9caccept-christ%e2%80%9d.htm/comment-page-1#comment-4530 Pilgrim Mon, 07 Sep 2009 14:56:52 +0000 http://evangelism.net/why-must-we-be-careful-in-encouraging-people-to-%e2%80%9caccept-christ%e2%80%9d.htm#comment-4530 Dear Larry, I would have to agree with you 100% Most make a decision to satisfy the person who is relating the Gospel. There a man where I live who gets people to say THE PRAYER but the people would refute the exclusion of God through Christ Jesus and just believe in the inclusiveness of God for all to be good to make it. Dear Larry,
I would have to agree with you 100% Most make a decision to satisfy the person who is relating the Gospel. There a man where I live who gets people to say THE PRAYER but the people would refute the exclusion of God through Christ Jesus and just believe in the inclusiveness of God for all to be good to make it.

]]> By: Larry Moyer http://www.evangelism.net/why-must-we-be-careful-in-encouraging-people-to-%e2%80%9caccept-christ%e2%80%9d.htm/comment-page-1#comment-4016 Larry Moyer Wed, 05 Aug 2009 22:11:16 +0000 http://evangelism.net/why-must-we-be-careful-in-encouraging-people-to-%e2%80%9caccept-christ%e2%80%9d.htm#comment-4016 I firmly believe that the issue is eternal life and that begins the moment you trust Christ. It excites me every morning I jump out of bed to know that I will not begin to live forever when I die, I have ALREADY BEGUN eternal life. I find though that in asking lost people to trust Christ as their only way to heaven, you put in a very understandable form what you mean by eternal life because that is where that eternal life will be spent – in His presence forever. After all, Mormons and Hindus also believe that you live forever but certainly don’t mean by it what we do. Repentance does not mean to change your life. God is not saying, “Clean up your act and come to me.” God is saying. “Come to me and I will help you get your act cleaned up.” Repentance when used in a salvation context means to change your mind about whatever is keeping you from trusting Christ (such as your dependence on good works or a wrong view of Christ) and trust in Christ alone to save you. So when you come to God as a sinner, understand Christ died for you and arose, and trust in Christ alone to save you, repentance and faith have both taken place. -Larry I firmly believe that the issue is eternal life and that begins the moment you trust Christ. It excites me every morning I jump out of bed to know that I will not begin to live forever when I die, I have ALREADY BEGUN eternal life. I find though that in asking lost people to trust Christ as their only way to heaven, you put in a very understandable form what you mean by eternal life because that is where that eternal life will be spent – in His presence forever. After all, Mormons and Hindus also believe that you live forever but certainly don’t mean by it what we do.

Repentance does not mean to change your life. God is not saying, “Clean up your act and come to me.” God is saying. “Come to me and I will help you get your act cleaned up.” Repentance when used in a salvation context means to change your mind about whatever is keeping you from trusting Christ (such as your dependence on good works or a wrong view of Christ) and trust in Christ alone to save you. So when you come to God as a sinner, understand Christ died for you and arose, and trust in Christ alone to save you, repentance and faith have both taken place.

-Larry

]]> By: Ben Maulis http://www.evangelism.net/why-must-we-be-careful-in-encouraging-people-to-%e2%80%9caccept-christ%e2%80%9d.htm/comment-page-1#comment-3989 Ben Maulis Tue, 04 Aug 2009 23:15:51 +0000 http://evangelism.net/why-must-we-be-careful-in-encouraging-people-to-%e2%80%9caccept-christ%e2%80%9d.htm#comment-3989 Terminology does matter. That is why it's important to understand the promise of the gospel clearly. No where does Jesus describe himself as the one to be trusted as your way to heaven. He said, "I am the way." He did not say, "He who believes in me gets to go to heaven." He said, "He who believes in me, has eternal life." Jesus told us what eternal life is (John 17:3) and his disciples knew what it is (1 John 5:11, 20). In his time in the flesh, there were many who heard this testimony, but who refused to accept it (John 5:39, John 6:53). Today many people preach Jesus in terms that appeal to mens' desire for pleasure. They use the conviction of the law and conscience to create a dilemma of destiny: Pleasure or torment. They warn men that they'll miss pleasure if they don't appropriate Christ to secure their salvation. Their Jesus is a token for man's selfish desire and purpose: to get to "heaven" -- which for them is nothing more than the imagination of their own wicked heart. Their hope is to "go the heaven when they die." But Jesus preached, "He who lives and believes in me will never die." He preached that, "whosoever believes in him would not perish, but have everlasting life." Even to the dead, he preached life and said that if they believe in him, though they be dead, yet shall they live. Jesus did not preach "getting to go to heaven" on the last day. He preached the resurrection. "Every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day." And he said, "I am the Resurrection." By him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether [they be] thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. "Heaven and earth will pass away but my word shall not pass away." He said his word testifies of him, and he is the word. "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning, and the ending. There was none before me, and there will be none after me. Besides me, there is no other.” Now if you "accept Christ" on these terms rather than "use Christ" as your bus ticket to the paradise of your heart's imagination, exactly how could you be mistaken? What about sin? Don't we need to repent? Verily God commands all men everywhere to repent. But what are we to repent from? The scriptures say to repent from "dead works." You cannot "save yourself" by turning away from sin. Without God, sin is all you know. So what if you just felt sorry for your sins? Exactly how sorry would we need to feel before we would feel sorry enough? Judas Iscariot was sorry, and he repented of the thirty pieces of silver. The sorrow of the world worketh death. Now godly sorrow worketh repentance, but it is not the same thing. Repentance toward God is when we turn to him and we forsake all other things. To repent means to turn toward something, because you cannot turn away from one thing without turning toward another. You need to turn toward God. And if you turn toward God, it means that you cannot possibly be turned toward anything else. You cannot possibly be turned toward God and sin. You cannot possibly be turned toward God and dead works. You cannot possibly be turned toward God and mammon. You cannot serve two masters. If you are turned toward anything else, you are not turned toward God, and you have not repented. A gospel that preaches "heaven" is a dumbed-down gospel peddled by the evangelist that cannot sell the true gospel: Christ. Heaven-peddlers: Repent. Terminology does matter. That is why it’s important to understand the promise of the gospel clearly. No where does Jesus describe himself as the one to be trusted as your way to heaven. He said, “I am the way.” He did not say, “He who believes in me gets to go to heaven.” He said, “He who believes in me, has eternal life.”

Jesus told us what eternal life is (John 17:3) and his disciples knew what it is (1 John 5:11, 20). In his time in the flesh, there were many who heard this testimony, but who refused to accept it (John 5:39, John 6:53).

Today many people preach Jesus in terms that appeal to mens’ desire for pleasure. They use the conviction of the law and conscience to create a dilemma of destiny: Pleasure or torment. They warn men that they’ll miss pleasure if they don’t appropriate Christ to secure their salvation. Their Jesus is a token for man’s selfish desire and purpose: to get to “heaven” — which for them is nothing more than the imagination of their own wicked heart.

Their hope is to “go the heaven when they die.” But Jesus preached, “He who lives and believes in me will never die.” He preached that, “whosoever believes in him would not perish, but have everlasting life.” Even to the dead, he preached life and said that if they believe in him, though they be dead, yet shall they live.

Jesus did not preach “getting to go to heaven” on the last day. He preached the resurrection. “Every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” And he said, “I am the Resurrection.”

By him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether [they be] thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

“Heaven and earth will pass away but my word shall not pass away.”

He said his word testifies of him, and he is the word.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning, and the ending. There was none before me, and there will be none after me. Besides me, there is no other.”

Now if you “accept Christ” on these terms rather than “use Christ” as your bus ticket to the paradise of your heart’s imagination, exactly how could you be mistaken?

What about sin? Don’t we need to repent? Verily God commands all men everywhere to repent. But what are we to repent from? The scriptures say to repent from “dead works.” You cannot “save yourself” by turning away from sin. Without God, sin is all you know.

So what if you just felt sorry for your sins? Exactly how sorry would we need to feel before we would feel sorry enough? Judas Iscariot was sorry, and he repented of the thirty pieces of silver. The sorrow of the world worketh death. Now godly sorrow worketh repentance, but it is not the same thing. Repentance toward God is when we turn to him and we forsake all other things.
To repent means to turn toward something, because you cannot turn away from one thing without turning toward another. You need to turn toward God. And if you turn toward God, it means that you cannot possibly be turned toward anything else. You cannot possibly be turned toward God and sin. You cannot possibly be turned toward God and dead works. You cannot possibly be turned toward God and mammon. You cannot serve two masters. If you are turned toward anything else, you are not turned toward God, and you have not repented.

A gospel that preaches “heaven” is a dumbed-down gospel peddled by the evangelist that cannot sell the true gospel: Christ. Heaven-peddlers: Repent.

]]> By: Maboloka Moesa http://www.evangelism.net/why-must-we-be-careful-in-encouraging-people-to-%e2%80%9caccept-christ%e2%80%9d.htm/comment-page-1#comment-1225 Maboloka Moesa Sun, 18 Jan 2009 19:00:08 +0000 http://evangelism.net/why-must-we-be-careful-in-encouraging-people-to-%e2%80%9caccept-christ%e2%80%9d.htm#comment-1225 I'm a studend at National University of Lesotho and we are taking the gospel to the people around the University campus and people accepting the gospel but the problem is that they do not have Bibles. How can be assisted so that we can donate Bible to this communities? If this be possible we can be very glad to have the Bibles these new born people. I’m a studend at National University of Lesotho and we are taking the gospel to the people around the University campus and people accepting the gospel but the problem is that they do not have Bibles. How can be assisted so that we can donate Bible to this communities? If this be possible we can be very glad to have the Bibles these new born people.

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