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Author
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Topic: Friend doesn't have reason to believe...
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Endoxos
Advanced Member
Member # 2929
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posted
http://www.livingwaters.com
Go check that site out, hopefully it'll equip you fully to answer his questions.
As to "The Bible was written by men"... ask him... who writes a book, is it an author or the pen? The story is in the author's mind, the pen is merely the tool to get the story on paper. If the pen leaks, or breaks, or otherwise fails, does the broken pen change the story at all? No, the author moves his hand over a bit to let the spilled ink dry, and then continue. So it is with the Bible, God is the Author, and He used Moses, the Prophets, and the Apostles to write His story down, and like the best of expensive pens, when they failed, God gave them a little rest and continued with His story.
As to non-believers being unsaved... they are not unsaved because they grew up believing in something other than Christianity, they will not be saved because they have rejected God's mercy. If we compare our lives to the Ten Commandments, we find out just where we stand in God's eyes... Have you always kept God the most important thing in your life? Have you ever made something or someone else more important? Have you ever used God's name in vain (for example, like a cuss word, or calling out to Him during an inappropriate time)? Ever forget to rest on the Sabbath? Ever disrespected your parents? Ever killed, hated someone, or belittled their intelligence (it's all murder in God's eyes)? Ever commit adultery, premarital sex, or lusted after someone (it's all the same)? Ever steal? Ever lie, exaggerate, withhold the truth, tell a white lie, a little fib, or a whopping fish tale (don't forget to think about when you were a kid too)? Ever wanted something that didn't belong to you? Now, knowing that chances are that he'll say he's failed on all 10 counts, know that if he were to keep *every single law*, yet failed in one point even once, he'd be just as guilty to God as the person who broke every single law. And the soul that sins will die. Not "The soul who has a different lifestyle will die", not "The soul who does things different will die", it's "The soul that sins, it shall die". God's wrath is upon those who embrace sin, and sinners have willingly made themselves enemies of God in their minds because of their wicked works. We are all destined to hell because we have broken God's laws, just as Adam and Eve did way back then, they were exiled from God's presence, and began to die that moment (and it was their own fault, noone physically *forced* them to eat the forbidden fruit), so too are those who sin are, by their own fault, away from God's presence, and will die both a physical and a spiritual death. But God countered the excuse of stupidity and "passing the buck" with a nifty little thing called a conscience ("con" means "with", "science" means "knowledge")... every time a person sins, they do it "with knowledge". They would not face this judgement, if one day, it hit them, "You know, I really shouldn't lie. I don't like it when others lie to me, so I'll do my best not to lie anymore. It's wrong, and I don't want to do what is wrong; I want to do what's right." and "I know all this didn't happen on accident, I'm certain that someone greater than I am made all this, including me... which means this being gave me my sense of morals... This someone must, then, also have a sense of morals too... so if I've done anything to wrong the one who created everything, I'm sorry". God has revealed Himself to all people, through nature, through the Jews, through prophecy, through Jesus, and through Christians, and noone is without excuse. To those who have heard the word of God are especially without excuse, because then it becomes a matter of pride instead of knowledge, that they would rather please themselves (ie tradition, habits, laziness, fear of rejection or of "stirring up the water", would rather worship an idol who doesn't get mad when they treat their fellows poorly, doesn't punish them for when they wrong someone, is so nice and loving that it won't send them to hell), their friends and families, or construction materials (AKA idols), instead of pleasing the One who gave them life.
As to taking believers off... "The meek shall inherit the earth", not "The selfish shall inherit the earth". Look at the city of Sodom... what did Abraham ask God? "If there's ten good people in the whole city, would you spare it?" and He replied "Yes, if there's ten good people, I'll spare it"... God couldn't even find ten good people. So He pulled out the four half-way decent people He could find (Job, his wife, their two daughters), and then blasted the city. If God were to remove all Christians, there would be NO ONE left to act as that "safety buffer" that Sodom had, and on top of that, there'd be noone to offer salvation to anyone else on earth... meaning once every Christian was gone, the entire earth would be immediately plunged into the latter half of Revelation (the part about God's Wrath). There would be no time for mercy, since there'd be no antichrist to fool people, since all who are left are in agreement with him anyway and there's noone left to persecute, kill, or behead, making the mark pointless, making a 7 year peace treaty pointless as well. All that would nullify the "wars and rumors of wars" aspects that Jesus and Daniel spoke of that we are currently in now, since there's no longer a need to watch the signs for Jesus to rapture us... meaning, the very next breath you would take, would be your last pleasurable one, and you would be immediately plunged into infinite and unending misery and shame. ...but God doesn't want any of that to happen. He wants EVERYONE to repent, so He is giving everyone the chance to repent, even up until the very last moments until the mark of the beast will everyone have the chance to realize how much they have wronged God, and then change their ways, and trust that God will spare them from the wrath that is to come.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
As to the DiVinci Code, go pick up "Breaking the DiVinci Code", it is an excellent apologetics book that exposes all the nonsense of that troublesome book.
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My signature is apisdn umop.
Posts: 362 | From: HELP! I'm stuck in a DOS window! | Registered: Mar 2004
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Mango
New Member
Member # 3803
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posted
Thank you very much for your support. He still came to church today, and I'm glad for that. Thank you so much for your prayers and advice! It is very helpful to have encouragement from you.
I will continue praying as well!!
Posts: 3 | From: USA | Registered: Aug 2004
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TEXASGRANDMA
Advanced Member
Member # 847
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posted
Mango
I would suggest that you break up with this boy. You should continue to pray for him. I can tell your from experience that marrying an unbeliever is nothing but heartache. It took 15 years of praying before my husband got saved. When we went through bad times, I had to be the strong one. There were many times that it would have been nice to have a Christian, God fearing man to lean on. Even if he starts going back to Church I would pray on my knees asking for guidance before marrying him. My husband claimed to be a Christian before we married, too!!
hugs,
Betty
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Luk 21:28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
http://www.indieheaven.com/artists/mm (son-in-law)http://www.myspace.com/mireles
Posts: 4985 | From: Washington State | Registered: Jan 2003
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SciptureAndPrayers
Advanced Member
Member # 3633
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posted
Mango,
quote:
Please, what can I do? And please pray for him. This, also, is my first time trying to help a non-Christian come to Christ.
Your concern for this non-believer is to be commended, and I would encourage you not to give up even though you are getting no positive responses right now. I do think that you need to realize that while you are responsible to be a shining light to unbelievers, and to be ready to answer their questions when they ask, you cannot make anyone become a believer, nor can you ultimately convince them of any of God's truths. Only God can do that, through His Holy Spirit. Make yourself accessible to this young man and let God's love flow out of you, but don't get caught up in judging him or become frustrated when he fails to meet your expectations. After all, he is still an unrepentant sinner, and consequently his behavior is somewhat predictable. He's clearly not ready to receive Christ yet, and although God can use you as an instrument to prepare him for this, you need to be content with God's timing, and try not to get in the way. Just be ready when God wants to use you.
As for all of his objections, these are not unique. I sometimes wonder if unbelievers all work from the same script. Of course, all of them have answers, but my experience has been that the answers don't matter, but will only bring up more objections. Either a person's heart is ready or it is not. Ironically, the answers usually only satisfy those who are already believers.
I'll keep both your friend and you in prayer. Trust first in God.
![[thumbsup2]](graemlins/thumbsup2.gif)
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In Christ's love. Amen.
Posts: 345 | From: Rochester NY | Registered: Jul 2004
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Mango
New Member
Member # 3803
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posted
Well, yes he does, but he doesn't know it yet!
My (boy)friend used to drink and smoke pot nearly every day in his freshman year of college. He's becoming a sophomore in a few weeks. Since we became close, he has stopped drinking and smoking, and I think it's because he knows I don't approve of it. He was baptized Catholic, but hasn't really made any progress in his faith. He's begun attending my (Lutheran) church, and he says the reason is he's always been interested in the Bible and what it says, but again, I think one of the main reasons is that he wants me to approve of him.
He confessed to me tonight that last night he went to a friend's house... and got drunk. He had told me that he didn't expect that the "No drinking" would last long. I asked him if he felt guilty, and he said not too much. I asked him what he thinks it means to love God. I explained that Loving God is obeying Him, and I believe that getting drunk, or ANY excess of something like that, is destructive because it takes away being with God. And that's a sin... he said that he doesn't think it's too bad because there are a lot of worse things he could be doing. I agreed, but told him that each sin is displeasing to God, and all men fall short of the Glory of God because of their sin nature.
He said that he thinks that the Bible is good advice to live by, and he believes Jesus died for our sins, but he believes (in part because of some things he read in The DaVinci Code) that The Bible isn't all true. He said "Do you believe that God wrote the Bible?" I said that there were many authors who were all influenced by God. He said that if the authors were men, they could have messed up, because all men are sinners (as I had told him). I believe that the Bible is the Word of God, and that God's Word is true. I asked him if he believes that, and he said that, technically, all words are God's words, because God created the world. I don't remember my response to that...
We also got on the topic of the end of the world. I think this is the point where he truly didn't want to believe. I had already explained that there is only one way to heaven--Jesus ("I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to The Father except through Me.") and that the road to Salvation is narrow, the way to destruction is broad. However, after we had discussed that the believers would be taken up in The Rapture, he asked me what I thought about all the Hindis and Muslims and others of different faith who would not be saved, because they were born into a family that believed the Religion. I said I was sorry for them... he left the room for a while.
As he drove me home, I apologized if I annoyed him or sounded accusing. He said that it's alright, he's just thinking about how cruel it is that those of different faiths will not be saved. He also finds it hard to believe that there will be a Judgement Day. "Why doesn't God just let the world continue? Why does there have to be an end of the World? Why doesn't he just take the believers as they come?" I said that, honestly, I don't know. He said that he was thinking of all his Hindu friends who "would go to hell," as he put it. He began to ask me what I think about my friends who weren't saved, but then he said that he forgot--all my friends were saved, as I go to a private Christian school.
I feel terrible for him... I was trying to do all that I could. I want him to understand that drinking (in excess) is not pleasing to God. He also believes that pre-marital sex is acceptable, and he has had sex with previous girlfriends. I don't (and he respects that.) I know how and where to show him in the Bible where it says that God disapproves of these sins. But he doesn't believe that all the Bible should be taken literally.
Please, what can I do? And please pray for him. This, also, is my first time trying to help a non-Christian come to Christ.
Thank you very much. God bless you.
Posts: 3 | From: USA | Registered: Aug 2004
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