“Hey there Ray! I just wanted to let you know that you’re an @$#!! You start out talking to people by questioning them on there bad behaviors, then you tell them they’re gonna burn in hell. After scaring them with this method you turn around and start running your mouth about Jesus and how he died for them and how you don’t want see them go to hell, which then makes them sad. You think you’re getting results when you do this? You think you’re changing lives? Maybe for those couple of seconds when you twist peoples emotions around and warp there mind into believing they’re terrible people and they will die and go to hell. You talk to them like your the @!#$&! higher power! And you have the nerve to talk about self righteousness? You’re a joke, take a good look in the mirror before you go out judging others. Who knows, that may be you burning in hell's eternal flames. and your little %$@!# buddy too...”
This person is pretty upset and I can understand why. What right have I got to question people about their “bad behavior”? Why do I tell them about Hell, and who God says will go there? If he thinks that I am standing in judgment over people I can see why he’s mad. He's also right about each of us needing to look into the mirror. So, let’s deal with each of these questions.
It’s true that I do ask people about their bad behavior, and I do tell them what the Bible says about Hell. But how could I not? If I am fully persuaded that someone is in terrible danger, I have to at least warn them.
The mirror issue. I am as bad, if not worse than most of the people to whom I speak. I have broken all of the Ten Commandments, in spirit if not in letter. I have a multitude of sins, and that’s why I need a Savior. Being a Christian means that all that sin is forgiven.
Now for the big one. The “judging” issue. I never judge anyone I interview. How could I? I don’t know most of them. I don’t know their thought-life or what they do in darkness, so how could I judge them? All I know is what they have freely admitted. If someone says that he’s a liar and a thief, I believe him. Then I tell him what the Bible says about sin and the fate of those who violate His Law. My motivation is one of love and concern. No other reason.
There is one thought that skeptics don’t seem take into account. What if Hell does exist? What if the Bible is right? What if God is holy and just and will punish murderers and rapists in a terrible place called Hell? What if every single person will get what’s coming to them? If what we say is the gospel truth, then what we are saying is justified and most necessary.
Do I think that we are "getting results"? God knows. I plant the seed. He makes it grow.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
