The most important thing anyone will ever know is that he or she is right with The Lord and ready to spend Eternity with Him. "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." (John 6:37, KJV)
Again, Marvilla, thank you for your encouraging response. The Lord has encouraged me, too. Last night I spoke with a man outside the store, and was reminded that he is already a believer. Good fellowship.
Monday, I went to an assisted-living facility where much of the group is from the memory care unit. We sang hymns as I played the piano. During the time together gave the positive and negative of the Gospel. "We are sinners, and can't pay for our sins. Jesus' merits paid for our sins through His death, burial, and resurrection. We are imperfect, unable to stand before the Perfect, Holy God. The Merit of Jesus is the perfection we need to cover our imperfection."
You said, "We have become too afraid we might offend someone." Oh, I agree. I deal with that every day, and yet I still have to push through, saying something,...sometimes well, sometimes not so well.
I, also, deal with the fact, that the invitation at the end of many sermons was too often manipulative, preying on people's emotions, rather than depending on the working of The Holy Spirit. I see wisdom in your approach and your advice. "Ready always to give an answer" and "Having a good conscience" are both wonderful verses. Thank you for posting them.
I'm thinking I may need a new post to address what I see as a weakness in a prominent form of evangelism. This is regarding the approach of my friend, who has often told me how many people he has led to the Lord in an evening. Something in me feels uneasy about him telling me how many. It seems like bragging, especially when he omits how many of these, he has scheduled for a discipling time, following up after leading them to the Lord because Matthew 28:19-20a specifically says, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you:"
We are told to "teach" and to "baptize." We are never told to lead anyone through The Sinner's Prayer. I am concerned, that my friend is not fulfilling The Great Commission any better than I am when his goal is to lead a bunch of people to pray The Sinner's Prayer, but he doesn't follow up, "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you."
Pastor Paul Washer has even gone so far as to declare war against The Sinner's Prayer.
Excellent response, Sis. I’ve been thinking about what I can add for the past day. My post was before work last night, followed by a time of ministry this afternoon, and recovery from the heat. I plan to give a longer response later this evening.
There are many possible approaches. I have that Baptist background too. We have become too afraid we might offend someone. Society has become out of balance, I think. Now if you don't agree with the majority, you are accused of being the aggressor or the one with disrespect. If our belief and religion is a good thing, why shouldn't we share it with others? It is tough to know when to share your beliefs with others and when to stay silent. The best advice I can give is to make sure you, yourself are right with God and in constant communication with him. Make sure you listen to his voice. You could use your poetry as a conversation starter. I'm not saying it is wrong to speak boldly about Christ. However, we do need to go with the leading and guidance of the holy spirit. We can't go casting out demons without him so to speak. These are my thoughts. I usually try to respectfully ask what they believe and will respectfully share my own beliefs if they are different. Then also 1 Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: And verse 16 says, "Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ."
Well said. I am reminded of an old song. They shall know we are Christians by our love, by our love; they shall know we are Christians by our love. To me, that means by the fruit given by Christ's love through us.
Thank you for always sharing your heart. Blessings to you and yours.
Thank you for sharing this, Dianne. Sadly, the prayer didn't prevent me from having to deal with serious doubts about my salvation during the decades of walking with The Lord. What a comfort Reformed Theology has been, teaching me that Salvation is God-initiated, God-performed, and God-sustained. (Romans 9:15-16; John 6:37,44; Philippians 2:13)
My part was the sinning.
God's part is the saving.
My present opportunity is gratitude for what God has done.
I agree with you..we were taught to pray asking for forgiveness and asking Jesus into our hearts to be our Savior believing that He did this and saving our souls from hell.
All Writing.Com images are copyrighted and may not be copied / modified in any way. All other brand names & trademarks are owned by their respective companies.
Generated in 0.12 seconds at 2:58pm on Jul 30, 2025 via server WEBX1.
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
