Discussion Recap - 6/20/2012

I thought we had some great discussion last night. I hope you thought so too! Here's a brief recap of our question/answer session.

I asked: What ideas do YOU have about God? What He's like / What He does?
You said:

• He helps & heals
• He's jealous

Discussion: We discussed what it means that He is a "jealous" God. He wants us to give Him our time and attention. He does not like it when we focus all of our attention on other things without giving Him a thought.

• He's forgiving
• He's accepting

Disccusion: I explained that while God is "accepting", we should not think that He is accepting of our sinfulness. We should not use God's love for us as an excuse to continue living sinful lives; believing that God accepts us "just the way we are."  He does love us, and He is willing to forgive us, but He does not accept or condone a continual lifestyle of sin.

I asked: What ideas do you thing your FRIENDS/CLASSMATES have about God?
You said:

• They know "of" Him, but they do not "know Him."
• They think He does not care about their problems

Discussion: I asked if perhaps the reason they think HE does not care about their problems is because WE do not seem to care about their problems.

I explained that when Jesus ministered on earth, He did not just walk up to a crippled man and say, "Hey, I'm the Messiah. Believe in me and you'll be saved." Instead, He first healed the man's legs and THEN said "Oh, and by the way, I can also heal you spiritually..."

People do not care about our spirituality or our Christianity until we have proven to them that we actually care about their problems. If we do that, then they will be willing to listen to what we have to say.

• They do not have a hunger for the Word of God

DISCUSSION: "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God " Romans 10:17.

People aren't going to have a real hunger for the Word of God (in it's entirety) until after they have becomes Christians, but they can't become Christians until they've heard the Word of God.

Statistics say that 90% of American's do at least believe "in" God, and I believe that most everyone does at some point in their life want to know and understand Him. They want to know that He cares about them, but they probably aren't interested in much more than that at first. When talking to a lost person, stick with God's love and His plan of Salvation. They're not ready for the "meat of the Word" yet, but even a child can understand the plan of Salvation.

Kirk Cameron said that we as Christians often try to sell people medicine without first convincing them that they are sick. In other words, we ofer them a Savior without first showing them why they need one. That was the purpose of the Law in the Old Testament. The Law was not meant to be a list of rules that a person had to follow in order to get to Heaven; it was a list of rules that no man could ever follow, showing us that we are all sinners. Have you ever told a lie? If so then according to the Bible you are a liar; a sinnner, and Jesus died for you!

• They will not come to church, because they think we are judgemental

DISCUSSION: Although it is true that Christians can be judgemental at times, some of what your friends interpret as Christians being judgemental is really the Holy Spriit convicting them of their sins. It doesn't feel good when you begin to realize that you are a sinner, so it is a natural response to try to convince yourslef that you are okay the way you are, and that Christians are just judgemental, unloving and unaccepting.
It is our job to show people that they are a sinner in need of a Savior without being harsh or beating them up over their sin. The Bible says we are to teach them gently in loving kindness. We are to delicatley show them what God says in His word. Remember - it's the Holy Spirit's job to convict their hearts, and it's God's job to judge - we are not responsible for either of those things. All we have to do is show them that we care, and when they are ready and willing to listen, show them what the Word of God says! Leave the rest up to God.

AGREE OR DISAGREE QUESTIONS
Q. God is the creator of all life
A. AGREE
DISCUSSION: What about Evolution? You guys said it's bogus; just a theory.

Q. Mankind is by nature good?
A. DISAGREE
DISCUSSION: I explained that some people believe that mankind is gradually getting better, and that eventually "Heaven" will be here on Earth when mankind has finally evolved to a perfect state. (It's called Humanism). You guys said those people are wrong!

Q. Jesus existed BEFORE He was born in Bethlehem?
A. AGREE
DISCUSSION: We looked at Scripture to prove that Jesus existed even before the foundation of the World. He left Heaven to become flesh, to live and die for you and me.

Q. There are many ways by which man can get to Heaven?
A. DISAGREE
DISCUSSION: Jesus is the only way!

Q. Satan is the cause of all sin?
A. DISAGREE
DISCUSSION: We discussed Scripture that says "because of their own lusts and desires...".
We also discussed the Millennial Reign when Satan will be bound for 1,000 years. Remember that only saved people will enter the Millennial Reign, yet as they have children and grandchildren, sin still abounds on Earth - even with Satan out of the picture.

We like to blame Satan and say "the Devil made me do it", but many times He is not to blame; it is our own lusts and desires that cause us to sin.

FYI - the Bible also says that a saved person will never be tempted above that which he is able to resist, and that God will always provide a way of escape, but many times we still fail!