If you are out witnessing how do you do it? Do you have a passion for lost people and seeing them saved? When someone does not get saved do you blame it on your method and yourself? Or is it God that grants salvation to His elect? Do you give people grace before you give them LAW? If so why??
Are you out witnessing regularly? If so how?
Discussion in 'Baptist Theology & Bible Study' started by evangelist6589, Nov 21, 2013.
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Yes-Regularly (weekly/monthly)
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No- No need to tell sinners they need salvation.
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evangelist6589 Well-Known MemberSite Supporter
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Earth Wind and Fire Well-Known MemberSite Supporter
I tried to reach people in the streets but that is difficult on many levels....though I don't stop.
I go to a Saturday Bible study at a Methodist church....they don't think they need to be saved to be Christians....(lol). I'm working on them...and lastly I'm trying to emulate Christ so my family sees the transformation and wants it. But you know after 53 years of being a reprobate... -
As oft as I can to those who can listen.....
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I witness, but not as much as I should - I look back at many missed opportunities and periods of disobedience. I have a passion for the lost, and believe that this passion accompanies Christianity (we are saved for a purpose, to glorify God).
I don’t believe that we are responsible if someone responds or fails to respond to our effort - we are not the dispensers of salvation, although we are often the tools utilized by God.
Our understanding of God granting salvation to His elect, IMHO, has absolutely no place in personal evangelism - it belongs in the realm of theology and is an issue for the Church - not the world.
I hope that I show people grace and the Holy Spirit brings them under conviction throughout the conversation regarding their sinful state. I’ve previously stated that I do not believe the OT Law (the Law with a capital “L” or even just the 10 Commandments) is necessarily the best way to convict sinners. Instead I believe that the Holy Spirit convicts even the lost (I think this is evident in the spirituality of today - people know their sinfulness on some level but are left searching as they are not willing to accept the Truth) - Pascal’s “God shaped vacuum,” if you will. So I probably do not qualify to answer this part if you mean the OT Law and whether or not it is presented before or after the gospel. If you mean pointing out that our sinful nature (rather than our sins) then I'm not sure. I think, mostly, at the same time. God loved us while we were sinners. -
Revmitchell Well-Known MemberSite Supporter
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God is the one who does the saving. My responsibility is to be a witness, a faithful witness, a witness who proclaims that sin of all time, of every person, of the whole world, has been paid in full, and that those lost are be reconciled to God through Christ.
The message of the cross is vital, for it shows that the sin is no longer a problem that separates God from humankind, but the refusal to be reconciled will cast that person in the lake of fire. Only those reconciled are the redeemed.
If you are intending to say that one must present the condemnation before the redemption, that isn't an issue.
I suggest that Holy Spirit bringing conviction by the Word will resolve any difficulties in a manner far better than I.
I am to be a witness and in every aspects that entails. -
padredurand Well-Known MemberSite Supporter
Now Grace.... :jesus: Let me tell you, son, once you've tasted Grace you won't want to talk about anything else. I usually tell folk something along the lines of "I don't have to tell you how bad I can be to tell you how Good God is!" I tell them about what I deserved the least God poured out in abundance. I tell them about the Cross.
I do not have a list of the Elect so I have to operate under the assumption everyone I talk to is among them until there is evidence to the contrary.
The Law?
'You are to keep My statutes. You shall not breed together two kinds of your cattle; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor wear a garment upon you of two kinds of material mixed together.
Leviticus 19:19 NAS77
Now if I happen to meet a farmer who raises beffalo, plants Rye and clover in the same field while wearing Carhart over-alls I could probably have him under conviction in a matter of minutes..... -
Especially if the farmer also had a milk cow.
Very few milk cows are "pure bred" and not mixed and bred for both production and hardiness. -
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Revmitchell Well-Known MemberSite Supporter
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Then Padre's message caught my eye and enjoyed his focusing on grace. I'm very big on grace myself. :love2:
After that I thought about what he meant when he said the above and was interested in how he would reply to my question. I figure he'd be pretty witty about it and was anxious to hear his reply.
My thoughts are very busy when I read or write, so much so that it is usually a challenge to put my words into order so others can comprehend what I am trying to say. Hope that satisfies your concerned curiosity... ;) -
Revmitchell Well-Known MemberSite Supporter
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padredurand Well-Known MemberSite Supporter
And, Benjamin, I've been to deer camp, church camp, Scout camp and summer camp but I've never been in that camp of a certain Geneva-based theologian. :thumbs:
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evangelist6589 Well-Known MemberSite Supporter