Hi KV-44-v1
Right. I quite understood what you were saying. However, if we take to heart how Paul described to the Roman believers the way that the world was going to just continue and continue and continue to embrace sin and irreverence for God, I look at the what's going on and say, "Yep, this is exactly how God has warned us the world is going to get". Paul even says that we will be inventing ways to do evil. It's not bad enough that we continue in the sins of our forefathers, but we invent new ways of being evil. That's what you're seeing, and I don't believe that any amount of proclaiming the gospel by believers is going to stop the inexorable fall into being just like the people of Sodom and Gomorrah... only worse!
Then when you read Jesus' claim that few there be that find the path to righteousness, I again look, just at the U.S. and it's 330 million people and figure that maybe 10% of the current living mass of humanity 'might' be the idea of 'few' that Jesus spoke of. So, as believers decrying the way of sin in the world, I think when you've likely got 90% of humanity that's not believing and honoring God... what should we expect life to be like, as a believer? Consider, if my percentage is even close to what Jesus meant by 'few' that we're living here in the U.S. with 90% of people who are out there lost in their sin and living in it proudly, just as Paul seems to allude. They not only do these things but approve also of others who do them.
So yes, let's surely proclaim the gospel of salvation through Jesus. But let's not kid ourselves that such efforts are ever going to change the nature of the mass of humanity at large. All our efforts will do, is provide the truth to those few who will listen and believe it. I also believe that God doesn't expect us nor encourage us to beat the lost over the head for their sin, but to merely tell them about Jesus. Unfortunately, a lot of christians, especially among the evangelical crowd, seems to have this idea that if we just keep condemning the lost for their sin and fighting and arguing with them, that we'll turn the world back to the way it was at some point in their mind that they believe was a better time. It isn't going to happen!!!
The vast majority of all the people that have ever lived are going to wind up separated from God. As sin proliferates, that's going to get worse and worse. I believe that the Scriptures teach that instead of condemning and haranguing and yelling and fighting with sinners about their sin, all God asks is that we just tell them about Jesus. If they listen to you, then you have won over a convert. If not, shake the dust off your feet and move on.
A perfect example is the old Westboro group. They stand in the streets with placards condemning all sorts of sins. All that does is make people hate God more because they're generally enjoying their sin or they wouldn't continue in it. Tell them about Jesus. If they believe the truth, baptize them. Then let the Holy Spirit do his job which is to condemn God's children of sin and righteousness. The Holy Spirit doesn't live in the lost and so he doesn't condemn them either. But tell them about Jesus and if they believe and are baptized... then the Holy Spirit will fix all that sin... in the new believer. And even that may take some time. But Paul writes that the lost have had their consciences seared. They don't even understand or acknowledge that what they're doing is sinful. So when these 'christians' go out and just try to condemn them of their sin, they see nothing wrong with what they're doing and then hate God because you've shown them His condemnation without His love.
JUST TELL THEM ABOUT JESUS!!!!!! Let them live in their sin. Because even if you do get someone to stop some sin they're caught up in, without bringing them to Jesus, they're still lost. Stopping someone from committing a sin doesn't save anyone, according to the Scriptures. Let the Holy Spirit do that. He's much better at it.
God bless,
Ted
