Bible Study Kicking head first.

[Kidron]

I posted this as a response , on another thread, and decided it might generate some interest if it was posted as its own topic.
Hope so.

and posted to all who would come and read it, and not directed specifically at any one person here.

Now...
There will be times, especially if a forum member exercises a bit of Gospel Courage......that you will actually depart from a Christian Forum, where you are all safe and warm fighting with other believers, and you will take thyself to a secular forum where they are waiting to find out how much you can give and take.
See, the secular world does not need any more Christians, it only needs to see ONE REAL ONE.

Its a lot different there, then here, as there, you are actually taking the Cross outside the church walls..
Know what i mean, jellybean ??
And once there, you will be tested by callous hardhearted disrespectful Christ rejecting punks, of all ages.
Does this interest you?
Sounds exciting, does it not?
Do you ever feel the need to leave the safety of the congregation and hit the devil in the face, head on, with your fist?
You cant really do that here, much, unless you are overriding people who are trying to harm you by trying to convince you that
your salvation is yours to gain and yours to keep by working it till death, by works.
But other then that, its pretty safe here, or on any Christian forum.
Sometimes you get it going pretty good with some off the chain worldly type believer who is politically corrected through and thru, and they want to defend abortion or Transgender, or some gun law that wants to take everyone's gun away... etc.
But on a secular forum, you are not welcome, and you have to find a way to be interesting enough for them to listen, while they are spitting.
That is how you have to deal with the lost, on secular forums.
And, one of the first things an atheist will say to you there, is....."i dont believe in what i can't see, and i cant see Jesus, anymore then i can see Zeus, or the Easter Bunny, and both of those are myths, just like your JESUS...!!!!
Ka POW..
You have been stung..
What will you do. ???
Suck your thumb?.....Cry to mama?.........Go meditate in the Gospel of John?.......take a XanaX?
You can't run from the fight, as then the members who are all waiting for your response will see you run, which then gives them more fuel for their unbelief.
So, Dont do that.
Instead, use a bit of wit, and wisdom, combined, just like Jesus would do, when he was dealing with these hard headed rascals, in His day...
"As Jesus is, so are YOU in this WORLD".
So,.....You might say...
"ah, so, you dont believe in what you cant see, """...."well.....then i guess you need to stop breathing, as you cant see the AIR you are breathing, so it must not be there,.... as according to you, you dont believe in what you can't SEE"....

Now, this is sarcastic, but, its also a complete slam dunk, and THAT, is what activates the interest in you there, that you will find comes from all who heard your statement.
They will think...."ah, this is not one of those dumbed down bible thumpers who only wants us all to stop living and just exist in church."
Instead they will think...."hummm, thats quite an answer"......and so, what you have done, is created a door to be heard, that is wide open, and wont close.
You my friend, have just taken the Mic from the Devil.
Congrats.
And from there, you just start planting seeds, and watering, .......day by day....for as long as you stay.
Thats your part.
God's part is to give life to the seeds that you have planted in the hearts of the hearer's.
Your job is not to save, .... your job is to plant the Savior's grace, and God's job is to make the most out of your planting.

 

[for_his_glory]

There are five requirements to Salvation
1. Confession - Acts 2:21; Romans 10:9, 10
2. Repentance - Mark 1:14, 15
3. Faith - John 3:14-18
4. Regeneration - John 3:3-8
5. Holy Scripture - 2 Timothy 3:15

These five requirements are the seeds we need to be planting in others as Jesus told Peter in Matthew 16:18 upon this rock I will build my Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. There is a lesson in what the gates of hell is in this verse. Jesus was talking to Peter as they stood on the physical rock in Caesarea Philippi which was a rock literally filled with niches for pagan idols, where ungodly values dominated.

Here is a good article that goes with the OP and we had better be preaching at the gates of hell.
https://www.thattheworldmayknow.com/gates-of-hell-article

 

[Razeontherock]

Preaching at the gates of hell? Sounds kinda like someone else I know. I really look forward to speaking with those that were there when He took the keys of death!

A good Sunday morning thought ...

 

[for_his_glory]

Razeontherock, I think you are missing the point of what the gates of hell is about that we are talking about. Per the OP we are talking about getting out of our comfort zone and taking the Gospel out to the secular world that others are afraid to approach.

Rev 1:18 He told John he had the keys of hell and death which means those who sleep in the grave, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, that will be raised up to meet Jesus in the clouds and have life eternal, John 5:28, 29.

 

[Razeontherock]

What could possibly make you think I'm missing the point? Does going to the most likely place to get shot in order to minister to the homeless sound like staying in your comfort zone? I was doing that in 1985. Please ...

Jesus left His comfort zone. He became man. He descended into hell. The connection I made should be clear enough for any to see.

 

[for_his_glory]

I

What could possibly make you think I'm missing the point? Does going to the most likely place to get shot in order to minister to the homeless sound like staying in your comfort zone? I was doing that in 1985. Please ...

Jesus left His comfort zone. He became man. He descended into hell. The connection I made should be clear enough for any to see.

I just do not see your connection with Jesus resurrecting those from the grave when He returns having to do with us getting out of our comfort zones to take the Gospel taught within four walls to taking out from those four walls into this wicked world that needs to hear it preached.

 

[Chopper]

I posted this as a response , on another thread, and decided it might generate some interest if it was posted as its own topic.
Hope so.

and posted to all who would come and read it, and not directed specifically at any one person here.

Now...
There will be times, especially if a forum member exercises a bit of Gospel Courage......that you will actually depart from a Christian Forum, where you are all safe and warm fighting with other believers, and you will take thyself to a secular forum where they are waiting to find out how much you can give and take.
See, the secular world does not need any more Christians, it only needs to see ONE REAL ONE.

Its a lot different there, then here, as there, you are actually taking the Cross outside the church walls..
Know what i mean, jellybean ??
And once there, you will be tested by callous hardhearted disrespectful Christ rejecting punks, of all ages.
Does this interest you?
Sounds exciting, does it not?
Do you ever feel the need to leave the safety of the congregation and hit the devil in the face, head on, with your fist?
You cant really do that here, much, unless you are overriding people who are trying to harm you by trying to convince you that
your salvation is yours to gain and yours to keep by working it till death, by works.
But other then that, its pretty safe here, or on any Christian forum.
Sometimes you get it going pretty good with some off the chain worldly type believer who is politically corrected through and thru, and they want to defend abortion or Transgender, or some gun law that wants to take everyone's gun away... etc.
But on a secular forum, you are not welcome, and you have to find a way to be interesting enough for them to listen, while they are spitting.
That is how you have to deal with the lost, on secular forums.
And, one of the first things an atheist will say to you there, is....."i dont believe in what i can't see, and i cant see Jesus, anymore then i can see Zeus, or the Easter Bunny, and both of those are myths, just like your JESUS...!!!!
Ka POW..
You have been stung..
What will you do. ???
Suck your thumb?.....Cry to mama?.........Go meditate in the Gospel of John?.......take a XanaX?
You can't run from the fight, as then the members who are all waiting for your response will see you run, which then gives them more fuel for their unbelief.
So, Dont do that.
Instead, use a bit of wit, and wisdom, combined, just like Jesus would do, when he was dealing with these hard headed rascals, in His day...
"As Jesus is, so are YOU in this WORLD".
So,.....You might say...
"ah, so, you dont believe in what you cant see, """...."well.....then i guess you need to stop breathing, as you cant see the AIR you are breathing, so it must not be there,.... as according to you, you dont believe in what you can't SEE"....

Now, this is sarcastic, but, its also a complete slam dunk, and THAT, is what activates the interest in you there, that you will find comes from all who heard your statement.
They will think...."ah, this is not one of those dumbed down bible thumpers who only wants us all to stop living and just exist in church."
Instead they will think...."hummm, thats quite an answer"......and so, what you have done, is created a door to be heard, that is wide open, and wont close.
You my friend, have just taken the Mic from the Devil.
Congrats.
And from there, you just start planting seeds, and watering, .......day by day....for as long as you stay.
Thats your part.
God's part is to give life to the seeds that you have planted in the hearts of the hearer's.
Your job is not to save, .... your job is to plant the Savior's grace, and God's job is to make the most out of your planting.

Wow Kidron, you certainly have hit a "Chopper Home Run" with this great thread. Bravo, Bravo and one more BRAVO!!

 

[Douglas Summers]

Now, this is sarcastic, but, its also a complete slam dunk, and THAT, is what activates the interest in you there, that you will find comes from all who heard your statement.

Greetings Kidron, Why be sarcastic? Why not, by the Spirit of Christ, speak of Christ. I have had people who say they are Christians, treat me the same as those who do not believe, but I have always fallen back on the Spirit of Grace, knowing what their ending is. You can not argue with them because, then you grieve the Spirit and get in the flesh. You have to pray for them and remember what you were once. But you can not always just quote Scripture, But witness to them about what you were at one time and how you were found by Christ. All you have to do is sow, God will give the increase. I Cor. 13:1-13.
In His Eternal Grace
Douglas Summers

 

[Kidron]

Greetings Kidron, Why be sarcastic?

Douglas Summers

Hey Douglas,


and, yes, exactly as you said....

It has been my experience that other Christians, who are typically not familiar with sharing the Gospel, or who are very carnal, have given me more trouble on secular forums, then perhaps, even devout atheists.

The truth is, the LAKE of FIRE is not a joke, a myth, an allegory, a smoldering dump near the Eastern Gate, or a situation that will be resolved after a time of soul burning, once a person has achieved this as their final destination.
God does not send them there, He only allows them to go., and thats a harsh reality that is a horrible horror to those who woke up dead today, and are in hell right now, fully alert and they are thinking......"omg, omg, omg, its REAL, its REAL, and i knew i should have listened.............OMG OMG OMG................TOO LATE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TOO LATE !!
TOO LATE !!!!
TOO LATE !!!!!
TOO LATE !!!!!!!

Jude 1:23 says that we literally are pulling them back from the judgement fire of eternity, every time we bring/lead one to Christ.
And i certainly have not brought as many as i could have or should have to the Lord.
And i know it.
But i know what to do and how to talk about it, and how to be concerned about it and how to exhort the faithful into the reality of the main thing.
I KNOW to keep the main thing, the main thing, and getting people saved,.... helping them out of God's judgment, ......is more important then anything else in our life.
Nothing, NOTHING is more important then keeping an eternal soul from eternal judgement.
And if a believer does not see this, understand it , and partake of it, but rather spends most of their Christian life worried about things that matter less, and everything matters LESS, then that Christian is not in the Way.
They are NOT, "fisher's of men".
They are a saved dud.
That is exactly what they are.
A wet fuse.
A "DUD"

Here is what i hate to hear.
"well, Kidron, i believe in LETTING MY LIGHT SHINE FOR OTHERS TO SEE, AS THIS IS HOW I WITNESS, as i dont want to offend anyone with my faith, and so, what i do, is................................(nothing.)

= Cop out.
= Nonsense
= stop being weak.
= Jesus died for you, so you get up and do something for Him EVERYDAY That God gives you the Gift of life before you die and meet Jesus and have to explain why you sat there and got fat and stayed spiritually lazy and lived your entire Christian life as a job security maniac for 40 yrs, and a pew fly on Sundays in between.
A Church....Pew....Fly.
A Zero.
A nothing.


See, This is the way OUT of witnessing and trying to lead a soul from the darkness and into the light,= is by keeping your mouth shut and letting everyone around you go to hell while you let your light shine.
Yuk = all who are like this.
Its spit out of the mouth of Jesus The Christ, to be like that all the time.
No one is perfect.....but some just dont care.
"spit".

Is there a time and place for witnessing?
Is there wisdom and God's unction to do it?
Of course.
You are not to park your car in the middle of the interstate and get on top of it and yell the Book of Romans at passing cars.
But you know that.
You know what im talking about, all who are sort of just going with the flow in life, not willing to take a stand.....
You know who you are., and so does God.

The thing is, with God, everything is WORDS........God's words of original-Creation, Jesus as the Word made flesh, "faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word"., we are "washed by the word", we are to "study the word", we are judged by our words, and "in the beginning was the WORD".
Paul said, "by the foolishness of PREACHING" = words..
So, in Christianity, its all about words as well as walk, and you have to have both.
It is NOT enough to be a "silent witness", as a silent witness is a dead witness.



God bless,

<K><

 

[Douglas Summers]

Hey Douglas,


and, yes, exactly as you said....

It has been my experience that other Christians, who are typically not familiar with sharing the Gospel, or who are very carnal, have given me more trouble on secular forums, then perhaps, even devout atheists.

The truth is, the LAKE of FIRE is not a joke, a myth, an allegory, a smoldering dump near the Eastern Gate, or a situation that will be resolved after a time of soul burning, once a person has achieved this as their final destination.
God does not send them there, He only allows them to go., and thats a harsh reality that is a horrible horror to those who woke up dead today, and are in hell right now, fully alert and they are thinking......"omg, omg, omg, its REAL, its REAL, and i knew i should have listened.............OMG OMG OMG................TOO LATE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TOO LATE !!
TOO LATE !!!!
TOO LATE !!!!!
TOO LATE !!!!!!!

Jude 1:23 says that we literally are pulling them back from the judgement fire of eternity, every time we bring/lead one to Christ.
And i certainly have not brought as many as i could have or should have to the Lord.
And i know it.
But i know what to do and how to talk about it, and how to be concerned about it and how to exhort the faithful into the reality of the main thing.
I KNOW to keep the main thing, the main thing, and getting people saved,.... helping them out of God's judgment, ......is more important then anything else in our life.
Nothing, NOTHING is more important then keeping an eternal soul from eternal judgement.
And if a believer does not see this, understand it , and partake of it, but rather spends most of their Christian life worried about things that matter less, and everything matters LESS, then that Christian is not in the Way.
They are NOT, "fisher's of men".
They are a saved dud.
That is exactly what they are.
A wet fuse.
A "DUD"

Here is what i hate to hear.
"well, Kidron, i believe in LETTING MY LIGHT SHINE FOR OTHERS TO SEE, AS THIS IS HOW I WITNESS, as i dont want to offend anyone with my faith, and so, what i do, is................................(nothing.)

= Cop out.
= Nonsense
= stop being weak.
= Jesus died for you, so you get up and do something for Him EVERYDAY That God gives you the Gift of life before you die and meet Jesus and have to explain why you sat there and got fat and stayed spiritually lazy and lived your entire Christian life as a job security maniac for 40 yrs, and a pew fly on Sundays in between.
A Church....Pew....Fly.
A Zero.
A nothing.


See, This is the way OUT of witnessing and trying to lead a soul from the darkness and into the light,= is by keeping your mouth shut and letting everyone around you go to hell while you let your light shine.
Yuk = all who are like this.
Its spit out of the mouth of Jesus The Christ, to be like that all the time.
No one is perfect.....but some just dont care.
"spit".

Is there a time and place for witnessing?
Is there wisdom and God's unction to do it?
Of course.
You are not to park your car in the middle of the interstate and get on top of it and yell the Book of Romans at passing cars.
But you know that.
You know what im talking about, all who are sort of just going with the flow in life, not willing to take a stand.....
You know who you are., and so does God.

The thing is, with God, everything is WORDS........God's words of original-Creation, Jesus as the Word made flesh, "faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word"., we are "washed by the word", we are to "study the word", we are judged by our words, and "in the beginning was the WORD".
Paul said, "by the foolishness of PREACHING" = words..
So, in Christianity, its all about words as well as walk, and you have to have both.
It is NOT enough to be a "silent witness", as a silent witness is a dead witness.



God bless,

<K><

All you say is pretty much true...except, we do not witness by the flesh, but The Holy Spirit reveals itself, using us as a vessel. And drawing on our rebirth experience as a foundation or catalyst as a Spiritual witness 1 Cor. 12:1 through the whole chapter. The Spirit is sovereign..not us.

 

[Chopper]

Hey Douglas,


and, yes, exactly as you said....

It has been my experience that other Christians, who are typically not familiar with sharing the Gospel, or who are very carnal, have given me more trouble on secular forums, then perhaps, even devout atheists.

The truth is, the LAKE of FIRE is not a joke, a myth, an allegory, a smoldering dump near the Eastern Gate, or a situation that will be resolved after a time of soul burning, once a person has achieved this as their final destination.
God does not send them there, He only allows them to go., and thats a harsh reality that is a horrible horror to those who woke up dead today, and are in hell right now, fully alert and they are thinking......"omg, omg, omg, its REAL, its REAL, and i knew i should have listened.............OMG OMG OMG................TOO LATE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TOO LATE !!
TOO LATE !!!!
TOO LATE !!!!!
TOO LATE !!!!!!!

Jude 1:23 says that we literally are pulling them back from the judgement fire of eternity, every time we bring/lead one to Christ.
And i certainly have not brought as many as i could have or should have to the Lord.
And i know it.
But i know what to do and how to talk about it, and how to be concerned about it and how to exhort the faithful into the reality of the main thing.
I KNOW to keep the main thing, the main thing, and getting people saved,.... helping them out of God's judgment, ......is more important then anything else in our life.
Nothing, NOTHING is more important then keeping an eternal soul from eternal judgement.
And if a believer does not see this, understand it , and partake of it, but rather spends most of their Christian life worried about things that matter less, and everything matters LESS, then that Christian is not in the Way.
They are NOT, "fisher's of men".
They are a saved dud.
That is exactly what they are.
A wet fuse.
A "DUD"

Here is what i hate to hear.
"well, Kidron, i believe in LETTING MY LIGHT SHINE FOR OTHERS TO SEE, AS THIS IS HOW I WITNESS, as i dont want to offend anyone with my faith, and so, what i do, is................................(nothing.)

= Cop out.
= Nonsense
= stop being weak.
= Jesus died for you, so you get up and do something for Him EVERYDAY That God gives you the Gift of life before you die and meet Jesus and have to explain why you sat there and got fat and stayed spiritually lazy and lived your entire Christian life as a job security maniac for 40 yrs, and a pew fly on Sundays in between.
A Church....Pew....Fly.
A Zero.
A nothing.


See, This is the way OUT of witnessing and trying to lead a soul from the darkness and into the light,= is by keeping your mouth shut and letting everyone around you go to hell while you let your light shine.
Yuk = all who are like this.
Its spit out of the mouth of Jesus The Christ, to be like that all the time.
No one is perfect.....but some just dont care.
"spit".

Is there a time and place for witnessing?
Is there wisdom and God's unction to do it?
Of course.
You are not to park your car in the middle of the interstate and get on top of it and yell the Book of Romans at passing cars.
But you know that.
You know what im talking about, all who are sort of just going with the flow in life, not willing to take a stand.....
You know who you are., and so does God.

The thing is, with God, everything is WORDS........God's words of original-Creation, Jesus as the Word made flesh, "faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word"., we are "washed by the word", we are to "study the word", we are judged by our words, and "in the beginning was the WORD".
Paul said, "by the foolishness of PREACHING" = words..
So, in Christianity, its all about words as well as walk, and you have to have both.
It is NOT enough to be a "silent witness", as a silent witness is a dead witness.



God bless,

<K><

Good post Kidron. In my 40+ years of being a bond Servant and Shepherd of the Lord Jesus Christ, I have never had a more exciting, thrilling experience than leading someone who knows not Jesus, to salvation & repentance in His Name. Then to disciple that person and watch them grow in the things of the Lord that lasts & lasts.