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What should a Christian say if someone asks, “Do you believe gay people are going to hell because they’re gay?”
We should say, “Let’s back up a bit. Do you know why Jesus came?”
Their answer will indicate where you should go next. If they actually say, “To die for our sins,” then you can ask, “Who are these sinners He died for?”
You can then explain to them that everybody—everybody—is a sinner. Jesus told us that if we hate people, it’s like committing murder. He said that if a man looks at a woman with lust in his heart, it’s the same as if he’s committing adultery. Everyone is a sinner—including you and the person asking the question. Everybody has lied. No one has loved God like he should, with all of his heart, soul, mind and strength. We have all failed.
Here is the link to a story about a woman who had a vision of Jesus and subsequently became a Christian:
http://www.answering-islam.org/Testimonies/leah.html
In the days before Laurie and I left Israel, we spent many hours talking, thinking and praying about our departure. We discussed whether or not we would continue to serve on the mission field in another country. If we didn’t—and the more we hashed it over with each other and with the Lord, this was the way we were leaning—the more it became apparent that we would need to seek employment back in the States. This was going to be challenging. Our resume´s as former missionaries were…interesting.
Laurie and I had prayed earnestly, separately and apart, for direction. However, the answer I received from God wasn’t one I was expecting.
I had an interesting—more than interesting—stunning—thought when I was praying/worshiping a couple of mornings ago. I was thanking the Lord for the day when He made Himself known to me, on the front porch of the Travelers’ Hotel, in Chelan, Washington, around thirty-eight years ago. The Father and Jesus and the Holy Spirit consulted together and were in 100% agreement concerning that moment, that encounter. This agreeing consultation took place a long time ago—before the worlds were formed.
The same, of course, is true of you.
The last couple of posts here have been what Christians would call the “Bad News.”
So what’s the “Bad News”? It’s not just outward actions that are sinful; in our essence we are sinful. Every. Body.
And it’s not just the things we typically think of that are sinful. Not doing something that you know is good, is sinful. Making something else ultimate besides God is sinful. Not revering God for giving us the very air we breathe—ignoring Him—is sinful. We consider ourselves good when we compare ourselves to other. We’re good until God comes into the room. Nobody is holy like Him. Nobody.
Take a few minutes, if you will, and watch this amazing video. The link isn’t working, so please copy and paste the address.
I came across this on James Taranto’s “Best of the Web” site a couple of days ago.
I am greatly pleased when an unbeliever encounters evidence that glorifies the Lord Jesus. He changed my life. Perhaps he’ll change Matthew’s as well. Looks like change is already happening…
“There are many other fundamental differences (in the religions of the world). Hinduism itself contains adherents to virtually every opinion on the nature of God; a Hindu may be monotheistic, henotheistic, polytheistic, or pantheistic, depending upon his village or temple of origin. On the other hand, the three Western religions are strictly monotheistic. Both Buddhism and Hinduism teach reincarnation, a concept completely foreign to Christianity, Judaism (except among some fringe medieval mystics), and Islam. Many Buddhists and some liberal Jews actually deny the existence of God. And since Judaism and Islam bluntly deny Jesus’ divinity claim, either they are right and he is wrong, or vice versa. We cannot have it both ways.
Do all religions take us on the same path to God?
Here’s some insight from The Gospel according to Moses, by Athol Dickson:
For example, as I mentioned earlier, Christianity is radically different from all other religions in one important way: it teaches that its human founder is God. No other world-wide religion makes this claim. If it is true, the God/man idea gives a level of authority to everything Jesus taught that no other religion can match, and this includes his famous “I am the way” assertion. Understanding this Christian’s commitment to the one-way doctrine must begin by recognizing that we believe this teaching comes directly from the lips of God Almighty. Either Jesus is God, or he is not. I had better believe everything he has to say, including “no one comes to the Father except through me.” If Jesus is not God, Christianity is a farce at best and an abomination at worst.
