Listen to this interesting video by entertainer Penn Jillette on Youtube. A professed atheist, he gives a very thought provoking comment that reinforces the importance of our need to share Christ with folks that have not heard of him yet.
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I may have the joke wrong, but this is the way I remember it.....
There was a man of Asian descent, who while walking the streets of New York, came across a Preacher on a 31st and Broadway, preaching about Heaven, Hell and the Gift of Salvation. Fascinated at the sight, he decided to chat with the preacher.
"So let me get this straight", the man inquired, "If I don't accept Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior, then I'm doomed to spend eternity in hell??"
"That's right", the Preacher responded.
"But, what about the billions of people in China, who have never heard the good news of Jesus?"
"They are safe in the eyes of God, because they have not yet heard the good news."
"Then why...", asked the guy exasperated, "Did you tell ME?!?!"
You said in your sermon that God does not punish the innocent, but the guilty, and we are all guilty! But you also said that People are not guilty because they reject something unknown, they are guilty because they reject what is known.
But you also said that we have an obligation to share what we know is true; but isn't the act of sharing our faith condeming those that choose not to believe, to an eternity of hell? Why is opening up our mouths and sharing the gospel better than keeping our mouths shut? Put another way, why is sharing the good news to a sinful world better than leaving them alone, if revealing their sin to them may doom them to an eternal hell? This is the type of question, that if not answered carefully, can turn the great commission into the great contridiction!
I await your thoughts.
The fact that people are guilty is why we need to share Christ. People have rejected God the Father because He has made himself clearly known. Jesus came because of the universal guilt of mankind. We share Jesus for the very same reason Jesus came- the sick need a doctor.
I just wanted to take time to tell you that I love you, and to thank you for being my pastor.
For me (and I may be wrong, but this is how I see it), the bottom line is that we preach to a dying world, because, as followers of Christ, we were commanded to. Period!
So, in the joke, if I were the pastor, the answer I would give to the man would be "Because Jesus told me to".
The reason it’s better to open our mouths is to reach people like me. I was 35 when I finally understood I was nothing without Jesus. Love is something I’d searched for all my life finding one failure after another. Being good and knowing God existed was all I thought was required. Sharing isn’t condemning it’s the opportunity to enlighten others in the hope you’ll reach someone anyone glorifying the Father. Told to or not we need to share with others. And believe it or not there are a lot of people that share because they want to
Wow what a clip, wish we could show that. He kept saying, "he was a good man", isn't that the epitome of Jesus, he was a good man! Simple as that, he did not criticize, judge, scream, pound the pulpit, he was a good man, simple!!! We so try to confuse our faith. If we could all just simplify it and be GOOD people I believe the people going to heaven would multiply much faster.
Now as for Sunday's message, my word is ambiguous........
I am touched by this. Mr. Penn is one of the foulest individuals I have come across but in this he was preaching the gospel. It started with the Christian business man. God's Spirit passed through him to all that heard his future testimony.
This is just a random event. However God choses the time and place for everything.
Jesus can use even an avowed atheist to spread his Word.
I have been blessed to share the Good News with hundreds of people. I have learned that if you allow Christ to enter your life, he will give you the time and place and will accomplish his will through those who are willing to stun people like Mr. Penn with their honest words.
It reminds me how an available someone could witness to the gentleman who is trying to open the porn store. Obviously he has not encountered that available someone who is willing to be him/herself and let the Holy Spirit speak through them to a person who potentially experience the true and living God.
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