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The Gentleness and Severity of the Christian Witness
The question has often been asked about our methods of biblical evangelism when we rebuke and reprove hard sinners is, “Shouldn’t we be gentle in our dealings with the lost? The question begged then becomes, “How can we be gentle and rebuke as the Scriptures obviously require us to do?” The truth is knowable if we seek it. Someone is wrong in this moral dilemma of gentleness and hardness of communication with the sinner.
2 Tim 4:2-5
Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. 5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
2 Tim 2:24-26
And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, 25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, 26 and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.
This question arises within the same letter from Paul to Timothy.
Here is the answer in simplest terms. In regards to rebuking and gentleness of our Christian witness, it is a both/and not an either or depending on the condition of the soil of the heart of the listener/s.
James 4:5-7
5 Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”? 6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:
“God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” 7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Prov 3:33-35
The curse of the Lord is on the house of the wicked,
But He blesses the home of the just.
Surely He scorns the scornful,
But gives grace to the humble.
35 The wise shall inherit glory,
But shame shall be the legacy of fools
1 Pet 5:4-6
4 and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
So, the Holy Spirit who dwells in us gives the law/rebukes/warnings of hell/etc to the proud sinners, but His grace is given to those who humble themselves during or after our witness of Christ to them. If you read the writeup for my Grandmother’s funeral preach video you would find out a lot of information about how long I have been witnessing to this group of people called my earthly family. One2one, small groups, tracts, emails, etc I have been witnessing to my family over sixteen years, My first witness to them was Aug 3, 1996 when I was born again I called everyone in my family and asked them if they knew of or had been saved by Jesus Christ.
Now I want to parallel my experiences of my witness to my family to the witnesses we give to strangers to see if there is any correlation between the two. In trying to reach my family most of them were haughty and resistant from the beginning of my testimonies to them. Only my ‘saved’ sister and my maternal grandmother were interested at all in the things I desired to say of Jesus and His great salvation offered to the world. So, over the years as I learned that when speaking of the love of Jesus demonstrated at the cross for them, they neglected and even mocked it. To this, I would tell them they were headed to hell. This of course, is very offensive to the carnal person still living in sin. I learned about ten years ago that I needed to show them the law which is written upon the conscience and that it would bear witness as I did. Well, glory hallelujah this did make some inroads with some of my family but most still hardened their hearts. But, the law is not all we need to use as our witness. We need to use: 1. Creation which points to a Creator 2. The Judgments of God which points out the horrors of dying in a sinful state. 3. Sin which everyone is guilty of to point to the need for forgiveness. 4. His Righteousness which means He won’t neglect what He has threatened and or promised against and for all of humanity. 5. His love which was demonstrated on the cross in suffering and dying for all sinners and sin. 6. His Word which is an eternal testimony of Himself to a lost and dying world. 7. His Spirit which indwells every believer as we walk according to His directions in our communications with the lost.
If you think about it, our earthly family are just family members that are closer than the rest of our family which is the human race. Why do we make special provision, excuses, or justifications for those that we know better or have more worldly experiences with, than the rest of our family? I prove that point with one Scripture which I love to cite especially when people are racist in their thinking.
Acts 17:26-31
And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, 27 so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ 29 Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. 30 Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, 31 because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”
In summary, we should not treat our close family members differently than the rest of our human family in our testimony of Jesus. We should be consistent across the board not being preferential in the way we witness to them. If we are, we need to repent of this arbitrary thinking and behavior. One danger we have is to lose sight of the fact that Jesus will condemn them no matter what we say or do, if they do not repent, seek forgiveness, and become born again of the Holy Spirit. Let us comfort no sinner in sin, whether they be a stranger on the street, or the closest brother, cousin, mother or father we have many fond carnal memories with….
1 Pet 1:13-19
Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; 15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.17 And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; 18 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
We should consider both God’s goodness and severity as well!
Rom 11:22-23
Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. 23 And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.
Friends, let us make sure we represent Him properly to a lost world which is in rebellion to Him and His Holy authority. I had a friend of mine recently say,
A sinner asked, “Why should we fear God?” I said, “Because He is HORRIFYINGLY HOLY! He burns people! Alive! Forever!” ”
False Doctrine of Original Sin = Judgment!
When we preach in the open air, original sin, sinful nature, and once saved always saved doctrines consistently permeate the crowd no matter where we go or to whom we preach. Sinners seek to justify themselves and others with these false doctrines in the light of holiness preaching. I came across this blogpost of a man who was a Christian born again from the age of 18. He was well studied earning several theological degrees. But, alas he did not persevere to the end, even denying His Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
2 Pet 2:1
But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.
http://formerfundy.blogspot.com/2010/03/original-sin-and-infant-salvation.html
He writes, “One of the difficulties within evangelical theology relates to what happens to infants when they die. Because evangelicals believe in original sin, they believe that infants are born corrupt and sinful.”
Not all evangelicals believe in original sin. Though we do know that most hold to this hideous doctrine. We don’t believe that God makes baby sinners but that they are made in His image.
1 Cor 11:7 For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man.
We also believe that God makes them perfect and they have not done good or evil.
Ps 139:13-15 For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Babies are wonderfully made? If original sin is true, then God would be the very cause of all the lying, murders, rapes, etc in this world. Where is the sin that God puts in, or allows from Adam’s blood to corrupt the child in utero?
Rom 9:11 “for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil,…”
As Christians we must be willing to examine every doctrine or tradition we have been taught in ‘Christendom’ in light of the Holy Spirit teaching us all things from the Holy Bible.
A few rhetorical questions for the reader to ponder:
1. How could a Holy God make everyone sinners without making Himself unholy?
2. How does it make sense that God would create humans in a sinful state which He must eternally destroy on Judgment day?
3. If God stated that He tempts no man, how could he make us sinners from birth without putting a stumbling block before humanity?
4. Wouldn’t Satan desire to propagate such a doctrine that pleases mankind to justify himself in his sin and falsely accuses God throughout this age?
5. Why would Jesus tell people to, “Go and sin no more…” If He created the problem of sin in the first place?
6. Is God double minded that He in His sovereignty creates a problem He must cure with the blood of Jesus?
7. Was Jesus born a sinner? Was He not born in the flesh as we are, yet without sin? If Jesus was not born a sinner, does the Romish doctrine of immaculate conception apply here?
8. If babies are born sinners and the child dies before being born again of the Holy Spirit, do they go to eternal fire?
9. Didn’t Jesus teach that we should become like ‘children’ to enter the Kingdom of God? Why promote that idea if children are just sinners that He made to destroy?
The history of this false doctrine is clear. ‘Saint’ Augustine of Hippo, formally a Manichean gnostic originated this devilish doctrine and Calvin perfected it many centuries later. I think vast multitudes of true believers have fallen for this deception which falsely accuses God and excuses sinners.
Smashed on Broadway New Years 2014
Romans 6:5-7
For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him,that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin.
Friends,
What did you spend your last year doing? On Facebook they have a feature that gives you a page of summary of your activities for that past year. When I opened mine, I was pleased to see that most all of my FB was centered on Jesus, His Gospel, getting that published and my family!
https://www.facebook.com/yearinreview/john.mcglone.777
This new year as I contemplate how God has so drastically changed my life, heart, mind and soul for Him in the last sixteen I am amazed. I want to run with more fervor and endurance in the next, then next, and next, if the Lord wills until my physical body is completely poured out for Him.
Rom 12:1-3 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.
In light of that thought, as my family is spiritually and physically preparing themselves to go out for about four hours of driving and four hours of preaching in 30 degree weather. I am so thankful for the work the Lord has done in our children in preparing them to count the cost of being a disciple of Jesus. They will endure the hardness of this environment as a demonstration of love to all the sin loving God hating multitudes that will swarm in the downtown area of Nashville, to party, lust, drink booze, fight, and generally whoop it up for the devil.
The irony is that of the seven children that went out yesterday in the same kind of weather yesterday, they all wanted to go back out today. They were threatened, cursed at, called names, and generally despised for Jesus while I preached at the Music City Bowl. All they were doing was standing there handing out tracts, ,holding signs, and wearing gospel hoodies from www.preachinggear.com. Not only were they despised by the sinners, but they brought their children out to the ball game and made them endure the weather for their parents lust of football, beer, and fun. The sinners tried to get our children to repent of their repentance! You don’t have to come out here! He can’t make you do this! Is your daddy forcing you to do this? Someone should call the police! I turned to our youth and calmly asked, “Children, did I make you come out here, or did you choose? They resoundingly spoke up, we choose! Why do my children care so much for the lost? Because they were once lost themselves and know the weight of sin and the freedom Christ has brought them by the Holy Spirit! Hallelujah! Pray for us saint as we make our final preparations to head back into the fray for souls, where the naysayers will preach: 1. You’re doing it wrong 2. This isn’t the Gospel 3. You’re sinners too! 4. No one obeys God. While we preach verse upon verse, line upon line that the blind may grope after Christ and be found in Him on that Great and Terrible Day of JUDGMENT.
