For Unbelievers Who Resent Being “Preached” To :: By Dave Hubley
(There is a special message at the end of this article for those who might happen to read this and do not have Jesus in their life and are looking for peace and a way to better understand the present-day insanity and confusion.)
I personally know several Christ-loving sisters and brothers who pray constantly for relatives and friends to open their hearts to the Saving Grace of God.
Many of us also try to verbally convey this message to family, friends and strangers in many cases. If you are reading this, you may be one of them. Please read on.
Most of us who have already asked for and received that Saving Grace have a clear understanding of two very obvious realities. which is, in large part, what drives us to continue to testify despite the opposition or indifference that we experience.
- The rapidly approaching fulfillment of the prophecies contained in God’s Word which strongly indicate that God is preparing to terminate the evils of the rule of men (commonly referred to as the “end of the age”) by executing the judgements recorded in the Book of (Revelation Chapters 4:1-20:5).
- The understanding of what God requires from all people in order to rescue them from the coming wrath and the resistance to it and often, denial of it, by those we plead with to acknowledge their sin and their need for a Savior.
Is the idea that Christians can, in many cases, tell if someone is not a believer in Christ, a hypocrisy- driven, holier-than-thou attitude, or is there something more substantive going on?
I can’t say that I personally know any Christians like that, but I do know that Jesus set a standard by which people can be understood in terms of their eternal future.
“So then, you will know them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter’” (Matthew 7:20-21) Emphasis added by me.
“Their fruits” means you can tell the heart condition (spiritual condition) of a person based on the solid evidence of their actions: what, or who, they put their trust in or derive their ethics and pleasure from and even how they react to the Name of Jesus.
What concerns the Christian the most is Jesus’ declaration that those who refuse His saving Grace will not be allowed to enter His rest.
“And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” (Matthew 7:23).
Jesus spoke more of hell than He did of heaven, and it was made clear that hell is the only alternative destination for those who reject Him and the very personal price He paid in order to gift them with eternal life in place of eternal death.
The understanding of what that rejection ultimately means for the unbeliever is made clear by the Word of God.
“It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31).
“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28).
There are many who grudgingly acknowledge the Bible or who outright reject it and its teachings. “It’s just a myth,” they say, or a bunch of either scary or fluffy stories written by men with no proof to back them up. These are widespread but false justifications (excuses) for rejecting it. There is more than enough proof of the veracity of the Bible.
Are you willing to take what might be called a “practical” look at the Bible and see if that viewpoint holds any water? Is your eternity worth investing 30 minutes in to confirm the Truth of what I would like to show you?
I’m not going to copy and paste the Bible verses from the following list. If the growing evil happening in the world around you is not enough to convince you to be willing to acquire a Bible or look one up online, then maybe you have already set your eternity in stone. I sure hope not, but God has given every person the freedom to accept or reject Him, so we must do so as well.
If you are willing, please continue.
I humbly suggest that you do this confirming research only using the following Bible translations: King James (KJV), New King James (NKJ), Berean Study Bible (BSB), New International Version (NIV), English Standard Version (ESV), or New American Standard (NAS)-sometimes called (NASB). Also, online resource of “biblehub.com.”
- The Judeo/Christian God is the only God who has predicted the future prophetic events that have already been fulfilled, as well as those you see unfolding around you even now. (Isaiah 46:9-10)
- No other “religion” dares to delve into future prophecy (Isaiah 46:10).
- Every prophecy (up to the present time) has been fulfilled in minute detail. Two of the more startling examples of this are the birth of the Messiah 700 years before it happened (Isaiah 9:6-7), and the details of His life (Isaiah 52:13-15), a description of his appearance (Isaiah 53:1-3), the reason why He came (Isaiah 53:4-8 + John 18:37), and what He would endure at His death (Psalm 22).
- There are said to be 300+/- prophecies pertaining to Jesus alone in both the Old and New Testaments. The mathematical odds of ONE person fulfilling just 8 of these prophecies is 1 in 10/17th power (or one in 10 with 17 zeros). An astronomical number. Jesus has far exceeded 8 of them.
- The existing historical proof that Jesus fulfilled these prophecies in minute detail is proof that the balance of them will also be fulfilled with the same degree of detail.
- The rebirth of the State of Israel on May 14, 1948 (in a single day) was foretold in the Book of Isaiah (Isaiah 66:7-9). Israel is the only country (state) in human history that has ever been restored after being destroyed, dispersed and disbanded.
This short list is only a small portion of the already fulfilled prophecies in the Word of God. There are hundreds more.
Why do the people who witness to you do so? Why don’t they just give up and leave
you alone?
A good question, I’m so very glad you are wondering why that is.
Part of that reason has to do with the command by Jesus to “witness to all nations” (nations being all people regardless of race). You might be thinking that it is just to “get you to go to their church” or that they are trying to “get some money out of you.”
Admittedly, there may be some who have such motives, but I have yet to meet one.
To be sure, there is a reward in heaven for doing this. We receive it the moment we open our mouth to witness, regardless of how you respond. I don’t think I know any sisters or brothers who plead with you just for that reason either.
Here is what I do know: we do it because we love the Lord Jesus, and because of Him, we also love you, and like the apostle Paul, we ask ourselves:
“Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth” (Galatians 4:16).
Our greatest fear is the terrible reality of what will occur to those who reject God’s Grace delivered by the death and resurrection of Jesus on a cross at Calvary, and continue to do so for too long.
This is called a “hardening of heart,” and it eventually results in this condition:
“They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason, God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness” (2 Thessalonians 2:10b-12).
This condition is real and should terrify you.
“Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts” (Hebrews 4:7).
We witness, plead and deliver a message to you by the Holy Spirit of God through whoever God uses at any given time because, even though we may not know you, we love you. It may very well be a family member, friend or total stranger.
They actively love you by risking rejection and even anger, but they do it anyway.
That, my friend, is the true definition of human love in its purest form.
God’s Word reveals why He has not yet sent this strong delusion:
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).
God has also made clear that His patience has a finite end.
I urge you that, next time you hear the message of the Gospel, you will consider the True Source of the message, and perhaps you might be willing to ask yourself this question:
It is a hard question to consider and even harder to ask of yourself.
“Am I living a perfect and sinless life?”
This is a question that God has posed that has only a “yes or no” answer.
The honest and perhaps uncomfortable answer will be: No.
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Emphasis added by me. God’s all means all.
My hope in writing this is that your spirit might understand the motives of the best human friend or friends that you will ever have. That person who really loves you enough to tell you the Truth, and to also tell you about the Savior who demonstrated that love and your need for Him.
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
The special message I promised you:
For anyone who may read this article and has not trusted in Jesus Christ and therefore has no hope or peace in your life.
You can have hope. You can have the peace that Jesus has promised to all who have made Him their Lord and Savior. The peace that passes understanding.
It requires that you come before God on His terms.
And, what are His terms according to His Word?
- Genuine repentance (turning to God instead of continuing to reject or ignore Him).
- Confession of sins (that you are a sinner and acknowledge that to God).
- That you understand that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).
- To acknowledge to God that you are unable to pay that debt.
- Belief that Jesus Christ paid your death sentence for you on the cross and rose from the grave three days later, conquering death, just as He promised.
- To believe that Jesus is the Way, the only Way, that God has established by which humans may be saved from the consequences of their sin and rebellion.
God has made it absolutely clear that there is no one who comes before Him, under His terms, that will be refused.
- No one: no race, no color, no country of origin, regardless of any previous belief system: no one.
- No matter what your past sins have been, God can and WILL forgive you because He says He will.
- Salvation is available to everyone without any exceptions.
If you put all your trust for salvation in Jesus, and Him only, you can follow that prayer up by simply saying, “Thank you, Father God, for hearing my prayer and saving me,” because we can trust Him to keep His Word. He always has. He always will.
“Truly, Truly, I say to you that he who hears My words and believes the One who sent Me has eternal life and will not be condemned. He has crossed from death to life” (John 5:24).
There are no answers and there is no hope in the world by governments, organizations, politics or politicians. There are only lies and deception. But you can have the Truth and the peace you seek.
The answers are in the Word of God—The Bible. If you ask God, with all your heart, He will hear you.
“And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).
Pro Salvator Vigilans
To contact me: [email protected]
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