So you force it or present it?

  Do you force it or present it?

We must remember that Jesus said,

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." John 3:16,17.

That being said the only way we can reach the world around us is to sit down with non-Christians and present the gospel of Christ in the spirit of love.

We cannot do this if they see us as trying to force our beliefs on them. We cannot reach them if they believe we are trying to force our morals on them. 

It is not the Christians job to try to impose or get governments to legislate morality.

We live whether Christians wish to acknowledge it or not, in a secular society. There is no such thing as a government based on Christian principles. While some of our laws are indeed based on the Bible many are not.

This means; especially, if we live in a democratically elected free society, that governments will enact legislation that we may not like. But it's not our job to try and change that legislation. That is providing the legislation is not harming people or restricting the rights of Christians and non-Christians. 

In a democratic society change is something that takes place in ballot box. Where Christians and non-Christians alike have their say.

The apostle Paul while awaiting his death after being imprisoned by the emperor Nero wrote,

"I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—  for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness."  1 Timothy 2:1,2.

Paul and Jesus lived in a society that was every bit as diverse as we have today. Roman society was a society that found entertainment in men and women being murdered in gladiatorial fights. A society with many gods and as we would say today lifestyles.

I'm sure when the Apostle Paul entered Athens he was appalled at what he seen. Yet he never criticised the Greeks for what they believed in.

Instead Acts 17:17-34 tells us Paul started by noting there was a temple to "an unknown God". Then going on to present the Gospel message. The results of the message were mixed. Some wanted to hear more. Some sneered at what he said and some believed.

Question: when you tell people about the gospel of Christ do you force it on people or present it, letting them make their minds up for themselves?

Please think about it.

The Message

The message

The following is a quote about Jesus from the book of Hebrews. It make clear what Christians believe about Jesus,
“The Son (Jesus) is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.  
So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.
For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father’” ? 
Or again, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son” ? 
And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.” 
Hebrews 1:3-6.
Jesus is the Son of God. He is God in the flesh. The Gospel of John states,
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  
He was with God in the beginning. 
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  
In him was life, and that life was the light of men....  
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” 
                                                                                                   John 1:1-14.
I know that to some God coming in the flesh seems unusual if not impossible. But to say its impossible or that God would not do it is to limit God.
When it comes to believing who Jesus is, people have a Choice. A choice Jesus himself gives when he says,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son”.
                                                                         John 3:16-18.
This is a message all Christians need to get out to the world around them. While you may not be called to go to far flung parts of the world, we are called to tell those around us about Jesus.
We need to do this in a polite and loving manner.
Jesus said,
“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” 
Matthew 10:16
Unfortunately too many Christians don’t remember to be innocent or harmless as doves. They act more like hawks thus turning people away.
We need to always remember that our actions may determine the eternal resting place of those we come in contact with.
As Francis of Assisi said,
“The deeds you do may be the only sermon some persons will hear today” 
                                                                                                    Francis of Assisi
Please think about it.

A Message for today

A message for today

Two thousand years ago give or take a few years, the Apostle Paul was invited by the Stoic and Epicurean philosophers of Athens to speak to them about Christ. The book of Acts records the incident.
The message he gave is as relevant for today’s audience as it was back then. I put it hear for you to think about.

“While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols.  
So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.  
A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.  
Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?  
You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean.”  
(All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.) 
“Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.  
For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you. 
“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.  
And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.  
From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.  
God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.  
‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ 
“Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man’s design and skill.  
In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.  
For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.” 
When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.”  
At that, Paul left the Council. A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.” 
Acts 17:16-34

The Message

The Message
The Apostle Paul wrote,
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
1 Corinthians 1:18  
When it comes down to Christianity it very much comes down to what you the individual wants to believe about it.
As Paul said to the believer the message of Christ crucified is the power of God. The Apostles creed pretty well sums up what Christians believe it states,

1. I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth:

2. And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord:

3. Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary:

4. Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried: He descended into hell:

5. The third day he rose again from the dead:

6. He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty:

7. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead:

8. I believe in the Holy Ghost:

9. I believe in the holy catholic church: the communion of saints:

    (Meaning the true church not just the Roman Catholic church of today. And the saints which are what the Bible calls all believers in Christ)

10. The forgiveness of sins:

11. The resurrection of the body:

12. And the life everlasting. Amen.

Today there are people creeping into the church that would deny even the deity of Christ.
There are those out there that say there is another revelation of Christ. We must be careful not to follow them.
Jesus is the Son of God, God in the flesh, the bible makes that clear.
The Apostles Creed while not written by the apostles is a true statement of what all true Christians believe.
Christianity is God reaching down to man. Taking a small part of his infiniteness and coming to earth to show man how much he does love him.
C. S. Lewis wrote,
“The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us.” 
                                                    C.S. Lewis
Think about it.