Bible Discussion Thread

I have a close friend, non-Christian, who says he is very uncomfortable with the idea of Jesus dying

for his sins, and he is even more uncomfortable with the idea of, in his words, "human sacrifice."

The gospel just makes no sense to him. How can I respond to this? I think he likens Christianity to

a cult, where we "drink the blood" and "eat the body" of the sacrificed victim, and he likens it to a satanic practice.

His reasoning can't accept that..... And . . . . thank you whoever reads this for praying for my friend.....

Hi believer. I have heard such remarks before. Generally, they are based on an erroneous understanding of the Gospel & the Bible, or as a support for validating their position, or even a bias against Jesus, the Bible, or Christians. The fact that he is a close friend, gives you a wonderful opportunity for him to listen to you attentively & observe your life: something that many do not have as a special witness.

If the Gospel seems nonsense to him, he needs to maybe understand mankind's need of a saviour in a contemporary manner. The best example of this would be when someone reaches out to another in distress, disregarding his own life to save him. It could be a swimmer drowning, one hanging precariously over a cliff, or even one facing a total financial loss where suicide is the only option. A witness to any of those events could simply abstain from offering help since their own life or finances may be in great jeopardy. But how grateful would the one in peril be if someone would actually reach out, disregarding his own life, to save a stranger's life.

Your friend needs to see that his (& our) sins that have separated us from God & made us to be a vile people before Him, have not brought on immediate judgement from God. Rather, He gave of Himself, in His Son Jesus Christ, to reach out to us to save us from what we rightly deserved ( 1 Peter 3:18; John 15:13). So Jesus' death on the Cross was not a "human sacrifice" (as men consider it to mean), but was a willingness, out of great love, to take our place & bear God's Judgement for us. So we can say "What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins & griefs to bear", as only One who truly loved & cared for us would willingly lay down His Life for us.

And yes, cannibalism or satanic practices are certainly not part of biblical teaching & not the understanding of true believers. What he might have seen or heard of elsewhere is not from the Bible. May the Lord give you His Wisdom & Words to share with your friend.

Chris, this is very helpful, thank you. I find when I try to be "reasonable" about the gospel,

I get all jumbled up, and feel like a completely unprofitable servant. Then I get discouraged, and

stop.. For this reason, I have put aside the idea of evangelizing, thinking only certain people can do this.....

But I know i can grow in the Lord, and gain clarity in my mind to share the gospel. When you say,

my friend needs to see that his and our sins have separated us from God..... how can he see this

except by a revelation from the Lord? I am praying that the Lord give him that revelation, because

he has said, he doesn't believe in "sin" or "sinners." He follows a kind of Advaita, Hindu path where

God is in all beings, shining out love.... So the Cross is nowhere in this worldview... But I am praying

myself to be a clearer witness, and i am being asked to fast as well, for the sake of the salvation of others

and to be myself sanctified in Him.... Your response blessed me, the soundness of it. Thank you.

Thank you for your reply, brother. I didn't realize that your friend didn't believe in the existence of sin & sinners. Then he believes that whatever mankind does, whether right or wrong, is a result of some natural tendency, where some people manifest with good acts & in others bad. I wonder how he views disobedience to man's laws: e.g. road rules, assault or death against others, or even theft or lying? Are these things inconsequential to him & just an aberration in the genetic code of some? Then why should governments take action against them if that were the case; doesn't this action prove that such behaviour is unacceptable? If unacceptable to them, how much more to God Who sees all these things, even the condition of the evil heart? The fact that even supposedly 'good upright' people can still do bad things, give proof that evil reigns in all of us & man has been unable to deal with it.

Please don't "put aside the idea of evangelizing". Evangelism takes many forms; the essential part is simply being a witness of the Grace of God taken place in you. It can be as 1 Peter 3:15 shows: "be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear": just a true joyful answer to someone enquiring about this Christ in your life. Or, 1 Corinthians 9:16: "necessity is laid upon me (said Paul, the apostle & evangelist); yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel": a burden to reach out in whatever way possible, in whichever country, because of the imminence of death to that soul & resulting hell.

When we walk in the Spirit with love for all, God will not only provide the right opportunity, but the proper time & giving His Message to that lost soul. Don't be discouraged - be Christ's Light & Truth - in time when the Spirit deals with your friend's heart, he will truly know where to go to find the Light & hear the Truth. Your undiluted friendship will mean more to him as you are there for him. Blessings.

Thank you Chris (oh, btw, I am a sister :) I appreciate your responses. I had the most amazing conversation with my friend yesterday, completely Spirit-led. Things are moving..... I am trusting the Holy Spirit to guide me in all conversations, when I do that I don't fret about anything. He knows my frame it's nothing. But in Him, we can do all things.... Thank you for your thoughts, there is much wisdom there. My heart is very strongly desiring the salvation of my brothers, and the salvation of those whom God has given me. I am now believing that what God has intended, God will perform. I'm grateful for the wealth of wisdom on this site from brothers like you.

Hi Sister.

That Is wonderful, God bless you for your dedication to serve.

Brother Chris has been a blessing to us all, and your dedication is inspiring also.

God bless you.

Dear Sister. My apologies, I must be more careful in such assumptions. It was so good to read of the profitable time you had with your friend; for his/her spiritual benefit & prayerfully leading to salvation, and for you, increased joy in your heart & confidence in sharing the Word by God's Spirit. Remember, the enormous power that is in God's Word, which is God-breathed. If at the sound of the Word, demons tremble & flee, how much more will an enquiring soul become troubled as spiritual conflict takes place. Even as you being Christ's representative there, His Light is already beaming through you - be joyful, confident & speak as 'thus & thus saith the Lord. Every blessing to you.

Chris, what a joy these words bring! Bless you! I love when someone's comment leads me straight to loving God....

Thank you Lauren & S. Spencer for your kind words. Yet, I see that our contributions here are not just given as individuals for credit's sake, but we come together as one body, so that the enquirer may receive the beauty of God's Word from different perspectives & by different testimonies. Our experience with Word & the Spirit's Power behind that Word can only give Light & understanding for another's personal application. The Lord bless you both.

Matthew 17:21

Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

Mark 9:29

And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.

Like your friend I was spiritually blind and deaf. I only remembered wondering why Christians never invited me to go to church with them.

I was saved like Paul. I had been an astrologer. I believed the stars would tell me all the answers. All I knew after I was saved, is Someone was telling me how to be free. Acts 19:19.

Your friend may not be able to hear the Truth: John 3. You may have to put on your armor and pray and fast from food and media. BIND up the spirits of blind, deaf and dumb (can't speak Gods Word). CAST them into outer darkness. Pray to the Lord of the Harvest to send laborers to your friend; ask God to protect him with His angels.

The Devil just wants to hurt you; make you feel inadequate to help your friend. He doesn't want us to feel equipped to evangelize. He likes us paralyzed and doubting.

Dig in. Announce your fast. You can drink water.

Satan and his workers are invisible. You're not going to see them. You will be peeling their hands off of your friend. Claim his soul for the Kingdom of God. If you gotta go sit in your car to "turn up the volume", do it. Jesus defeated Satan when he was on his fast...WITH THE WORD OF GOD. Scriptures. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you some good ones.

Be kind to your friend. Maybe ask him if he minds if you can say a few words...and just speak blessings, a good week at work, favor in all his dealings, etc.

Don't reveal your warfare on his behalf. The Lord is our Intercessor and He's working out the details. Just stand on your scriptures with your most holy Faith. Expect a Miracle. Sing unto the Lord. Philippians 4:8

I also was lifted out of a past of astrology, and lust for occult knowledge and powers. Jesus lifted me right out.

Thank you very much for this response, it rang loud and true in my spirit. You also seem to read my spirit

accurately I have felt extremely timid to speak the gospel to others. The words come out all jumbled

and I try to make it reasonable, try to make it logical, but I end up leaning on my own understanding, and I fall down weak. And I think, "I sound like a fool." Well, I am willing to be a fool for Christ. But I want to be effective

for the kingdom... Anyway, My friend is a very kind-hearted man, he hates all violence. He hates confrontations.

I am afraid also, that he is, without knowing it, an enemy of the Cross of Christ. He has seen my conduct

over the years, and he thanks me for staying with him through thick and thin. He doesn't know I have been

praying for his soul, doing battle in the unseen realms for him.... I just outwardly love him. But lately, I

have been led to share my faith with him, and this is where he said, "I never liked the idea of Jesus dying for

my sins..... or the idea of human sacrifice!' So I will fast and pray now. My deep desire for his salvation

is directly linked to my desire to be established in the faith myself, and to rise to new levels of clarity in the

gospel. Thank you so much for your words, the word FAST and PRAY rang out like a clarion call......

I learned about the Authority of the Believer in Jesus Christ from listening to Charles Capps on YouTube. This also is why we are less effective in prayer for lost friends.

We can't firm in our faith in Jesus's ability; his Authority.

Scripture coming out of our mouth can do more than we think. We aren't going to feel or see anything. We will know that scripture will accomplish what you sent it to do.

I always ask the Holy Spirit to help me.

Sometimes I lay down and listen to 200 scriptures on YouTube. I live alone and have a lot of time to do these things. Quantity doesn't matter as much as trusting the Holy Spirit's Help.

Don't get discouraged. That's why we have Eph.6

We're doing damage and people are being freed.

Dear Standing On Your Authority, I really love your comment. Hey, yesterday I had the most wonderful conversation with this friend I had been talking about, the conversation just flowed, I heard things coming out of my mouth from the Spriit, scriptures, it wasn't me trying to remember anything. And my friend opened right up, and said a few things that made me feel he is very close to the Kingdom. What a blessing! I have been praying for this friend for a long time, but equally importantly, loving him as he is..... trusting God. I like Charles Capps books a lot, he is simple and filled with the Spirit. I will listen to scriptures online, that's a good idea.... I fasted and prayed yesterday, I just wanted to get closer to Jesus, just be with Him. I had forgotten my friend. Lo and behold, I end up on a phone call with my friend and he comes around. And all I had done was gotten closer to the Lord! Not studying tactics, not memorizing ways and means.... Just getting close to God. Fasting and praying and feasting on the Word. Thanks for your teaching, I hear it.

Help from Evangelists, may CHRIST IN US grace us with HIS wisdom and HIS understanding.

Everyone and everything has an appointed time. When God wants your friend to bow to him and confess that he is Lord, your friend WILL DO IT.

Paul is our example: KILLING God's ELECT; UNTIL his appointed time, and within seconds Paul is surrendering to Christ.

The age we are now in, is the age Christ is choosing an ELECT group of people to be PRIEST AND JUDGES. After the second resurrection, and in the ages to come, the rest of mankind will bow and worship God.

Psalms 22:27 And ALL THE ENDS OF THE WORLD shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and ALL the kindreds of the nations shall WORSHIP BEFORE THEE.

Psalms 22:30 A SEED shall serve him; and it shall be accounted to the Lord as a generation (the AGE we are in NOW).

Psalms 22:31 And they (THE SEED) shall come (with Christ at the second resurrection), and declare his righteousness unto a people that SHALL BE BORN, that he has done this.

1 John 4:14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father SENT the Son to be SAVIOUR OF THE WORLD.

By definition you CANNOT be the Saviour of the World; without saving the world.

Revelation 3:9 Behold I WILL MAKE THEM of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews (circumcised in the heart), and ARE NOT, but do LIE, I WILL MAKE THEM come and WORSHIP before thy (THE SEEDS) feet, and to KNOW that I have loved you (THE SEED).

Thank you Earl! Amen and Amen!

Help for Evangelist Reading your post is quite accurate His reasoning, 1 Corinthians 2;14 natural man receiveth not the things of God. The whole satanic thing is way overboard. Does he understand sin or John 3:16+17, speak the truth in love and pray for him and others remember 1 Corinthians 3:6-9 we plant we water but God gives the increase. God Bless I thought more about the cult thing the only religion in the world or if you wish system of belief that there are no levels to the top or twelve steps or secrets to the higher levels or understanding is Christianity. Everything God has ever done for man is written in His word everything that the true God has done throughout time has been openly displayed. His only begotten son said those who have seen me have seen the Father in every category. Everything to be known to Get directly to the Father God was made available through Jesus Christ. It is not a secret society, and He is the only man that God raised from the dead and is seated on His right hand. That is not a cult we do not follow something blindly.

Amen, Amen Sister!!

It seems the person mentioned needs to understand the consequences of sin and God is Holy and will not ecquit the wicked.

Nahum 1:3. The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.

Most people who say believe in God but not Christianity believe if there good deeds out weigh their bad deeds they will be OK.

And constantly compare theirselves to other sinners. They don't understand the wages of sin is death. The preaching of the cross have no effect on them.

1 Corinthians 1:18. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

This is why our walk and to Love the Brothern is so important.

John 13:34-35. A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

God bless.

Help from Evangelists Another question to ask your friend thousands of people have gone to war and fought for love of freedom and country and family. Isn't that in certain way sacrificing their lives so that others would be free. God gave freely out of love Romans 5:6-8 his Only begotten son Jesus Christ for us to be spiritually set free from bondage of sin, broken fellowship with God. Jesus Christ gave Himself freely out of love by doing the will of a loving Father God so God could have the Family He always desired. Why blood sacrifice in Leviticus 17:11 the life of the flesh is in the blood Jesus Christ blood is the payment for our sins and His broken body was for our healing. Sacraficial lamb of God.

S Spencer I've lost count of how many times i've heard people say I believe in God my way, always reminds me of 1 Corinthians 2:14, I don't argue I believe in letting the word do the work. I try to do Ephesians 4:13 always working on that one. God bless

Thank you Dianne, I really appreciate several points you make in your comment. Like my friend, I used to be mostly in my head.... I interpreted everything by my own understanding... I was raised in the Catholic Church, and never heard the gospel! I left the Church, and decided to learn meditation and ended up in a Buddhist meditation center, where I had a major conversion experience to Christ. But I also came from philosophy background, and was waaayyy in my head, and before I was born again, the "gospel" simply did not make sense to me, it offended my reasoning. I was in my "natural man" as you point out, and could not discern the things of God. I think my friend is like this, he is very much in his thinker, in his head. The idea of Jesus dying for HIS sins is offensive to him, he thinks probably that he would never hurt a fly, much less ask another to die for him. He has not seen that Christ was God..... I think of Jesus turning to Peter and saying, "Get thee behind me Satan, for you savor the things of man, not the things of God..." when Peter denied that Jesus would have to die so horribly . . . . so my friend, all he sees is "human sacrifice" and murder, not the mystery.

Honestly, the Holy Spirit's Voice is such amazing grace...... and so is the Word of God..... To be born again is to be

freed from the heavy coat of Religion AND the heavy coat of Agnosticism...... God Bless you, and thank you also for these scriptures..... Everyone's comments on this thread have edified me greatly.....