Bible Discussion Thread

" Ezekiel 3:17 Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.

18 When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand."

This is God speaking to Ezekiel about warning the "House of Israel".

This is where a lot of Christians get the idea to take to the streets and preach Christ.

Since we're living in the age of Grace, and the Gospel has been preached in every country and every language around the world,and there's the Word of God in print, not to mention radio and television broadcasts-

why should Christians be afraid about, "his blood will I require at thine hand".

For years I heard' "Jesus saves." "Jesus saves." "Jesus saves". But I never understood what it meant. Jesus saves what????? It wasn't until years later that I understood. God had mercy on me and didn't let me die in my sins. But this is 2022, where Jesus is mocked and slandered and rejected. (Just like the Pharisees, Scribes and Elders who yelled, "Crucify him" when Pilot wanted to set Jesus free.) Why should I waste my time or have any compassion on rebels like idol worshippers and sodomites???? You can't talk about the saving grace of Jesus to people who have hardened their hearts and have no intention of repenting. They made their bed. Let them lie in it.

v18 If God gave you a truth that could save someones life and you didn't share , his blood will be on your hands . read on , God could allow you to turn from righteousness and put stumbling blocks before you . so it shouldn't matter if the seed didn't take . the seed was planted , it's up to God to germinate and make grow . what matters is you delivered yourself . you are that watchman

Does placing Bible tracts in various places count??? It's easier to leave a tract somewhere than confront someone face to face.

But We should always be the watchman for our family and friends , giving face time when we can , with tenderness , tough love with the stubborn ones , cause it's love too .

My neighbor lady is my best friend. I have tried to tell her about salvation through Jesus and her response is always the same.

She says, "I'm Catholic". How do you explain to someone that they need a personal relation with Jesus??? I have gone round and round with people who have put their faith in anyone/anything other than Jesus. I just don't have a knack for getting through to people, which is why I prefer to leave tracts laying around.

Dear Dgjot,

Perhaps your neighbor knows already about who Jesus is and what He has done to save us. So, perhaps ask her to tell you what she knows about Jesus. then you can know where to go from there. If she attests to believing the facts about Jesus, then the next step for her is to deepen her relationship with Jesus.

Perhaps by saying "I'm Catholic" she is saying, "I already know about Jesus. So having her explain her faith in Jesus ks honoring to what faith she already has.

Asking her to pray with or for you may be a way to engage her more deeply with our Lord. Offering to read the Bible together (Just reading out-loud to one another without commenting or interpreting) is a good way to engage her with the word, which is the power of God for salvation. I would suggest to her a few books such as the Gospel of John, Acts, and Romans to begin. These books contain so much gospel truth. The Holy Spirit will use the hearing of the word to both hers and your benefit. I have done this before with each member of the small group reading a section as we read through a selected book. It takes discipline to just be satisfied with reading and hearing the word read out loud and letting God work directly through His word.

Your friend may be open to do this. it is not very threatening and doesn't bring what she may believe into question by you, but the word will speak to her.

You may be surprised to find out that she believes more truth than you assumed. I know many Catholics who are strong believers and sincere about growing in Christ. Maybe she is one of those, too.

I know many people like her. They think that just being Catholic (or Jewish or Islamic or Buddhist or whatever religion they adhere to) is their ticket into heaven. Their faith is misplaced. They don't know Jesus and aren't worried in the least where they might end up after they die.

It will take a divine-intervention from God to (penetrate their reprobate minds) and wake them up.

We are witnessing the "great falling away"' Thousands of "Christians" have been led away from Christ by false teachers/doctrine.

Hebrews:6

4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,

5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,

6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

I don't lose any sleep worrying about Christ deniers.

Nothing nauseates me more than to see a "Christian" dump Christ and convert to Islam or Catholicism, or.......

There's nothing "Christian" about the Catholic Church. Never has been, never will be.

Hi Dgjot,

I have a different perspective worth sharing.

You said there's nothing Christian about the Catholic church- I'd like to share another view.

If you were to make a matrix in a spreadsheet showing all the religions and their tenants, whether they believe in God, Jesus, that He's God, died for the forgiveness of your sins, salvation, the Bible is truth, etc. you would have far more columns of the Catholic row checked off than Buddhist, Hindu, Islam, etc. Mormonism would have even less commonality than Catholic, but more than Islam, etc. So, I don't know if you actually believe what you said, but it can be proven that Catholicism is more Christian than Buddhism, for example.

I believe Catholicism may have started out a more pure Christian beliefs, but has deviated and become corrupted. With that being said that doesn't automatically mean all of its members are or that they are all going to hell. God is the judge. There likely are members of good quality Christian churches who will go to hell, so we can't paint with a broad brush.

The things I disagree with is the praying and worshipping of Mary- violation of the ten commandments That takes the focus away from Jesus and puts it on his earthly mom, which is just weird, because most of the Bible is about Jesus. Mary is hardly even mentioned in comparison. I also don't like their statues which can be idolatry. I also don't agree with the pope, a man who they claim is a higher authority and intermediary, which the Bible already says Jesus alone is out mediator. Those are the main things I think are off track, along with legalism, ritualism, wokeism, and rampant hypocrisy, and scandals. But of course if someone grows up going to a Catholic church and doesn't know anything else, we should be gentle. Remember Paul how he found common ground with the people who worshipped all kinds of Greek gods, how he was gentle how he presented the gospel as their "unknown God". Acts 17:23 God bless.

Thanks Adam. I will keep that in mind.

Hi Dgjot.

Does she accept the Bible as the word of God?

If so you could show her the message of salvation through the scriptures.

Find out what do she believe in as far as salvation goes.

Let us know how this turns out.

God bless.

Yes , it does . it's spreading the word of God .

[Comment Removed]

Your personal experience of being by Jesus is a very powerful testimony of the power of God to change sinners. God has rewarded you for your faith in Him.

For this reason, sharing your faith in Jesus with others who are sinners like you in your old life, will help saved them. You know this is good and pleasing to God, and will glorify his name.

BUT NOW, you've decided not to do good to others, even to others that might insult you out of fear or anger. You're disobeying God, your pride of life has influenced your decision. Two commandments written with Jesus' blood in our hearts: 1. Love God with all your heart, with all your strength, with all your mind; 2. Love others as yourself/ourself.

I PRAY TO GOD, that you change your mind, in JESUS' name.

The average unrepentant sinner isn't interested in the love of Jesus. In their mind, Jesus is some sort of bearded, sandal wearing hippie who goes around preaching love, love, love, who will make sure they get into Heaven no matter what they do. So I switched gears and now talk about hell and damnation. I warn people that if they don't repent and seek God while He may be found, and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, they're doomed. Those are the cold hard facts. This is now considered Hate Speech. When I got saved, it wasn't because of the love of Jesus. It was because I was afraid of going to hell. It was years before I understood how much God loves us and how much Jesus loves us. He proved it by going to the cross voluntarily. Then God raised Him from the dead, He ascended into Heaven in front of witnesses and sent His Holy Spirit to the earth to dwell among us. God and Jesus have done everything they can do to keep us from ending up in hell. But people don't listen.

When Jesus walked the earth, WHO was He preaching to??? The Jews. Everything He talked about was directed to the Jews.

How many times did God punish the Jews for their wickedness? How many times were they taken into captivity???

Jesus kept trying to steer them back to The Father, but many would rather live by their own man-made laws. The scribes and pharisees were so sure they were in the right, they made sure that Jesus was taken out.

Jesus taught as one having authority, not like the arrogant, attention-grabbing Scribes and Pharisees. He sent his Apostles to preach the Gospel, giving them authority to heal the sick and cast out demons in His name. Many believed but, even after seeing the miracles, just as many didn't. It's useless to preach to people who don't want to hear it. Remember what Jesus said, "When I return, will I find faith on the earth???"

Hi Dgjot. I understand your sentiments on this matter. My own salvation testimony rests, not primarily on God's Love for me but on the volume of my sins that greatly offended God & my deserved punishment as a result. After realising this, I then understood God's Love for me in the Person of Jesus Christ His Son.

I believe that the evangelism of the lost, whether they choose to listen to God's Word or not, whether they're antagonistic towards me or not, needs to continue because both God's Love & God's fury needs to be told. "How shall they hear without a preacher?" (Romans:10:14). Yes, I agree many have heard & many have rejected God's gracious offer to them but we aren't privy to those appointed to the Kingdom to whom the Word of God must come, and those who will refuse. Otherwise, the apostles could have easily saved themselves great hardship & persecution by just having a table in the town centre & wait for interested people to come for a 'friendly' chat.

That people are going into a Christ-less eternity & our passion for lost souls must drive the Spirit-filled believer into action, should be our motivation. Now, how & when we share this life-saving, life-giving news will be by the promptings of the Holy Spirit to each person. If God hasn't drawn the curtains of His Grace on this World yet, we must know that the work of evangelizing the lost must continue - that more wretched sin-filled souls need redemption & the chance of eternal life. And of course, the personal joy of sharing the Gospel to those inclined to listen, is a great blessing. If there's "joy in the presence of the angels of God when a sinner repents", how blessed it is to be a partner in this great work that all of Heaven is focused on, with the Lamb of God still with the marks of His agony on Him, enthroned before them.

Oops sorry Dgjot, used the wrong name to address you. Forgive me.

No worries :)

Roman, I agree that we are to preach the law to the unrepentant. They need to know that they have transgressed it and deserve the curse of the law. They need to know that Jesus warned people that unless they believe in Him they will perish eternally in hell. But also, we are to preach in love, with a plea for them to turn from unbelief to faith in Jesus, who alone can save them. some will be pricked to the heart and repent. Others will angrily and hostilely retaliate or mock or scoff at the preaching. We should expect that. And if it is considered hate speech, then so be it. The apostles and disciples who preached to the unsaved faced all kind of persecution and torture. We should brace ourselves to receive similar reprisal. But, as Paul was willing to receive these hellish treatments in the hope that some would believe the Gospel he pleadingly and lovingly preached.

I don't get out much anymore since covid. But I have family members and others I know who still will not repent. I pray for them and willingly speak the truth to them when the opportunity comes forward. I have finally been approved for disability after a two-year process. So, I am limited but hope I can get out more in the future as the Holy Spirit leads me and allows.

I do want to practice what I advise others to do. Believe me. I do think the time is coming where believers will be called to speak up at a high cost. May the Lord prepare us to do so and be willing to bear the cost honorably.

Amen to you . I have learned that i cannot change anyone but I can always help to the best of my ability and this is what is expected of me as a Christian . Im not responsible for the sins of others but I am responsible for my own and to me , it is a sin to knowingly and deliberately disobey Christ's commandment to show love to every human I come on contact with . If anyone thanks me for a kindness I always say something like : I'm a Christian it's what we do , or , thank God because He made me show you His love for you . All non Christians and sinners we come into contact with are part of God's creation and He loves everyone . They are potential Christians and we must treat them as such . We were all in this life without hope at one point , until we learned the Truth . It's not up to us to judge people , we don't know their hearts , God knows the begining and ending of every individual , He knows who is and isn't His but He knows who isn't His now but will be in the future . We know nothing . If we obey God , that's the best thing we can do in every circumstance , it's our basic duty as Christians .

Well said Sammi.

Hello Dgjot,

Yes, people from just about every tribe, tongue, and nation have been saved by the gospel of Jesus Christ over the centuries. And the Bible is in print in many languages. So, we can pray that God will draw unsaved people to those who are saved in their community so they can hear the gospel spoken to them. We can pray for God to call people to be missionaries in various ways. We can pray that we will be willing, equipped, and bold enough to share about Jesus and the gospel with those we meet who are unbelieving. But I do not think that we are to throw up our hands and write off those around us as being undeserving of hearing the gospel. We, too were undeserving, but God reached out to us through the people who brought the witness and truth of Jesus and His work to each of us.

As a former teacher, I have overheard conversations among students where one person will talk about Jesus and the other will ask, "Who is Jesus". So, there are many who haven't heard whom God has softened their hearts to receive the gospel.

And there are those who will see our godly life and speech. and may ask why we live the way we do. We should want to share with them our hope in Christ when they ask us.

Also, we are to love those who are undesirable to us, even those who live disgusting lifestyles. They are to be pitied and we should understand how darkened their souls truly are. so, if we do not feel compassion for such people, we should definitely pray to become more compassionate and willing to interact with those people who repel us so much.

But, I get you in that our society is so devoid of moral goodness and so many people flaunt their rebellion against God. It is concerning and difficult to partake of much of what society values. But we can always do what is morally right, kind, loving, and Spirit-led among those who come our way. This, in fact, is what we are called to do-be salt and light. Even if we are instrumental in only turning one person to Christ.

@GiGi & Duncan: Thanks for responding.

However, Jesus talked about how bad people would become in the last days. ( Luke 21:8-28) It's just like Sodom and Gomorrah out there. And Paul talked about it too. ( Romans 1:18-32)

Don't cha know that quoting scripture is the new Hate Speech????? People want to sin and not feel bad about it. These people have been given over to a reprobate mind and their hearts are hardened. Everything evil is considered good, and everything good is considered evil. They don't want to hear the Gospel. Meanwhile, the Christ-deniers are setting themselves up to be the good guys. Millions of people are being deceived.

All we CAN do is pray for people, 'cause talking to them is like talking to a brick wall. So if I don't warn someone in person & verbally- am I still responsible??: "his blood will I require at thine hand".

Oh Dgjot, I think that if we are spirit led, we will know whether to pray for someone or speak Scripture to them, or answer questions they may have. So, I think that it isn't up to us to determine how we will interact (or not to) with others, it is God's call and the Spirit will certainly lead us and help us with what we should say to others. Maybe we are just to do an act of kindness, just because they need kindness. I truly want to follow God's way and not my own way. It is easy to recoil from all the blatant sinfulness and perversion. It is getting worse in our society and its moral fiber is deteriorating very quickly. We should be willing to "catch some from the flames", as Paul has said. I continue to pray that I will be given more compassion by God. It is easy to become hardened to the sad state of others because we are so offended by their wretchedness.

Thank You, GiGi. Your words are comforting.

even so don't forget as he had mercy upon you so have mercy upon them by preaching and not giving up.

Even if they have given up God was patient with until the day you understood so.

Psalms 19:7

The word of God powerful making the wise simple and so we preach the gospel to all the ends of the world as we have been commanded.