TODAY'S CHURCH

I once heard a non-Christian proclaim that it is "impossible to trust a born-again believer". This person was very aware of what Christians believe happens post-death. They knew about the Biblical description of hell, and what a Christian believes happens to a person who perishes without accepting the forgiveness that is offered only through receiving Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior.

They said that a Christian who really cared for a ‘professing’ non-Christian should be willing to do just about anything short of murder; even torture to get them to profess a faith in Christ. (This actually was a medieval philosophy- used to 'win' converts; I guess that is one way to get your numbers up!) What would be worse they reasoned; the short term discomfort of the physical body or eternal suffering, separation from loved ones and God himself?

The alternative to this he said was, “the Christian who says they care about me but does nothing to persuade me to receive this free gift of salvation that Christians claim Jesus offers. Thereby proving that they are nothing more than a liar, who cares nothing at all about me. I would expect if they did, there would be a much greater sense of urgency to impress the gospel upon me.”

The breakdown in this logic is found in the first part of the argument. The Bible indicates that each person must choose Jesus of their own volition. Coercion cannot replace personal conviction. A personal response to the gospel like the one that Paul exhibited (Acts 9:20-31) does not take place through intimidation or compulsion. The logic does hold up however, in the second argument. If we say we are a Christian, yet do nothing and say nothing, then we by default ‘care not’.