Loving the Lost?
This entry will be a bit longer than normal, but I would like to share with you in this post some convicting thoughts I recently encountered in a new book written by R.C. Sproul Jr.. The book is titled “Believing God: 12 Biblical Promises Christians Struggle to Accept”, and the forward to the book was written by Ray Comfort. It is in the forward that I found, and was struck by, the following comments. It begins first with a letter that Ray Comfort received from an individual who was a professed atheist, and this is what he wrote:
“You are really convinced that you’ve got all the answers. You’ve really got yourself tricked into believing that you’re 100 percent right. Well, let me tell you just one thing. Do you consider yourself to be compassionate of other humans? If you’re right, as you say you are, and you believe that, then how can you sleep at night? When you speak with me, you are speaking with someone who you believe is walking directly into eternal damnation, into an endless onslaught of horrendous pain that your “loving god” created, yet you stand by and do nothing. If you believed one bit that thousands every day were falling into an eternal and unchangeable fate, you should be running the streets mad with rage at their blindness. That’s equivalent to standing on a street corner and watching every person that passes you walk blindly directly into the path of a bus and die, yet you stand idly by and do nothing. You’re just twiddling your thumbs, happy in the knowledge that one day that “walk” signal will shine your way across the road. Think about it. Imagine the horrors hell must have in store if the Bible is true. You’re just going to allow that to happen and not care about saving anyone but yourself? If you’re right, then you’re an uncaring, unemotional, and purely selfish (expletive) that has no right to talk about subjects such as love and caring”
In response to this individual, Ray Comfort wrote back, and expressed to him that the reality was this: “I couldn’t sleep at night because I was so horrified by the thought that anyone would go to hell. Since 1982, I have risen from bed around midnight most nights of the week to cry out to God to save them”. Furthermore, he when on to say that “for more than thirty years I have been running the streets, pleading with the unsaved to turn from sin. When we read the book of Acts, we see that this is nothing special. It is our reasonable service and should be the testimony of every believer who professes to possess the love of God. Charles Spurgeon knew what it was to have a deep concern for the lost. He pleaded: ‘Save some, O Christians! By all means, save some. From yonder flames and outer darkness, and weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth, seek to save some! Let this, as in the case of the apostle, be your great, ruling object in life, that by all means you might save some’”.
So why do I share this with you? I can assure you that it is not because I love the lost anywhere near as much as Ray Comfort (and more importantly, the Bible) indicates we should. Because in fact, to my shame, I don’t. But the stark realities of judgment and the great divide that is to come, press increasingly upon me the need to cultivate and deepen my love for lost people---and to express that love in actively bearing witness to the Savior and to the free pardon that He offers.
How about you?
“You are really convinced that you’ve got all the answers. You’ve really got yourself tricked into believing that you’re 100 percent right. Well, let me tell you just one thing. Do you consider yourself to be compassionate of other humans? If you’re right, as you say you are, and you believe that, then how can you sleep at night? When you speak with me, you are speaking with someone who you believe is walking directly into eternal damnation, into an endless onslaught of horrendous pain that your “loving god” created, yet you stand by and do nothing. If you believed one bit that thousands every day were falling into an eternal and unchangeable fate, you should be running the streets mad with rage at their blindness. That’s equivalent to standing on a street corner and watching every person that passes you walk blindly directly into the path of a bus and die, yet you stand idly by and do nothing. You’re just twiddling your thumbs, happy in the knowledge that one day that “walk” signal will shine your way across the road. Think about it. Imagine the horrors hell must have in store if the Bible is true. You’re just going to allow that to happen and not care about saving anyone but yourself? If you’re right, then you’re an uncaring, unemotional, and purely selfish (expletive) that has no right to talk about subjects such as love and caring”
In response to this individual, Ray Comfort wrote back, and expressed to him that the reality was this: “I couldn’t sleep at night because I was so horrified by the thought that anyone would go to hell. Since 1982, I have risen from bed around midnight most nights of the week to cry out to God to save them”. Furthermore, he when on to say that “for more than thirty years I have been running the streets, pleading with the unsaved to turn from sin. When we read the book of Acts, we see that this is nothing special. It is our reasonable service and should be the testimony of every believer who professes to possess the love of God. Charles Spurgeon knew what it was to have a deep concern for the lost. He pleaded: ‘Save some, O Christians! By all means, save some. From yonder flames and outer darkness, and weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth, seek to save some! Let this, as in the case of the apostle, be your great, ruling object in life, that by all means you might save some’”.
So why do I share this with you? I can assure you that it is not because I love the lost anywhere near as much as Ray Comfort (and more importantly, the Bible) indicates we should. Because in fact, to my shame, I don’t. But the stark realities of judgment and the great divide that is to come, press increasingly upon me the need to cultivate and deepen my love for lost people---and to express that love in actively bearing witness to the Savior and to the free pardon that He offers.
How about you?
Labels: christian life, Evangelism, Mission
posted by Tim Shorey at
7:46 AM
2 Comments:
Tim, I think God will open up more opportunities than ever to speak with love and intensity to the lost around us. If these are the last days, it would stand to reason.
Recently, I found myself surprisingly blunt in conversation with a neighbor. What he kept referring to as "mistakes" in life, I made sure he understood (by the time we were done) were no "mistakes" (his adulteries,lies, etc.), but rather the willful and clear choices made by a heart that had no regard for the holy law of God.
Word got back to me a couple of days later that he was surprised by my frankness. I think he expected me to grin at his sin, the way he was grinning as he related his waywardness in life.
I think love for the lost will mean a no-nonsense, get down to business, make them understand, that they are in danger of eternal punishment because of their sin and indifference. I listened carefully to him, and then began to respond (I think he did 95% of the talking).
I did NOT respond by telling him that "God has a wonderful plan for your life." Apparently my neighbor had his own wonderful plan and had enjoyed the numerous exploits and conquests he had accomplished in his travels as a salesman, away from his wife and home.
He needed to know that God had an "awesome plan" for punishment of his sin, not a "wonderful plan for happiness in his life." After he makes his peace with God, I'll tell him more about the "wonderful plan!"
Thank you Peter for your thoughts.
I wish I hd more time to interact.
Let me say to you and anyone else reading in the 30 seconds I have that today's post was from Bruce--and I am sure bro that your comments are exactly the kind of conscience awareness of duty and love to which Bruce calls us so well.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home