All Christians have come from a horrible past.
To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men. For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. – Titus 3:2-7.
It can be easy to look down on people who are not saved and constantly walking in unrepentant sin. We sometimes want to “write off” certain people in our lives or even famous people we do not know personally, as being “too far gone” to ever see the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and thus no longer “worthy” of our prayers or concern for their salvation and eternal destiny. But before we get off into deeper spiritual error, the passage from Titus above reminds us that we were too were once in total rebellion against God.
All born-again, Bible-believing Christians must remember that at one point we all sinned with no concern for God’s judgment. We once did not believe in salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. We once were jealous of others, pursued pleasures of the flesh, harbored racist or sexist attitudes, stole from others, gossiped, cursed, blasphemed the name of God, led others into evil behavior and a host of other sins with no repentance. And in many cases we justified our behavior as even being good. And we were destined for hell and the lake of fire, which we rightfully deserved.
But now we have a new spirit and have been forgiven and regenerated. Now we love The Lord, praise His Holy Name, read and believe His Word and put our faith and trust in the sacrifice of The Lord Jesus Christ. Now we repent of our sins and feel shame at the evil we still commit. Now we are saints of the Most High God! But this did not happen because we were good people. This did not happen because we were “better” than “those really bad sinners.” It had happened by grace – God’s undeserved favor and “kindness” towards us. It happened because while we were wretched sinners committing all sorts of evil acts and thinking all manner of sinful thoughts, God sent His Son to die for those same sins. And not only are we “justified” or declared righteous in the eyes of God, we are heirs to the eternal Kingdom with Jesus Christ The Lord. Because by our faith in Christ, we are “in Him.” All as a gift from The Lord. But God tells us in Isaiah: “hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.” In our salvation we must never forget the doomed, filthy state God rescued us from.
None of this was earned. None of this we deserved. But we receive it because of God’s love. And that love should be what we aim for when looking at those who are wreaking havoc in our lives, who hates us or who are so far gone into sin they seem like they have no hope of ever even considering the Bible, much less putting faith in Jesus Christ. They can be saved. They can be redeemed. They can have a renewed mind and heart for God. And you should know this. Because you were once just like them.
Truly written brother. I love that Isaiah excerpt and will look it up. He got me out of a sewage pit. As long as someone is breathing, the foulest are redeemable. (However, there are reprobates.?) Your website does a good job exposing the evil and praying for those involved. You’re in my prayers.
Thanks very much Holly. I too was way deep in a sewage pit myself. But God is good and loving beyond our comprehension. God bless.
It’s ironic that you posted this article. Just last night my kids were asking about worldly music. I shared with them just because they are blinded now…God still loves them, hasn’t forgotten them and still chasing after their heart. HE CAME FOR THE LOST & wants NO ONE to perish w/everlasting life. I think we can highlight the deceptive tactics of the enemy but remember that W/O God’s saving grace & Holy Spirit keeping us WE ALL WOULD BE MISSED UP! I’m mindful of Gal. 6:1 and 1 Cor. 6:9-12..such were some of us. Isn’t God’s word awesome cause He has an answer for everything.
Well said, I write all the time that Christian arrogance can be traced back to forgetting where God found us. Paul said he was the least of the apostles because he once persecuted the church. I remember where God found me and it keeps me humble in what I try to do for Him. Keep up the good work.
Thank you B&E for this website. My prayer to God for you is that He strengthens you always to keep proclaiming His Name and preaching His Son to the lost. I’m from a country in the West of Africa, Liberia and since I stumbled upon B&E, I have been using the materials here to share the Gospel with my fellow countrymen, especially the link that says “How to go to heaven”. Many of the church-going christians here in Liberia are zealous to serve God, but 99.9 % of the churches here have a wrong salvation message and thus the “christians” here are Lost. It’s really sad. I too had been a “christian” for several years before I finally met Christ and became a true born-again believer. That happened when I was in neighboring Ghana as a refugee.
My heart truly goes out to my fellow Liberians as they are being deceived daily by false preachers, miracle healers, and prosperity gospel preacher. I pray that the Lord will use me more to get the True Gospel message to my people. So far, your materials have been a great help and I say kudos to you.
Also, I would like to know, if you were in my particular shoes as I have stated, what are some of the things that you would ask the Lord to do through you to bring the Gospel message to the lost of such a country as Liberia?
Hi Allen,
Thanks so much for your comments. Praise God the site has been a blessing to you and for your passion to share the Gospel with the people of Liberia. The timing of your comment is amazing as we have been recently researching the explosion of the prosperity gospel heresy in West Africa. I am also currently working on an article about TB Joshua and the tragic deaths that took place at his church service a couple of weeks ago. There is a great deal of spiritual deception going on and there is a strong need for evangelists who will preach the Biblical Gospel.
As for what you can do – here are a few suggestions:
Pray for Liberia – We can do nothing for God without the power and Spirit of God working for us and through us. Pray for revival and true faith in your nation and the town/city you live in. And pray for your own faith in sharing the Gospel.
Tracts – Continue to share articles or Gospel tracts with friends, family and whoever you are able to reach out to. Gospel DVDs are also very effective. Here is a site that provides information and a downloadable video that can be burned to blank DVDs.
Connect with a Bible believing church – are there any in your area? Working in a group of like-minded Bible believing Christians will make the work of evangelism even easier.
Social Media – If you are on facebook or some other social media site, it is a great and very fast way of sharing a Biblical message, good articles and even devotions that you write yourself.
Start a website – If you are truly feeling ambitious and The Lord is moving you in that direction, you can start a blog of your own. This is a pretty big undertaking but by God’s grace it can be done. If you are interested in this, please let me know and I would be glad to provide more information.
Additionally, I can also provide you with links to pastors and ministries who use sound, Biblical doctrine, that you can facebook like, tweet or share the links with those you know. Many of these pastors have sermons on sermonaudio where they can be downloaded for free. Just let me know any information you’d like and I’d be glad to assist. Thanks again for your comments and may God bless you abundantly.
Thanks once again B&E for your response. I now know that it wasn’t just a coincidence when I found this website. I strongly believed that the Lord led me here to grow my Faith in Him, and also as a response to my prayer of wanting to stand up for Jesus.
The suggestions you gave me were certainly inspired. I have been using social media platforms, especially facebook to share the gospel with friends, but this time I want to have a fully dedicated “channel” serving only that purpose. I even currently run a small group of 14 friends from both Ghana and Liberia on Whatsapp where we engage in group bible studies and most times discuss articles from B&E, and the result so far has been amazing. We have had like 6 friends whom through this means heard the gospel preached to them for the first time, and they were so joyful. This is just to prove that God the Spirit is willing to work with us believers in any way if only we will yield ourselves to His Mighty power.
I have also found a Bible-believing church, Good News Mission Church, that preaches Christ and God’s plan of Salvation as recorded in the Scriptures (Faith in Christ alone). So far I think this is about the onliest Church in Monrovia where I live that has the gospel message correct, now imagine that! I’m excited about being a part of them, and I also really do take those suggestions of yours seriously, especially the last one – starting a blog.
I’m willing and I pray that God steers me in the direction of His purpose for my life. I’m willing to work with you, and to get all the help I would need in starting a blog. I have had thorough training in HTML, CSS and I’m now at intermediate level in PHP (just mentioning it cos maybe it might be helpful). I am so excited. From all that we can see happening around us, one doesn’t need to be told that we are running out of time. Liberia needs Christ! Please tell me what to do. May God bless you B&E.