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Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths …

Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths …. In order to be a “informed” witness with the gospel, tonight, we will explore: Cultural Christianity Agnostics/Humanism/Atheists.

Jims
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Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths …

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  1. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths…

  2. In order to be a “informed” witness with the gospel, tonight, we will explore: • Cultural Christianity • Agnostics/Humanism/Atheists

  3. All three were once “evangelical believers,” but now peddle their sexuality…unfortunately, they have become Christian icons all over the world! This song is sung by Katie Perry, who has professed Christ as a child and was once a Christian singer and has tattooed Jesus on her wrist, but now sings about a lesbian lifestyle. “I kissed a girl and I liked it…” song Sounds innocent enough? Jessica Simpson’s father was on staff at a SBC church in TX, but is proud of her achievements… Britney Spears was raised in a Baptist home where she professed Christ and at 18 vowed to keep her virginity until she was married…

  4. Christianity is counter-culture; however, it is giving mixed signals to the lost all over the world on TRUE EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANITY!

  5. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… Luke 16:19-31

  6. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… • The Pew Forum Research group says over 78% (down from 86% in 1990) of US Citizens are “Christian…” • 51% Protestant • 24% Catholic • 1.7% Mormon • 0.7% Jehovah’s Witness

  7. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… However, in reality, less than 10% of the US population are… -Evangelical Christian!-

  8. The sad truth is that in the United States, THREE out of FOUR people are… UNCHURCHED

  9. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… We must be prayerful in sharing the gospel…we MUST NOT depend on our own strength, but on the power of the Holy Spirit… “I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of salvation…” Rom 1:16 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses…” Acts 1:8

  10. Essentials: • We’ve all done wrong in God’s eyes…Rom3:23 • This wrong separates us from God forever …Rom 6:23 • Jesus came to take our punishment…Rom 5:8 • Turn away from doing wrong as a way of life…Acts 2:38 • Confess with your mouth Jesus…you will be saved. Rom 10:9

  11. QUESTION… Can you be a child of God without making Jesus Lord of your life…? …the answer is an EMPHATIC… -NO-

  12. “…if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9

  13. The main thing to remember in sharing your faith… in the power of the Holy Spirit, you have to actually SHARE the plan of salvation…

  14. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard…?

  15. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… “…And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent?...faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” Rom. 10:13-15, 17

  16. If they reject the message, do not stop being their friend or loving them… “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

  17. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… • Cultural Christianity

  18. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… • Cultural Christians self define themselves as such: • …they go to church once in a while, (Easter, Christmas, funeral) • …based on their culture and environment • but do not have a true, Biblical “relationship” with Jesus Christ.

  19. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… In Christianity Today, Billy Graham once told a statistic that over 88% of the people in church are not saved… Does that statistic sound right? Based on what is going on in our churches, it is truly possible!

  20. We do not know the hearts of man; only God does. However, the danger in our culture is that many people have not truly had a heart transplant… Matt. 7:21-23

  21. “Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven. Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evil-doers.’” Matt. 7:21, 23

  22. Michael Youseff says a common remark by Cultural Christians goes like this… ”My religion is between me and my God” OR “My religion is very private and I am not going to force it on anyone…” Sound Familiar?

  23. When sharing with cultural Christians, we have to assume they do not take the Bible seriously or as absolute truth… • Examples you may hear: • The Bible is written by man, so why should I believe it? • There are so many errors in it • It is nonsense.

  24. Do not argue about their perception of the Bible! When they begin to say things like this, tell them you are a student of the Bible and want to know which parts of the Bible are not correct?

  25. Many churches, unfortunately do not teach truth from God’s Word or even have a Christian worldview! We have a mainline church in Asheville with the following identity statement about the authority of the Bible… “In its pages we find guidance, comfort and the stories of God….”

  26. Do not argue about their perception of the Bible! You want to engage them in conversation and show them the truths of the Bible as often as possible… …do this prayerfully and with love!

  27. Establish a relationship! Be inquisitive and ask questions…but do it with loving and caring manner without a judging attitude! • Do you consider yourself spiritual? • Tell me about your spirituality… • (Don’t forget to really listen!) • Can I tell you about my spirituality?

  28. The Bible says, “Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels… 2 Timothy 2:23 …the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the gospel…” 2 Corinthians 4:4

  29. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… Remember, we cannot debate them to Christ!

  30. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… In reality… “People do not care how much you know, until they know how much you care…!”

  31. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… Share your personal testimony. Make it NO longer than 2 minutes!!

  32. “The Climb” a Billy Graham video, depicts two climbers training for a huge expedition in Chile…however, one is a Christian, while the other…well….you’ll see. The purpose of this video segment is to show how spiritual conversations can go…learn to be a good listener…

  33. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… • Agnosticism • Humanism • Atheism

  34. In a poll conducted by the American Religious Identify Survey of over 54,000 people across the U.S…. • Those identifying themselves as “No religion” has doubled from 8.2% in 1990 to 15% in 2008 • Atheistic or Agnostic were approximately 12%

  35. Agnosticism:a person who holds the view that any ultimate reality (as God) is unknown and probably unknowable • Humanism: a philosophy that usually rejects supernaturalism and stresses an individual's dignity and worth and capacity for self-realization through reason • Atheism: a disbelief in the existence of deity; the doctrine that there is no deity

  36. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… These are not limited to people “OUTSIDE” the memberships of churches…

  37. … the four horsemen of the modern apocalypse of the 19th century… • Fredrich Nietzsche • Karl Marx • Charles Darwin • Sigmund Freud

  38. Nietzsche actually celebrated the death of God Marx said “…religion is the opiate of the masses.” Darwin made famous the “theory of evolution” which excludes the work of the Creator God Freud said, “…religion is merely an illusion that would eventually pass away.”

  39. … four horsemen of the New Atheist Apocalypse… • Richard Dawkins • Daniel Dennett • Sam Harris • Christopher Hitchens

  40. Richard Dawkins, a well known author on the NY Times best selling list says the central evil of Jesus is restrictivism. i.e. …religion poses a social danger because of its exclusivity demands.

  41. Richard Dawkins and others like him has a world-wide following… “…their basic philosophy is that it makes many people believe the mess (evil) the world is in is due to this belief system of religion.”

  42. This philosophy is rampant in academia; if you are follower of Jesus Christ, expect to be ridiculed by professors and students alike for being “closed minded”…or a believer in “fairy tales,” (Tiger Woods)

  43. Atheistic, Humanists, and Agnostic Beliefs… • No soul can exist apart from the body • No life after death • No future resurrection • No heaven or hell

  44. They do not have the Judeo-Christian worldview commonality, so questions from EE or FAITH will probably not even register with them… “In your opinion…” FAITH “If you are standing before God…” EE

  45. We, therefore can represent what they do not like about God and the church. • We need to ask questions like: • What do you think the Bible says about Jesus? • The most common answer… • He is to love people.

  46. What do you think the church should be about?... • …we are to love people. • Do you think those who have hurt you were doing what Jesus would have wanted? • …No

  47. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… We need to tell them that we are sorry for the way some church-goers act. “Please do not hate God or the church because of people…”

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