Courageous Witnesses, Or Faithless Cowards?

Courageous Witnesses, Or Faithless Cowards?

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Statistics show that most church members for decades who claim to be Christian believers in the Savior never tell anyone about the Lord Jesus Christ in our multicultural world. They fear being called ugly names, thought fanatic, extremists, troublemakers. They fear being asked questions they can’t answer. They fear rejection, job loss, persecution, maybe even martyrdom. They say it's the pastor's job and they're too busy.
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After His resurrection, Jesus said, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:18-20).

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Are there good reasons to tell people about Jesus in spite of all these things? YES! A thousand times more reason. Can you dare to be honest and courageous?
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Tell People about Jesus because He Alone Is the unique God-man.
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Non-Christian religions are only subjective human opinions. They have no evidence they are of God. Moreover, they can’t show we are anything more than soulless dirt. Pantheists such as Hindus, Buddhists, Taoism, New Age, Unity, claim we have many lives based upon repeated changing seasons, human defects, and past life recall. These pantheists (monists) say the world is illusion so we’re just energy that assumes many forms (reincarnations). But it’s all human speculation better explained as the earth’s tilt circulating the sun, human genetic defects, and fantasizing. Ancient peoples lacked such knowledge.

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Islam is based upon Muhammad’s claim to be God’s final prophet having seen the angel Gabriel who told him the Qur'an. Nobody saw the angel but Muhammad. A crazy man could claim the same thing. In fact, centuries later Joseph Smith Jr. claimed he saw an angel and was God’s final prophet. Even when world religions claim miracles to make good their beliefs, the miracles are claimed not by eyewitnesses but by adoring disciples in writings centuries later that contradict the founders own claims. Now understand this: Non-Christian religions have nothing to show that their religious claims are anything more than human opinions and speculations.

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What’s different about Jesus? Many historical sources testify to Jesus being a real person. We have the six independent accounts: the Gospels, Acts and New Testament letters. Besides the New Testament, secular sources and church fathers testify as well. They even give us an outline of events in Jesus’ life. There’s more reason to believe in Jesus than believe in Plato and Tiberius Caesar whom no historian would question.

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But here is the vital point: Jesus claimed in many ways to be God. The Jews understood this and that’s why they said he blasphemed and why they crucified him. Furthermore, before eyewitnesses, Jesus walked on water, raised the dead, and immediately healed all kinds of diseases—only God’s power can do such things. He fulfilled ancient prophecies of the Jew’s Messiah, the great I Am or God. No such things exist in non-Christian literature or world religions. Jesus alone is God and spoke the truth of God—we know because he visibly demonstrated his deity before eyewitnesses who died to affirm it.

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Tell People about Jesus Since He Alone Gives Us Dignity, Rights, and Ethical Accountability. 

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Apart from Jesus, his death for our sins on the cross and his bodily resurrection, there is no evidence that we are more than soulless dirt. Neither atheism nor pantheist religions give us a basis for human dignity, rights, freedom or ethical accountability.

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As both a just and loving God, Jesus took our place on the cross to satisfy God’s justice and to show God’s love. Because Jesus arose from the dead, we have assurance of our most vital and basic human needs. First, we know there is life after death which is essential to all else. Second, we know the resurrected Jesus is the God-man who walked among us as he said. That being true all he said is absolute truth, not just human guesses as in non-Christian religions. Third, Jesus said the Scriptures were God’s Word and true. The Scriptures teach God created us rational, moral beings eternally accountable to God. That means we’re not just soulless dirt but persons of dignity, rights, and ethical accountability. And No world religions nor philosophy can assure us of that.
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Tell People about Jesus Because He Raises the Moral Status of Society

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Where Christian teaching prevails with its influence strongly felt, practices such as cannibalism, baby killing, slavery, abuse of women and children, immorality, adultery, illiteracy, and crime gradually diminish. People understand we’re not just soulless dirt to abuse and discard. We’re responsible to each other and are accountable to God who one day will judge our actions. In Christ human dignity, rights, ethics and responsibility make sense so there’s hope for achieving a better world.

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Where Christian teaching is believed and Christ’s influence felt, churches, schools, hospitals, orphanages, homes for the aged appear. Christians believe in helping people because we’re in God’s image—we count. God created a good and rational world we can understand, explore and enjoy. We have a basis for invention, logic, truth, philosophy, and experimental science. Christian beliefs inspire works of art as literature, poetry, and painting. Christ makes just and humane government and laws imperative as well since rulers are accountable to their people and to God.  

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Tell People about Jesus Because Believers Gain Present and Eternal Rewards

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Committed Christians naturally want to please the Lord who loves and saves them. They want to live lives of faith, love and obedience. They are happy to lead loved ones and friends to trust the Savior, see them grow in their spiritual and moral lives; see them become Christian leaders one day themselves. And they anticipate joy to hear Jesus say, “Well done good and faithful servant.” Jesus said, “I am come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). It’s no profit to gain the whole world and lose your own soul. Only one life; it will soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.

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Tell People about Jesus Because It May Save Them from Unending Torments in Hell.

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People ask how can God be love and have an eternal Hell of torments. Good question. People don’t want to acknowledge that a holy or perfect God and Heaven exist and that we are rebellious self-centered sinners unacceptable to God and unfit for Heaven. Honesty compels us to admit that we can’t live perfect lives; we justly deserve punishment. Each person’s daily rejections of God earn the torments he or she will receive in Hell. It’s all our free choice and God respects our dignity and grants our decision. If we don’t want God and his will on earth, God won’t force it on us but let us have our way apart from him in eternal darkness and torment. Prideful rebellious human nature apart from God never changes and can’t be allowed to corrupt God’s perfect Heaven.

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God shows his love in keeping his promise of providing an eternal pure Heaven to those who love and serve him. He too shows love to unbelievers by numerous witnesses—his Holy Spirit, logic, nature, conscience, the Bible, preachers, blessings, even plagues as warnings. Unbelievers are without excuse (John 7:17; Romans 2:1). He warns unbelievers, “If you don’t believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24). We want our loved one and friends to die in Christ, not in sins to endure torment, darkness and despair alone eternally.

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Jesus warns believers as well, “Whosoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels” (Mark 9:38). I’m not ashamed. Are you? Our witness or lack thereof shows whether we are courageous witnesses or faithless cowards. Join me in being a GOOD NEWS MESSENGER to planet earth. Share these messages WWW and tell loved ones, friends, and neighbors. What a joy  it will be to hear Jesus say, "well done good, faithful servant" and meet the many persons our Lord used us to tell of Him who is life eternal.

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