The Cruelty and Horror of Assisted Suicide

I saw this image on the J C Ryle Facebook page a few days ago. I felt shocked, then sad as I realised the reality for many millions of people. I couldn’t forget what I had seen. 

Death has always been one of those difficult subjects. We try to avoid thinking about it but it’s all around us; war, terrorism, crime, famine, earthquakes, abortion, murder, freak weather events, genocide, cancer, accidents, allergic reactions, suicide and now assisted suicide in some countries and the list goes on and on… If we dwelt on the reality of our own frailty and helplessness we’d never get anything done.

The Christian Institute provided a sobering list of what the Bible has to say about death at the Birmingham City Mission Convention this weekend:

-the punishment for sin (Genesis 3 vs 17)

-universal precursor to judgement (Hebrews 9 vs 27)

-a curse (Deuteronomy 30 vs 19)

-the wages of sin (Romans 6 vs 23)

-the last enemy (1 Corinthians 15 vs 26)

-feared by unbelievers (Hebrews 2 vs 15)

-the source of immense human grief (John 11 vs 33-35)

-the end of the opportunity for salvation (Luke 16 vs 26)

The last one on this list is the most frightening of all. What it means is that the minute a soul breathes their last breath here on Earth, they are consigned to their eternal destination without recourse or escape. 

I was on an Open-Air Mission team in Yorkshire last week and one of the guys had a talk entitled “Where are they now?” Then, he had large pictures of famous (or infamous) people including Queen Elizabeth, Margaret Thatcher, Hitler, Jimmy Savile and Amy Winehouse. 

You might imagine that this generated a lot of comments from passer’s by. A few bright sparks pointed out the obvious that they are all dead. Some people were angry about Savile being in the same list as the Queen or even that their pictures were next to each other. Others shouted things about individuals and where they felt they should be. Most believed good people like the late Queen and Margaret Thatcher would be in Heaven and bad people like Hitler and Savile would be in Hell. Amy Winehouse was more of a puzzle but most seemed to want to give her the benefit of the doubt.

The truth (and point of the talk) is that none of us know for sure where these people are now because we aren’t God and we don’t know their hearts, but we do know that their souls have lived on and that they are either in Heaven or Hell forever. They are not just dead in the ground as some would have us believe. 

The Bible also makes it clear that their perceived goodness/badness has nothing to do with where they ended up and although we may think we are better than some of those people, we are not as good as we think we are. The reality is that none of us live up to God’s perfect standard so instead of using society’s yardstick which sets the bar ridiculously low, we should be looking to God who sets the rules.

The debate about whether we should legalise assisted suicide in the UK is a product of secular (and atheistic) values permeating society. Would anyone really dare to suggest it was kinder to “help someone on their way” if they knew their loved one would face an angry, just God at the end of the process? Most sane people would surely agree that no matter how much pain someone was in, an eternity in Hell has to be far far worse. 

The Bible tells us that we are given one life and that the dates of our birth and death are determined by God. Every breath we take is a gift from God who sustains the Universe second by second and minute by minute. When we die we will face God and give an account of our lives; the God who created us, Who knows all things and Who is angry with our rebellion against Him. 

This would be a terrifying prospect for every person if it wasn’t for one historical event that changed everything…

God loved the world so much that He provided a mediator in His Son Jesus. He  sent Him to live a perfect life and then to die on a cross for the sins of the world. God the Father punished God the Son on the cross. This perfect sacrifice opened the way for anyone who believes that Jesus died for them to repent and be forgiven of their sins. We know the sacrifice of Jesus worked because He defeated the curse of death given to humanity at the beginning by coming back to life. Anyone who repents and believes in Jesus will be at peace with God and enter Heaven one day. 

This is amazing news for a broken, dying world.

However, most people who are advocating things like assisted suicide and encouraging others to consider ending their lives prematurely, don’t even acknowledge God let alone the Good News of the Gospel.

They are not, therefore, forgiven of their sin and will face God’s fury and be consigned to Hell for all eternity. Hell is a place of fire, punishment and torment where people will want to die but won’t be able to. Their pain will endure relentlessly. It's why the Bible warns us to "flee from the wrath to come...."

The horrible cruelty is that people who support this legislation are leading others astray by believing they are compassionate and caring and wanting to end people’s suffering.

Instead, they need to realise that God is the author of life and meddling in this way will have tragic and never ending consequences for those who die prematurely and are unprepared to meet their Maker.

Christians, please think about this and stop being neutral and/or silent during these discussions. There is no place for supporting assisted suicide in the church and we must stand against these evil laws that may soon be on our statute books unless we resist them with everything we have at our disposal. 

God is on our side and prayer is powerful when we take our part in the spiritual battle seriously.

Let's support the Christian Institute and other organisations as they seek to defeat this horrible bill once and for all. Let's also make evangelism a most urgent priority as we seek to share the Good News of Jesus with every soul before it's too late for them...

What is Your Greatest Need in a Chaotic World?

Recently, I was present when an evangelist asked a young believer who wanted to join our team, what she believed was the greatest need of the people passing by. She hesitated, thought about it and then said, "love?" The evangelist gently suggested there might be something more important and she quickly answered, "peace?" 

It seems like a big question, more so because if you ask 100 people you're likely to get many, if not 100, different answers. 

Similar questions that could be asked include: is our greatest need determined by our opinion or is it decided by external factors? Are we able to ascertain what our greatest need is? How do we know whether something will meet our greatest need unless we actually have it? Is anything capable of meeting our greatest need? Does our greatest need change over time or is it consistent?

I'm sure many of you are watching current headlines with a growing sense of alarm, our world is increasingly divided in every area of life. It seems inevitable that we are heading for a catastrophe of one sort or another. It's not surprising, therefore, and seems perfectly reasonable, to suggest that love and peace are the solutions and would meet our greatest need but is that really the case?

Is it possible for each one of us to love and be at peace with every other person perfectly all of the time? It's really a rhetorical question as we all know the answer!

Perhaps it would be okay if the leaders of our various countries loved each other and put their neighbours above their own interests or if every country sought peace even if it cost them to do so. History has demonstrated that this isn't possible either. The natural tendency of world leaders is to act in the interests of their own country (and ultimately for themselves) and not for the good of humanity as a whole. Whatever else you may think about him, at least Trump is honest about his intentions.

Maybe our greatest needs are love and peace but we are doomed to a life of hopelessness and helplessness as they will never be met. Should we spend all of our time striving for these things that are seemingly impossible to achieve? Should we, like Greta Thunberg, pour our energies into activism and seek to force people to comply with our sense of what's needed to make things right? Or should we throw our hands up in despair and give in to depression about the state of our world?

Is there another way?

When we think about the question of our greatest need it seems big because we immediately start thinking of all the problems in the world: war, famine, poverty, disease, homelessness, joblessness, family breakdown, crime etc. 

Then, overwhelmed, we move to the problems in our own circles but find a similar list of insurmountable difficulties. 

Defeated, we focus on ourselves. After all, we can't do anything for anyone else until we've got our own house in order, right? But once again we find that we don't know the answers. We may fix one thing but our repair may fall apart and if it holds then along comes another problem and we are back to square one.

There has to be another way...

What if there is only one problem? What if the problem is the same for every individual? What if the problem is responsible for all of the chaos in our world? What if the solution to this problem meets each person's greatest need? What if the solution to this problem has already been provided?

Would you want to know what it is?

My evangelist friend replied to the girl, "It's good to have peace, but what about forgiveness?"

The problem is sin (breaking God's law). We are all guilty because we have all sinned. Sin is against God who sets the rules and it separates us from Him because He is perfect. We are heading for Judgement and in the end Hell. Our greatest need is forgiveness of our sin. The solution was and is provided by Jesus paying the price for our sin at the cross. Jesus died in the place of sinners so that we could be forgiven and restored to a right relationship with God. We need to accept the gift of God, repent (turn away from our sin) and turn towards Jesus believing that He died for us personally. God promises to forgive anyone who turns to Him through Jesus. He guarantees an eternal place in Heaven for us.

If this sounds too simple to deal with the chaos in the world. If it sounds too simple to deal with world leaders wielding power, to deal with corruption at the highest levels, to deal with famine, war and poverty....consider a change of perspective.

God is the Creator of the Universe. He is outside time and space. He isn't just a bigger version of us. He controls and sustains everything in the world and nothing happens without His permission. World events and seeming chaos don't take Him by surprise and aren't an unexpected difficulty. He is working to fulfill His plans and purposes and is working for the good of those who love Him.

Every knee will one day bow before Him and give an account of their lives, from the smallest to the greatest and every one in between.  

Being forgiven of sin leads to peace with God which is our greatest need in a chaotic world. 

In the midst of life's uncertainties, will you turn to Him today?

Does God Still Speak to us in Dreams?

I was planning to write a post about free speech as our open-air keeps getting shut down in Rochdale, then I thought about the importance of relevancy in evangelism because people don’t want to hear irrelevant news. 

Somehow, these topics didn’t inspire me and then last night, I had a dream…..

 In my dream, I was standing in front of a mirror in the toilets of a hospital, presumably washing my hands. A girl appeared at the wash-basin next to me and I saw her reflection in the mirror. Her head was shaved completely and she was dragging an intravenous drip containing medications. She was wearing a dressing gown and looked very unwell.

 On seeing my face in the mirror she immediately smiled and enthusiastically said my name. I looked closer but I didn’t recognise the girl. It was difficult to put an age on her due to the absence of hair on her head. Despite my lack of acknowledgement, she began chattering about things that had happened in the past. It was obvious that she knew me and knew me well. I concluded that we must have been good friends.

The girl told me that she had been given a terminal cancer diagnosis and only had two months to live. I felt terribly sad for her. She asked if I could come and visit her and proceeded to escort me to her ward.

At this point, I realised that I needed to say something rather than just allowing myself to be swept along by the girl’s excitement at recognising an old friend. I said simply, “You know that if I come and visit you, I will be speaking to you about Jesus.”

The girl hesitated and temporarily let go of my arm. Then, she nodded and quietly said, “I know I didn’t want to hear this stuff before, but now I’ve got nothing to lose.”

 Then, I woke up.

It’s fair to say that a dream like this is unsettling. Is there an old friend somewhere in the UK dying of cancer that I’m meant to share the Gospel with? Is that person actually in Southeast Asia or America or another part of the world that I’ve visited on my travels? Is it someone I knew in the UK who now lives elsewhere? 

If I start thinking like this, the possibilities are endless and could lead to panic as I try to identify them before it’s too late!
 
Perhaps, I should try to work out what my dream means by reading the Bible? After all, that’s always good advice, isn’t it? 

My Old Testament reading today states this:
 
    “When there is a prophet among you. I, the Lord, reveal myself to them in visions, I speak to them in dreams.” (Numbers 12 vs 6)
 
According to this verse, the only one in my reading today that refers to dreams, if God sent my dream, I must be a prophet. Hmmm…
 
This may sound silly, but sadly this is how some Christians respond to every dream, sign or other seemingly miraculous event in their lives. They come up with their own interpretation of what God is saying and take Bible verses out of context to support their chosen path. I sometimes meet confused people who have done this and are still focusing on a dream wrongly interpreted and sometimes even confirmed by unwise church leaders.
 
If God had been wanting me to take some specific course of action in relation to an individual, the person would probably have had a face that I recognised. God doesn’t hide His will from us; He wants us to find it. The Bible passage that I read can’t be applied to this situation as, clearly, I’m not a prophet.
 
So, is my dream worthless? Did I eat too much cheese yesterday?
 
Well, God is in control and He allowed me to have this dream so it may be useful. I can take certain things from the dream, submit them to the Bible and perhaps take a less drastic course of action than frantically travelling the world to find my unidentified dying friend.
 
    -The theme of the dream is obviously the urgency of evangelism. The girl had been given two months to live which had put everything into perspective for her. The distractions of the world were no longer her focus as she faced death and eternity. Some here would object to Christians preying on the vulnerable, but the reality is that this girl needs to be offered hope for a future life in Heaven. Surely, telling a person how they might be forgiven of sin and find peace with God is the loving and kind thing to do at the end of their earthly life.
 
    -The dream could be a reminder that it’s never too late to make peace with God. In conversations on the street people often tell me that it’s too late for them which we know isn’t true because of stories like the thief on the cross who received forgiveness as he was dying. However, occasionally, someone asks a question like, “Can I do this at any time?” The answer is always, “Yes, but don’t leave it too long as we aren’t guaranteed tomorrow.”
 
    -Another aspect of the dream might be that a person may be more likely to listen to someone they already have a connection with whether it’s current or from the past. My main evangelistic work is with strangers but I still have responsibility to share with people I know.    
 
   -We can also see from the dream that although someone has rejected God in the past, their circumstances might change and they may be willing to listen on a second, third or fourth attempt.  So, we should persevere and not give up even if they have previously told us they aren't interested. We must find the courage to try again.
 
     -The setting of the dream was a hospital. As a result of attending the FEW conference for evangelists a few weeks ago, I had already looked into the possibility of joining Good News for Everyone (GNFE). One of the reasons for this was to try and get Bibles into places locally, including hospitals and to have conversations with people in these settings. I had spoken to one of my church leaders, who is involved with GNFE and I’m hoping to attend a prayer meeting with local members soon. Perhaps, the dream was a reminder not to forget this ministry and to ensure I get to that meeting.
 
   -In the dream, I was also struck by how alone the girl appeared to be. Being given a terminal diagnosis with such a short time left, will make a person feel alone even if they are surrounded by friends and family, but we mustn’t assume people have a support network as there are plenty of people who don’t have anyone. We know this because of the tragic cases of people who die in their homes and lay undiscovered for weeks, months and even years because no one has missed them. You might be the only person who cares for someone.
 
   -The final lesson that can be extracted from the dream is the importance of taking every opportunity to share the Gospel. It would have been easy to enjoy reminiscing and there probably were plenty of memories that could have made the girl’s last days enjoyable enough, but her greatest need in that moment was to hear that Jesus saves and that she needs to get right with God. It was interesting that, in the dream, she responded as if she knew what was coming when she encouraged me to visit her. It wasn’t the reason she asked me, but she was open to the possibility in a way that she hadn’t been before. I only found this out when I braved the conversation.
 
Perhaps, you’re thinking that I’m over analysing my dream and that there’s no way God intended to communicate all of this to me or maybe that I come across as a bit too much of a hero. I did wonder this myself as, confronted with this situation in reality, I may not have been as bold as I was in my dream.  
 
However, all of the things that I’ve extracted can also be found in the Bible and are a good motivator for evangelism so I think they are profitable.
 
To answer my original question: Does God still speak to us in dreams? 

I don’t really know, but if He does, He will confirm anything He wants us to learn through His Word and it will always be in context.

12 Reasons People Give for Rejecting Jesus

I nearly used the word “excuses” in the title but thought that “reasons” was less provocative. However, in reality the reasons people give are excuses because the evidence is there for anyone who is concerned enough to investigate.

1. I’m too busy- People often say this when we attempt to speak to them in the street or offer them a leaflet. It’s tempting to point out that we are only after a few minutes of their time and that we are talking about their eternal destination. However, we all know that we make time for the things that are important to us, so what they are really saying is that they aren’t interested.

2. I’ll consider it when I’m older- We had some young lads say this to us during a mission this year. You would’ve thought the pandemic would’ve made people more aware of their mortality and that no one is guaranteed tomorrow. However, it’s amazing how quickly people are lulled back into a false sense of security when times of crisis appear to have passed.

3. I’m too old to change my beliefs now- Tragically, we sometimes hear this from people. Again, it’s more a case of not being willing to change, or even to consider the case for change rather than their age preventing them. Jesus welcomes anyone, of any age, who will repent and trust Him for salvation.

4. I’ll get there on my own- A little like the Pharisees (religious leaders) in the Bible. People like to think that they can earn a place in Heaven through good deeds, a religious life, prayer, confession, charity work etc. A Catholic man of 83 who said he had been doing all these things all his life asked me what I had done in comparison. As he walked away, he called out that when he died, they would be “over the moon” to see him. I feared for that proud man who was not trusting Jesus but relying on his own goodness.

5. I don’t want to give up my lifestyle- At least this is more honest. It’s different to saying I can’t live up to God’s standards of holiness. If that was the requirement, then none of us would make it. This is where someone knows that repentance is required and knows they would need to be willing, with God’s help, to try and turn away from lifestyle sins that they are attached to.

6. I can’t read/concentrate/understand- A lot of people who say these things actually don’t want to hear because when we offer them a CD/DVD or try to use simpler language, they aren’t interested. They aren’t willing to seek God or make any effort to understand. The Bible tells us a child can understand the way of salvation.

7. I don’t know which religion is true- This is interesting as it can be a genuine dilemma, but it’s also used as a red herring. Two young guys recently told me that they had been given a John’s Gospel by a co-worker and were reading it every day. I asked them if they understood the message and they said that they did. I asked them whether they had become Christians. They looked shocked and immediately replied that they had not. I asked them why and they said it was because there were lots of alternative views out there. So, I asked them to consider whether Christianity was true before worrying about all the other religions. It struck me that these lads seemed not to be searching for the truth but possibly just acquiring knowledge. People can sit on the fence their entire lives if they aren’t willing to take a true step of faith.

8. I can’t go to church- This isn’t a requirement for salvation, but because people know that if they become Christians, they will be expected to attend church, they sometimes say this. It can be due to bad experiences in the past, due to fears of large groups of people, anxiety disorders, or other reasons. The best thing to do is not to say that someone doesn’t need to attend church as a Christian but encourage them to take one step at a time in that direction, to decide firstly if they are ready to repent and believe that Jesus died for them. God will then help them with getting to church.

9. Christians are hypocrites/religion causes wars- I’ve put these together as they are essentially the same. When people use sin in the church, or in Christians they know to justify their own negative response, all we can do is to remind them that we are all sinners. It is awkward when a professing Christian falls into grievous sin, but this is why we need to fix our eyes on Jesus and not on other Christians who are just as fallible as we all are.

10. I just don’t believe it’s true- Most people who say this have never read the Bible. Most people don’t know the true Gospel message. Most are placing something else that they consider to be more plausible above God e.g., science, or Richard Dawkins. People who say this aren’t usually willing to investigate for themselves, they are closed minded because they don’t want to believe. They have nailed their colours to the mast eternally, without considering the evidence which is pretty risky if you ask me.

11. God is unfair- Usually these conversations start with, I can’t follow a God who allows…. or how can a God of love send people to Hell? Questions around suffering are difficult, especially when it is personal. However, there are reasons for suffering, pain, death and Hell. They all trace back to humans committing sin. People who use this as a reason to reject God are essentially placing themselves in God’s position and making a judgement on Him. We can’t see the big picture. We are the creatures, and He is the Creator. There are things that we can’t understand that we must leave to God.

12. I’m an Agnostic- I’m meeting more and more people who say this rather than that they are an Atheist. However, believing that the truth about God is unknowable when He has clearly revealed Himself in sources that we can easily access (The Bible), just means the person is unwilling to commit to an opinion about something. Ignorance is not an excuse in any other area of life so why should it be any different with God?

Maybe you are reading this, and you recognise yourself in one of these categories. Perhaps, you are thinking that by giving these reasons, you are not really rejecting Jesus, but just living your life.

The Bible says that we are either following Jesus as Saviour and Lord, or we are not. If we are not, we are following the world which is under the influence of the devil for this period of time.

If we are Christians, we are safe and heading for eternity in Heaven. If we are not, we are currently heading for a lost eternity in Hell.

In light of the eternal nature of these things, it seems sensible to suggest that people should either be on an urgent search for the truth, in which case they will be willing to read, pray and perhaps visit a church, or they are already Christians and will be wanting to lead others in this direction.

Please don’t let one of the reasons above, or others that I haven’t thought of, stop you from searching for the truth.

The Bible says that if we seek God with all our hearts, we will find Him. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through Me."

Why “Imagine” is Not the Right Song for Armistice Day, or Any Day

I was driving along earlier today listening to the radio. There was a 2-minute silence at 11am to remember the Armistice at the end of World War 1, and to honour those that lost their lives.

Immediately after the silence, I recognised the first notes of the melancholic song, Imagine, by John Lennon. Probably one of the most well-known songs of all time, certainly in the Western world.

The first words, which people tend to mouth zombie-like as they let the music wash over them, “Imagine there’s no Heaven, it’s easy if you try. No Hell below us, above us only sky.”

As a Christian, I’m likely going to take issue with this lyric whatever the context. But the fact that many of the soldiers who lost their lives in the early twentieth century were also Christians who are now enjoying the Heaven that Lennon wanted us to imagine away makes this an odd song choice for the occasion.

In the next verses, Lennon describes a world without pain, suffering and death. A world of equality where everybody lives at peace with their fellow man. Dare I say it, a world without sin. This sounds remarkably like the Heaven God has prepared for those who love Him. I guess it’s not so easy to erase Heaven from our collective minds after all.

The fact that Lennon tells us to use our imaginations in the first place demonstrates knowledge that creative thinking is required because reality paints a different picture.

Similarly with Santa Claus, we create this fantasy world loved by children globally. Yet, we all remember the day we finally understood that it wasn’t real. The loss and disappointment as the final glimpse of the miraculous escaped our grasp and we came down to Earth with a bump (I’m not taking a position on whether or not parents should teach their children about Santa.)

Surely, we wouldn’t dream of attempting to do the same thing with adults, to try and convince them to determine reality through their imaginations. Yet is that not what this song tries to do?

If I imagine that I am the Queen of a country or imagine that I can fly, would you endorse or encourage? No, you would be afraid in case I acted on the craziness my imaginings had created and seek to stop me getting arrested, sectioned or killed.

Why, then is a song like Imagine that magics away the realities of Heaven and Hell, and the consequences of sin, so popular? Well precisely for this reason. If there is no God, there is no accountability, no judgement, no after-life, so we can live as we please. Lennon even says this, “Imagine all the people, living for today.”

Is closing our eyes to the evidence that there is a God and an afterlife, a Heaven and a Hell, a sensible way to live? Will creating a world of our own imaginations that doesn’t actually exist achieve anything at all?

The obvious answer is no as like the person who imagines they are Queen or can fly, a rude awakening beckons.

The reality is that there will never be peace on Earth, and suffering, sickness and death will continue, until the day God wraps things up, as a consequence of sin.

The good news, that we can discover not through our imaginations, but in the Bible which is 100% reliable, is that Jesus died for our sin on the cross paving the way for us to be forgiven and to spend eternity in Heaven.

I don’t know about you, but I’d rather base my eternal security on reality than the imaginings of a famous dead musician, who now knows that God exists.

Revelation 21:1-5 ESV

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

1 Corinthians 2:9 ESV

But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—

John 3:16 ESV

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Revelation 22:1-5 ESV

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

Do I Have to be Attracted to Jesus to be Saved?

An alternative title might be: Is Fear of Hell a Legitimate Reason for Coming to Faith?

Growing up, I was clearly taught that Christians went to Heaven and those who didn’t believe went to Hell. As a teenager, my mindset was definitely that I had to be living a life that was pleasing to God otherwise I would end up in Hell. I was terrified of this possibility. Whenever my life was on track I had a sense of peace and believed I was on the path to Heaven but when I was living in sin feared I would end up in Hell.

When I came to true faith at the age of 23, it was in large part motivated by my fear of going to Hell. I knew that I had been living a sinful lifestyle for a number of years and believed this had separated me from God. I realised the things I had been taught as a child were true and that I needed to turn away from my sinful life putting my whole faith and trust in Jesus’ death on the cross to get me to Heaven one day.

At this point my life changed dramatically and the vices I had been unable to shake off fell away and became mere temptations, in certain circumstances, rather than things that I felt I couldn’t live without. It was only later that I understood what had actually happened when I had asked God for forgiveness of my sin and help to lead a new life: that He had exchanged my sinful life for the perfect life of Jesus once and for all. That this was something that could never be undone or changed and that I was now guaranteed eternal life in Heaven.

I was (and am) immensely grateful to God for sending Jesus to the cross and thankful that Jesus willingly submitted to the will of His Father. I determined to serve Him with my life and to try to live a life that pleased Him knowing that when I inevitably failed, my sin had already been dealt with. I'm not talking here about earning my salvation or trying to pay God back. I wanted my life to be a testimony of what God had done for me in sending Jesus. I had been saved for good works not by them.

Obviously, there were emotions and feelings involved at various stages in this process but the reason I became a Christian was because I realised the Bible was true, I believed the warnings about rejecting God, and I wanted to go to Heaven one day. The Bible detailed how God had provided a way of escape from the “wrath to come”. and I wanted to take it. I had a healthy fear of God. I responded trusting that if I confessed Jesus as my Lord and believed in my heart that God raised Him from the dead I would be saved (Romans 10 vs 9). 

Now, I constantly find that I’m being confronted with sermons, and conversations with Christians, suggesting that if I don’t feel certain things towards God, or the person of Jesus, I cannot be saved. That coming to faith due to a fear of Hell or a desire to be in Heaven is not a legitimate reason and not enough to save. That I have to be attracted to the person of Christ and not just to the stuff He offers including eternal life. Books like Desiring God by John Piper also contain this idea.

My question to those suggesting this is, what if I don’t have these feelings? Should I attempt to manufacture them? My conversion had little to do with being attracted to Jesus and everything to do with believing His instructions to repent. I feared the consequences if I didn’t obey!

We are frequently told not to rely on our feelings because they will lead us astray. Attraction and desire are both things that are subjective and therefore subject to change. Personalities and temperaments can be very different. I may not be a particularly emotional character and I may not feel certain emotions towards God. Does this make me less of a Christian than someone who is more emotional?

We are clearly told that we should love God and seek to follow Jesus. Some have turned this into a sentimental love where Jesus becomes almost like some kind of divine romancer. I’m guessing this comes from the Scriptures about Christians being the Bride of Christ. However, this isn’t speaking about individual Christians but the church as a whole, and it represents a sacrificial love that gives itself for the other party not a romantic love.  

For those who, like me, struggle with the modern move towards a more emotional relationship with God. I find myself coming back to Jesus’ words in several places in John’s Gospel:

“If you love Me, keep my commands.” (John 14 vs 15)
“Whoever has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me.” (John 14 vs 21)

There is nothing here about attraction, desire or feelings. We are also told that we will recognise Christians by the fruit of their lives. Someone may appear to have a very close walk with God due to their visible emotions but their lifestyle may contradict their proclamation.

I discovered that my life only changed when I truly repented of my sin and trusted Jesus. This is one of the reasons I know my salvation is genuine as I couldn’t sort my life out myself. It was only when I recognised that my sin had created a barrier between me and God and that this needed to be dealt with by Jesus that my life changed permanently.

Let’s make sure that we aren’t adding requirements to salvation and remember that:

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3 vs 16)

Bridging the Gap by Going Out of Our Church Buildings

This will probably be my final post in the “bridging the gap” series as I’m about out of ideas! For more recent followers, I’ve been focusing on ways that Christians can bridge the ever growing gap between believers and non-believers. So far, we have looked at being real, keeping the focus on the Gospel and using words that people understand.

We need to think about this issue because people from the street are not just walking into our churches. We can be pretty good at hosting church events and inviting people, but what about those who would never attend because the event is in a church building. They don’t want the inevitable questions if they are seen, or perhaps, they are fearful of what might happen during the service.

To ensure everyone hears the Gospel, and to properly obey the Great Commission, we need to go into all the world and tell every person the Good News about Jesus. The Open Air Mission has evangelists all around the country who do this on a daily basis. I’ve just returned from their annual training day in Bromsgrove which was a great encouragement. We were reminded of the huge impact 160 people committed to open-air work could make across the country. Even more so should we all manage to get our church fellowships on-board.

A former full-time worker, probably now in his seventies, was asked whether open-air work still has a place in our society, or whether it’s had its day, as many churches seem to believe. He responded with a story about his own conversion, having been raised in a non-Christian home seemingly with no Christians even on his radar. He pointed out that currently less than 10% of the country is being reached with the Gospel through schools and churches. Someone had taken the trouble to step out of their comfort zone and tell him the Good News about Jesus when he was in his late teens. He is left with the devastating reminder that generations of his family are subject to eternal punishment. If his story ended there it would be pretty depressing, but this man is so grateful that someone took the trouble to reach him in his lostness, that he has dedicated his life to doing the same thing for others. How anyone could fail to be moved by such an answer, spoken with such conviction, about something so important, is beyond me.

What about the average Christian, though? Someone who just has a few hours here and there and wants more flexibility, or a little less confrontation. With the support of your church, you could try setting up a simple book table in your town. All you will need in a small fold-away table, deck chair (optional,) literature and a sign highlighting what you are offering. Then, find a space that isn’t in the way, I usually use a sizeable doorway, and set up.

Recently, I noticed what a difference good weather makes as people are much more willing to stop and chat, and just seem more cheerful in general. A typical few hours with a book table in my town produces the following types of contact:

My time began with a man from a different church advising that he had a load of Christian literature to dispose of and discussing methods of evangelism. He was quickly followed by an enthusiastic Christian lady who started off by encouraging me but then suggested I should give leaflets to people instead of waiting for them to be taken. I explained that I do give out leaflets as part of other outreaches, and our church puts leaflets through every door in the town over the year, but that for this outreach, I’m just making the literature available for those that God prompts.

Next, a white van man who has been mentioned in a previous post, made a bee line for me. His opening question was, “Have you got a copy of the King James Version of the Bible yet?” I informed him that I was sticking with my ESV. He told me that it was corrupted, that I was missing out and that he was just trying to help me, before walking back to his van calling loudly behind him that I should get a King James Bible. I resisted the urge to ask him if he was going to church yet….

Then, two at once, which can be tricky, especially when they start talking to each other and one seems to be leading the other off topic. An older man on a mobility scooter had been watching at a distance for a while and eventually made his cautious approach. We had just begun talking, and he was examining the literature, when an even older, white haired, lady walked between the man and the books and announced that she was a devout Catholic and congratulated me on having the courage to be out in the street. I never know what to say when this happens, as it’s not really something worthy of praise, but voicing too much humility can be counter productive.

The lady quite loudly took over the conversation stating that we were all the same before asking me what religion I belonged to. I was somewhat surprised by the question as my sign clearly says “free Christian books.” When I said I was a Christian she looked temporarily confused. I wondered whether she was just enthusiastic about the prospect of religion in general entering the high street. She continued talking to the man as if she had invited him to look at her books, and as if she needed to carefully explain things to him. When she spoke about people being oblivious to God, I managed to get in with a short comment about our sin and need of forgiveness before she was off again. The man interjected to ask for an Ultimate Questions booklet before taking his leave. The woman followed him along the street, still talking at him. I was a bit bewildered by the experience but grateful that the man took the book.

A quiet lady then took Where is God when things go wrong? by John Blanchard, after studying the books for a while. Then, a lady who I met at the book table on a previous occasion, who attends another church, passed by and we had a brief chat about how to get a mutual friend who isn’t a believer to church. I then overheard some young girls on the other side of the street, on seeing my sign, comment that they weren’t “holy” or “Christian”. One of the reasons for going out is to trigger this type of reflective conversation and to make people think about God.

Finally, a man who attends another church, out of the area, came over. After a brief chat about our shared faith, he seemed to veer off topic with questions about my age and marital and relationship status. Nevertheless, he encouraged me in the work and said he would pray for me before wandering off. Never a dull moment.

I thought it might be helpful for those who are considering this type of outreach to get an idea of what could happen if you brave the unknown. However, every town and every individual is, of course, unique, which is why prayer is crucial.  

Pray, try it and see what happens.

Mark 16 vs 15

“Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.”