Stopping to think ....

[MoreCoffee]

A testimony should be truth of what that person has experienced or would you shut up only those with whose experiences you might find in opposition to your own beliefs

I have no power to shut any man's (or woman's) words away so I do not try to do so. I state my own beliefs and let the "cards fall where they may".

 

[psalms 91]

Truth has a great deal of weight while building up hope and faith is weighty and valuable only when it is founded upon truth. Hope that is false and faith that is misplaced ought not be built up.

If your last post is true then I do not understand this answer

 

[MoreCoffee]

If your last post is true then I do not understand this answer

It and the other post mean that truth has primacy - truth spoken in charity.

 

[psalms 91]

OK then testimonies are a valuable tool that God can and does use

 

[tango]

If they cant see it in us then our evangelism is lost

Sure, in many ways it makes sense for people to see that we are different and wonder why. That way people want something of what we have, rather than us going out and insisting that they need something when all they can see is that we're just like everyone else in every aspect except what we do with our Sunday mornings.

That's not necessarily very comfortable for the big rally-style events where people are encouraged to put a lot of credence in the words of a man they never met and whose life they can't see. At least with local one-to-one style evangelism it's based on people seeing what we have on an ongoing basis and being able to see that it really is something good, as opposed to being assured it's something good but with no way of knowing if they're being sold a pig in a poke.

Not if you connect with them on a personal level, that is what is lacking a lot of the time

Can't argue with that, the personal touch makes all the difference. If we can meet people where they are we'll get a lot further than if we just regard each individual person as a recipient for the standard patter that could have been scripted by a marketing department somewhere. Of course the personal touch requires a personal sacrifice which may be ongoing, it's far more demanding than just pointing someone towards the latest and greatest rally so they can hear the speaker, with a general "let me know if you have any questions" (spoken in the same manner as when telling a bereaved person "let me know if I can do anything")

 

[tango]

I don't think it's that challenging. But then again, I am a presuppositionalist. So I believe that the natural man suppresses the truth. The only way to convince him is by the working of the Holy Spirit. Romans 1:16 says it's the gospel that saves. There's nothing about a convincing argument. The man who wrote it was a religious terrorist who was saved by the power of the gospel.

Sure, as long as people aren't so put off by what they see in Christians that they won't hear it. The clever arguments are usually just for show, as often as not someone can listen to the convincing argument, be utterly unable to counter it, and then still walk away resisting God's call.

Most of us won't be encapsulated by blinding light and struck blind in the process, so we need to consider the stages the average person goes through as they become a Christian as well as looking at what happened to Paul

 

[psalms 91]

Sure, in many ways it makes sense for people to see that we are different and wonder why. That way people want something of what we have, rather than us going out and insisting that they need something when all they can see is that we're just like everyone else in every aspect except what we do with our Sunday mornings.

That's not necessarily very comfortable for the big rally-style events where people are encouraged to put a lot of credence in the words of a man they never met and whose life they can't see. At least with local one-to-one style evangelism it's based on people seeing what we have on an ongoing basis and being able to see that it really is something good, as opposed to being assured it's something good but with no way of knowing if they're being sold a pig in a poke.



Can't argue with that, the personal touch makes all the difference. If we can meet people where they are we'll get a lot further than if we just regard each individual person as a recipient for the standard patter that could have been scripted by a marketing department somewhere. Of course the personal touch requires a personal sacrifice which may be ongoing, it's far more demanding than just pointing someone towards the latest and greatest rally so they can hear the speaker, with a general "let me know if you have any questions" (spoken in the same manner as when telling a bereaved person "let me know if I can do anything")

Ongoing committment is sometghing else that is lost today as well in many cases, if you bring them to Christ you should also mentor them or turn them over to someone who you know will

 

[Hammster]

Sure, as long as people aren't so put off by what they see in Christians that they won't hear it. The clever arguments are usually just for show, as often as not someone can listen to the convincing argument, be utterly unable to counter it, and then still walk away resisting God's call.

Most of us won't be encapsulated by blinding light and struck blind in the process, so we need to consider the stages the average person goes through as they become a Christian as well as looking at what happened to Paul

I don't think there are stages that one goes through as they become a Christian. One is born again. There may be stages of realization, though.

 

[psalms 91]

I don't think there are stages that one goes through as they become a Christian. One is born again. There may be stages of realization, though.

I do believe in progressive salvation as when we are first saved we do not know or realize all there is to know nor are we perfect, we have to let the Holy Spirit direct us as we get rid of more and more to become like Jesus

 

[visionary]

Exactlt! If it isnt opened up then you will never be saved. It is not us but the Holy Spirit that will open the doors for people to recieve the words

Yep... The Bible is like a closed book which refuses to give up its treasures until the person gets into a personal relationship with Him.

 

[Hammster]

I do believe in progressive salvation as when we are first saved we do not know or realize all there is to know nor are we perfect, we have to let the Holy Spirit direct us as we get rid of more and more to become like Jesus

You are describing sanctification. I'm not talking about growth. I'm talking about birth.

 

[Brighten04]

I was saved at a very young age. Praise the Lord. The way I evangelize is by using John 3:16. just let that verse be my main focus scripture. If a Muslim asks, I just say my Heavenly Father loves me, and give John 3:16. They do not relate to Allah on that type of personal level and automatically reject that it is possible. But the hook has been set. Then I say, show me in your book where Allah loves you. Then I leave them alone. Let it simmer. Our Father gave us a promise
Isaiah 55:11
So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Since the Holy Ghost is dwelling within me, I am assured that when He speaks through me , that His Word shall accomplish that which He pleases. So once I plant the seed, I can trust our Father to take care of the rest.