How to bring men to Christ 8

How to bring men to Christ 8

(Note. It is best as a rule before taking up specific difficulties to

deal with the inquirer with the passage under the head of “Skeptics who

are triflers,” or those under “Serious minded skeptics.”)

 

Often times there is no need to take up specific questions as for

example about future punishment until the inquirer has first settled the

matter whether he will accept Christ as his Saviour.

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER IX.

 

DEALING WITH THE COMPLAINING

 

 

1. THOSE WHO COMPLAIN OF GOD.

 

Many that you wish to lead to Christ will say something to the effect

that God is unjust and cruel, Job. xl. 2, and Romans ix. 20, are very

pointed passages to use with inquirers of this class and need no

comment. It might be well to preface the reading of the passages with

some remark like this; “Do you know of how enormous a sin you are guilty

in accusing God of being unjust and cruel? Let me read what God says

about it in His Word.” Then read the passages. Romans xi. 33 will serve

to show the complaining that the reason God’s ways seem unjust and cruel

is because they are so deep and unsearchable; and that the trouble is

not with God’s ways but the limitation of their understanding. Heb. xii.

5, 7, 10, 11 are especially useful in cases where the inquirer complains

because of his own misfortunes or sorrows. Is. lv. 8‒9 will often times

prove helpful. Not infrequently you will meet with one who will say that

“God is unjust to create men and then damn them.” Turn such an one to

Ezek. xxxiii. 11. This passage meets this complaint by showing that God

has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but desires their welfare

and that the wicked bring damnation upon themselves by their stubborn

refusal to repent. 1 Tim. ii. 3‒4, shows that God, so far from creating

man to damn him, desires that all men be saved. 2 Peter iii. 9, teaches

that God is not willing that any should perish and is delaying His

purposes in order that all may come to repentance. John v. 40, and Matt.

xxiii. 37, show that the whole cause of man’s damnation is his own

willful and persistent refusal to come to Christ. John iii. 36, and iii.

16, are also helpful in many cases.

 

 

2. THOSE WHO COMPLAIN OF THE BIBLE. Men will often times say, “The Bible

is contradictory and absurd;” or “the Bible seems foolish to me.” Two

classes of passages can be used in dealing with such inquirers.

 

a. 1 Cor. i. 18; ii. 14; 2 Cor. iv. 3‒4; Dan. xii. 10; Rom. xi. 33, 34

and in extreme cases 2 Thes. ii. 10, 11, 12.

 

b. Jno. vii. 17; Ps. xxv. 14; Matt. xi. 25, (see remarks under Serious

Minded Skeptics and Skeptics who are Triflers.) Sometimes the best thing

to do with a man who says the Bible is full of contradictions, is to

hand him your Bible and ask him to show you one. In most cases he will

not attempt to do it; as people who complain about the Bible, as a rule

know nothing about its contents. One day a man was brought to me to deal

with and when I asked him why he was not a Christian he replied, “The

Bible is full of contradictions.” I at once asked him to show me one.

“Oh!” he said, “it’s full of them.” I said, “If it is full of them you

ought to be able to show me one.” He said, “Well, there is one in

Psalms.” I said, “Show it to me.” He commenced looking in the back of

the New Testament for the book of Psalms. I said, “You are not looking

in the right part of the Bible for Psalms. Let me find it for you.” I

found him the book of Psalms and handed it to him. After fumbling around

he said, “I could find it, if I had my own Bible here.” “Well,” I said,

“Will you bring your Bible to–night?” He promised he would and agreed to

meet me at a certain place in the church. The appointed hour came, but

he did not. Some months afterwards in another series of meetings in the

same church one of the workers stopped me and said, “Here’s a man I wish

you would deal with; he is a skeptic.” I looked at him and recognized

him as the same man. “Oh!” I said, “you are the man that lied to me

here;” and with much confusion he admitted that he was, but he was still

playing his old game of saying that the Bible was full of

contradictions. In nine cases out of ten, men who say this, know nothing

about the Bible, and when you ask them to show you a contradiction in

the Bible they are filled with confusion.

 

 

3. THOSE WHO COMPLAIN OF GOD’S WAY OF SALVATION.

 

A great many men will say, “I do not see why God could not save men in

some other way than by the death of His son.” Is. lv. 8, 9, Romans xi.

33 are useful in dealing with such. I have used Romans ix. 20 with

effect with men of this sort. A young student said to me one night, when

I asked why he was not a Christian, that he did not see why it was

necessary for Christ to die for him; why God did not save him in some

other way. I opened my Bible and read to him Romans ix. 20, and put the

question right to him, “Who art thou that repliest against God?” and

then said to him, “Do you realize what you are doing, that you are

condemning God?” The young man very much confused said “I did not mean

to do that.” “Well,” I said; “that is what you are doing.” “If that is

so,” he replied, “I will take it back.” A good way to do with such men

is to show them by the use of passages given under the chapter “Dealing

with the Indifferent” that they are lost sinners. When any one is led to

see this, God’s way of salvation will approve itself as just the thing.

 

 

4. THOSE WHO COMPLAIN OF CHRISTIANS. Very frequently when we try to

persuade men to accept Christ as their Saviour, they reply; “_There are

too many hypocrites in church_.” Romans xiv. 4 and 12, especially the

latter verse, are exceedingly effective in dealing with such.

 

Romans ii. 1, and Matt. vii. 1‒5, are also excellent. Jno. xxi. 21, 22

is useful in showing the objector that he is solely responsible for his

own relation to Christ and that what others do is none of his affairs.

Sometimes the inquirer will _complain of the way Christian people have

treated him_. In such a case turn the attention of the inquirer from the

way in which Christian people have treated him to the way in which God

has treated him. For this purpose use Jer. ii. 5; Is. liii. 5; Romans v.

6‒8. Then ask him if the fact that Christians have treated him badly is

any excuse for his treatment of a Heavenly Father who has treated him so

well. One night turning to an aged man I asked him if he was a

Christian. He replied that he was not, that he was a back–slider. I

asked him why he back–slid. He replied that Christian people had treated

him badly. I opened my Bible and read Jer. ii. 5, to him, “Thus saith

the Lord, what iniquity have your fathers found in _me_, that they are

gone far from _me_, and have walked after vanity and are become vain?” I

said, “Did you find any iniquity in God? Did God not use you well?” With

a good deal of feeling the man admitted that God had not treated him

badly and I held him right to this point of God’s treatment of him, and

not man’s treatment, and his treatment of God. Matt. xviii. 23‒35; Eph.

iv. 30‒32; Matt. vi. 14‒15, are also useful as showing the absolute

necessity of our forgiving men.

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER X.

 

DEALING WITH THOSE WHO WISH TO PUT OFF A DECISION UNTIL SOME OTHER TIME

 

 

1. There are several classes of those who wish to put off a decision.

One of the largest is composed of _those who say “I want to wait,” or

“Not to–night,” or “I will think about it,” or “I will come to–morrow

night_,” or some such thing. Use Is. lv. 6. The inquirer having read the

passage, ask him when it is that he is to seek the Lord, and when he

answers “While he may be found,” ask him when that is and then drive it

home. Ask him if he is sure that he can find Him to–morrow if he does

not seek Him to–day. Or you can use Prov. xxix. 1. It is well after he

has read this verse to ask the one with whom you are dealing what

becomes of the one who “being often reproved hardeneth his neck” and

when he answers “He shall be destroyed,” ask him how he shall be

destroyed, and when he answers “Suddenly,” ask him if he is willing to

run the risk. Or you can use Matt. xxv. 10‒12. Ask him who it was that

went into the marriage? and when he answers “They that were ready” ask

him if he is ready. Then ask him what happened after those who were

ready went in. Then ask him where “those who were not ready” were. Then

put it to him, “Are you willing to be on the out–side?” Or you can use

Luke xii. 19, 20. Ask the inquirer for how long a time this man thought

he had made provision. Then ask him: “If God should call you to–night

would you be ready?” Matt. xxiv. 44, is especially effective in dealing

with those who say “I am not ready.” 1 Kings xviii. 21, can be used with

good effect. An excellent way to use this verse is by asking the person

whether he would be willing to wait a year and not have an opportunity

under any circumstances, no matter what came up, of accepting Christ.

When he answers, “No, I might die within a year,” ask him if he would be

willing to wait a month. Then bring it down to a week and finally to a

day, and ask him if he would like God and the Holy Spirit and all

Christians to leave him alone for a day and he not have an opportunity,

under any circumstances of accepting Christ? Almost any thoughtful

person will say, “No.” Then tell him that if that is the case he had

better accept Christ at once. Dr. Chalmers was the first one to use this

method and it has been followed by many others with great success. Prov.

xxvii. 1; James iv. 13, 14; Job. xxxvi. 18; Luke xiii. 24‒28; xii. 19,

20; John viii. 21; xii. 35; vii. 33‒34, can also be used with this

class.

 

 

2. Those who say “_I must get fixed in business first, then I will

become a Christian_,” or “_I must do something else first._” Matt. vi.