in my small group, at ichthus, there were two questions that were asked.
the first one was: why does satan try and tempt us when he knows that we are apart of God's elected people?
my small group leader wanted us to try and figure it out on our own. so some said because satan is evil and that's why he tempts us. others said maybe he thinks that we can lose our salvation. then i said that satan doesn't want us to do as God commands so then we don't obey Him. satan hates God and so he doesn't want us to do anything that would glorify God. and satan does know that we cannot lose our salvation.
the second question was: why are we to go out and evangelize to others, when we don't know if the person that we are evangelizing to is apart of the elect or not?
people gave some answers but i don't remember what they said. but i said we are to go and evangelize to people because that is what God has commanded us to do. we are to spread the Gospel to everyone (Matthew 28:19, Mark 13:10 and Mark 16:15) even if they aren't apart of the elect. the Lord commands us to do that so we must obey Him.
(i did not say this part) this goes back to the first question, the second question is a temptation to say well if i don't know if they are apart of the elect then i don't want to waste my time evangelizing to them. that is a temptation to not obey the Lord's command. we are to obey Him. we are also called to have the right heart attitude when we do obey Him. if you have a slothful heart then you are not having a servants heart. therefore you are not obeying the Lord. you have to have a servants heart, a godly heart, to be able to serve the Lord.
yes, satan does in fact know a great deal, if not all of scripture, he knows what is going to happen. he does really hate God though and he is going to fight against what is going to happen. by tempting us and us sinning, he is causing God perhaps the most pain possible, for His chosen to falling and disobey. that is one aspect, i'm sure that with a mind as depraved as satan's, there are more reasons that just that one, along with the ones already listed.
ReplyDeleteas for the second question: we don't know who is elect, so went can't only witness to the elect. God did command us to evangelize, so we must. but also, how is one saved? through the hearing of the gospel and the working of the Holy Spirit in that person's life. but first, hearing. they must hear the gospel, that is how God designed it. it must be hear, creation alone and the inner part of man that tells him that there is more out there in this world is only enough to condemn the man, not save him, he must hear the gospel. with that, God has blessed us with the mission to spread the gospel. He has chosen to use a fallen, sinful, stumbling, bumbling person to be a part of His greatest mercy, saving someone from their sin. so, we should not ask why evangelize, but rejoice that God has counted us worthy to be used by Him in this great work. with that, we should be evangelizing to all of those around us. one thing that we should have is a good reputation, which will cause people to think about what makes us different, which will open doors for the gospel. there are few, effective street corner preachers, but there are many souls won by the lay person, so go out and live for Christ, pray for the souls around you and for the opportunities to witness, and let God work through you. look for opportunities and be ready for when they come, for they will come when you are not expecting them, but they will come, so be ready. perhaps the time when they will come the most is when you are least expecting it, because that is the time that God will have to do the most work, it won't be you doing anything, it isn't your eloquence that moves the gospel, but the Spirit. so go forth and tell it on the mountain by wearing it on your sleeve.
well, i think i have written enough now :)
haha, that was about as long as the original post
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