Parent category for all Gone Fishin’ Ministry Outreach newsletters, field reports of these outreaches, and personal witnessing reports
Then he brought up James regarding faith plus works. Then I knew he was lost. He was going to twist the scripture to mean we need faith plus works to be saved. But this is a false application. In context, it is saying that works is a result of faith, not a pre-requisite for it. I told him as such, to read the whole book of James instead of cherry-picking the verses you want, so that you can invent your own doctrine.
We nonchalantly cruise through life, recklessly breaking the Universe Creator’s rules. The arresting officer (death) is perpetually pursuing us. And once it inevitability catches up with us, it will haul us before the righteous judgement seat, where we will be held eternally accountable for our actions.
I told him that was how God renders justice and mercy perfectly, because His Son Jesus paid the price for us. I said, "But you don't value this, because you think that God just loves everybody and will just forgive. But that would make God a corrupt judge. That is a God made up in your head to suit yourself. You have no concept of who God really is, and are in danger of spending eternity in hell"
He started yelling and abusing us. We asked him to calm down, but he just got louder. He tried to rip the Gospel tracts out of my hand. He got one, and tore it up in front of my face, swearing and cursing at me.
Spiritual revival does not start by building up. It starts by tearing down.
I told him that God would give him the same punishment that I deserve, eternity in hell. Going through Jesus taking his hell punishment was a bit of a comedy act with him, so I decided to stress the danger of thinking the way he does, and wished him good luck on judgement day.
He told me I had blown his mind, and that he had some thinking to do. I said, “Don’t leave it for too long, as you don’t know when you are going to die – and if I am right, where would you go? He said, “To hell”
I asked him so if he had died before this conversation, where would he have gone? He thought about it, then his eyes got big and bulgy, and he said "I would have gone to hell!'. I asked 'But if you died right now, where would you go?'. He said 'Heaven, 100%!'
Then she did something weird. She looked away, said ‘OK, alright’ as if on a phone. She said that Papa had just told her to tell me to keep doing what I was doing.
As Christians, our compass is the Word of God. It is a wise man who constantly checks against the Word for any course alterations needed. If we rely on our hearts, our feelings, or what seems right to us, we can wander way off course into danger, into the jungle of heresy, where danger lurks at every dark turn.