The following "Question" was asked by a member of the congregation at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, and "Answered" by their pastor, John MacArthur Jr. It was transcribed by Anjela Paje of Spokane, WA, from the tape, GC 1301-X, titled "Bible Questions and Answers Part 26." A copy of the tape can be obtained by writing, Word of Grace, P.O. Box 4000, Panorama City, CA 91412 or by dialing toll free 1-800-55-GRACE. ©1983. All Rights Reserved.
Questioner
I have some non-Christian friends, and I was wondering...they’re trying to
seek God, but they’re afraid to take a stand for Jesus, and I was wondering if
you could give me some advice on that?
John MacArthur's Answer
Well, that’s the whole issue. They’re seeking God on their own terms. Jesus said
in Matthew 10:32, “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I
confess also before my Father who’s in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me
before men, him will I also deny before my Father who’s in heaven.” In other
words, Jesus forces them to pay the price.
I remember, one time, I was preaching downtown in a rescue mission, and I was just a young guy. And, I was pouring my heart out giving the Gospel to these guys, and half of ‘em were zonked out, you know, stoned beyond belief, and just flopped over, you know, and I was just pouring out my heart. Some of ‘em were listening, and I said, “Is there anybody in here?” And, I had gone through the whole crucifixion, and how Jesus walked down the middle of the street and people spit on Him, bleeding, naked, carrying a cross, bore all the shame, the embarrassment, the ridicule, the mockery, the whole deal. I said, “Is there one man here who has the courage to stand for Jesus Christ who stood for him, who died for him?” “Anybody here?” “Is there one man here?” And, nobody moved. Nobody moved. And I didn’t realize it at the time, but they had a PA system outside, and it was blaring it onto 4th Street, down in LA, and all of a sudden, the back door opened and this guy came right in the back door, walked right down to the front. He said, “I’ll be that man.” And I had the privilege of leading him to Christ.
If a person isn’t willing to stand with Jesus Christ who, you know, was
willing to take what He took for them, then, there’s there’s a lack of honesty
in the seeking. So, you need to confront them with that. You see, you don’t want
to let people feel good about stopping short: "Ah, you’re doing great, boy!
You’re coming right along!" No! No! You want to force them to realize that no
decision, is a decision against Christ. Very important to do that.
Questioner
How could you talk to them and say that you've got to do it this way, full bore
or nothing? How would you do that in a nice way?
John MacArthur's Answer
I think, if you care about them, it’ll come out in a nice way. Sure. Just
take them to Matthew 10. Take them to Matthew 16. Later, in Matthew 10, He says,
“If you’re not willing to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me,
you’re not worthy to be my disciple.” Take them to Matthew 8, where a guy comes
up to [Jesus] and says, “Well, I’ll be happy to follow you Lord. I have just got
to go home and bury my...” "Well, I’m not happy. I've got to go home and
take care of a few things, kiss my family goodbye." And, the Lord says, “Forget
it. Any man that puts his hand to the plow and looks back isn’t worthy. You
can’t plow a straight furrow with looking backwards." So, just use the
scripture. The scripture has great power. Find the verses and maybe write them
in a letter. Share them with the guy and say, “Here's something I want you to
read.”
Questioner
Also, if you have parents that tend to believe in evolution, how would you
approach them?
John MacArthur's Answer
Well, you've got to expose them to authority, and it’s hard for you to do that.
I mean, you’re no great scientist, right? Neither am I. I can’t go in and say,
“Now, I’m going to tell you all these great scientific truths.” But, what you
can do, is say, and this is the way I would approach it, and I have approached
this this way with people, "Do you want to know about origins, you really want
to know? Because, if you really, honestly, want to know, then you need to
consider some very interesting available information.” And, try to expose them
to the information that is available. I start with people on this basis, "Now,
if you believe in evolution, this is what you believe: nobody times nothing
equals everything. Okay, that’s what you believe. Now, that we’ve
established that, let’s think about that. Nobody times nothing equals
everything. Man, that takes great faith. And, not only that, faith in nothing
and nobody. I mean, that’s not very far from idiocy." So, you start there by the
absurdity of it and then, say, "Now, all we believe is that there is a cause,
which is the only sensible thing you could ever believe. Now, we want to
determine who that cause is. And there are so many good books on this in the
bookstore, excellent stuff available." Put that in their hand, and challenge
them to read it. And, you know, if they really care about you, say, "Hey, I’m
concerned about this. This is something I’m really working through. I’d like you
to read this, and then we can talk about it." And, confront it that way.
Added to Bible Bulletin Board's "MacArthur's Questions and
Answers" by:
Tony Capoccia
Bible Bulletin Board
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