What a thinking day. Everything provoked so many different thoughts. At MLT we talked about world views. It was really interesting. We were talking about how world view is very relevant to your witness regardless of where you are. So were were talking about... did Jesus have a world view? And when God was Jesus He did have a world view (Jewish) but then He was God so of course He didn't have a world view..how could He? In Romans 12:2 it talks about not being conformed to the world....but yet Jesus (who never sinned) had a world view because He was fully man. But being God who cannot sin He could not have had a world view becuase Christ was also fully God. So then we just ended up at the trinity and confused and it was lots of fun.
And then while Bob was speaking tonight I was thinking about universalism. I was thinking about the people I know (there's sooo many!) who believe that regardless of your religion you're going to heaven because 1) how could God be so unfair 2) they're all the same gods just different forms/ideas or 3) it's narrow minded to think that believers are the only ones going to heaven. I'm so sick of that. I'm so sick of hearing that. How can you read the Bible and only believe parts of it? It's either all or nothing. You cannot in one sentence say that "all scripture is God breathed" and in the next say that "non-believers are going to heaven" (which is against the Bible) It's not narrow minded...it's the truth! I went through this time when I really doubted the Bible and the whole believing in Christ thing. I went through all these books and did all this research to see if the Bible was true. I read the Koran and tried to prove it right. I read part of the Book of Mormon and looked to see if I could prove it right. I came to the same conclusion that soo many other people have come to. The Bible is wholly true. I went thru all kinds of stuff to prove it wrong and I simply couldn't find a single thing. I've SEEN God do miracles that CANNOT be explained by science or "chance." (yes that was plural) If then, the Bible is true....then "narrow is the path that leads to salvation and broad the path to destruction." Jesus is in fact "THE way, THE truth and THE light." (not one of the ways) How then can God "send" people in other countries to hell who have no way of knowing even what a "jesus" is some ask? My question is not that but how can we (who know who Christ is and that unless you have Him you WILL NOT go to heaven) sit here and claim ignorance to the hundreds of unreached people groups? can we not pray? have we not been equipped with all kinds of tools (internet! newspapers! CNN! libraries! bethany.org!) to find out about these people and pray for the lost without ceasing? Have we not been charged with spreading the gospel at ALL costs? (safety is NOT a valid reason for not witnessing...ugh I hate it when people use that.) I know of so many instances in which believers have prayed for lost peoples (yes large groups) to come to Christ and visions have been showered on them and there were amazing responses. (but then most of us simply pray that people will be saved ...never having faith that it WILL actually happen...how do we expect stuff to happen when we don't even have faith that God will follow thru!?) How then, do we dare blame God for this tragic thing that people are going to hell while we're just concerned about our chemistry test the next day?
Told ya I'd been thinking a lot today..I just finally got to put it all on my blog. But I've had this written out for like 2 years. it just applied today.