2 THESSALONIANS 2:9-10

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Permalink Reply by Larry on December 12, 2008 at 7:30am

I have a special needs child. No matter how "clear" a pastor thinks he is presenting the Gospel, my son can not understand it. So "clarity" must be in the receiver, not the sender. There are people who "are perishing", but who may in the future finally understand the message, accept Christ and stop their journey of "perishing". Unfortunately, there are also people who understand what is being preached, but reject it. Those have no second chance after death.

Larry

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Permalink Reply by Rita Cullimore on December 13, 2008 at 3:55am

Larry,
Your answer is in tune with my own thoughts on the subject. We know your son is saved as an innocent child and his future is secure. The Bible speaks of an age of reason, and there are many that never reach that place. Maybe all the people are covered under that rule.

My line of thinking comes from going to a funeral. The person who had gone on to the Lord was well loved. One of the comments was "she's singing for Jesus right now" or something similar. At any rate, one young woman with us asked us how we knew that. After talking with her, basicly explaining the gospel to her, she stated that she didn't understand.

That comment has stuck in my mind since that day and have seen others as well, that don't understand. I worry over these people, but I feel that God has made provisions for them.
I guess my confusion comes from Paul writing "for those who are perishing" because I think "there are those who are not perishing". My concern is over the later group. What puts them in that group? Would it be that they don't understand what they are hearing?
Thank you for sharing.
Rita

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Permalink Reply by Ron Payne on December 12, 2008 at 8:26am

One can witness to the unsaved (those that are perishing) with absolute clarity and not be understood. Simply because the listeners do not wish to listen to what is being said. One simple sentence: "You must confess your sins" could immediately close their minds to the rest of what is being said.

When the gospel is being preached, the listeners weigh up the cost of being a Christian against what their present life style is offering them. Sadly it all boils down to morality.

The atheist looks at all of Christianity's "thou shalt nots" - "homosexuality is bad" - "divorce is bad" - "adultery is terrible" - "premarital sex is bad" - and then looks at his own life and says: "If these things are really bad, then I'm a bad guy. BUT I'm not a bad guy; I'm a great guy. I must therefor abolish all of these accusatory teachings that are putting me in a bad light."

How does one do that? You either reject Christianity outright or another way is "Liberal Christianity". You simply reinterpret Christian teachings as if they don't really mean what they say.
Aldous Huxley, candidly admitted that he and his contemporaries rejected theism, because it interfered with (their) sexual freedom. Christen Hitchens's atheism seems likewise inspired by a desire for sexual freedom: "The human species is designed to experiment with sex" he contends in his book "God is not great, later alleging that science has proved that inhibited sex makes us dysfunctional.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ for salvation is the most simplistic method created by God. Therefore man is without excuse. God purposely made it so simple in order to leave us without an excuse, when we say: "I could not understand what was being said."

But what does scripture say?

"By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can't see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being. So nobody has a good excuse.
What happened was this: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn't treat him like God, refusing to worship him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives."
Romans 1:20-21 (MSG translation)

Ron

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Permalink Reply by Carla on December 12, 2008 at 11:37am

Hi Rita,

For the sake of Clarity I'm going to post the scripture here...but I think that verses 11 and 12 must also be posted for clarity...

2Th 2:9 This evil man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles.
2Th 2:10 He will use every kind of wicked deception to fool those who are on their way to destruction because they refuse to believe the truth that would save them.
2Th 2:11 So God will send great deception upon them, and they will believe all these lies.
2Th 2:12 Then they will be condemned for not believing the truth and for enjoying the evil they do.

I have underlined this: because they refuse to believe the truth that would save them because that is key. God has given each of us a free will. God also looks at our hearts.

God hates evil, and He promises to punish it. God does not entice anyone to become evil. Those committed to evil however, may be used by God to sin even more in order to hasten their deserved judgement (see Exodus 11:10 (Pharaoh) ...). We don't need to understand every detail of how God works in order to have perfect confidence in His Absolute Power over evil and His total goodness towards us.

also...2 Corinthians 3:7-18--refers to the Glory of the New Covenant.
14 says:But the people's minds were hardened....verse 16 says:But whenever someone turns to the Lord the veil is taken away...

2 Corinthians 4:3-4
If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden from only those who are perishing. satan, who is god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don't believe. They are unable to see the Glorious Light of the Good News. They don't understand this message about the Glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.

I do not believe it depends on whether the Gospel is preached with Clarity or not. Someone else's Salvation is not up to us. It is between them and God.

God's Word says this:
John 6:44 (NIV)
“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.

However, if we are being led by the Holy Spirit to preach with absolute Clarity to a soul who is ready to hear the message, because the Holy Spirit has drawn them in....then we may be Blessed to witness a true miracle...New Birth in Christ.

Blessings in Christ, Carla

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Permalink Reply by Craig on October 8, 2009 at 3:40pm

This might be a bit off topic, but whenever we witness to the lost, we must pray first and pray a lot afterward as well. Why? Because the Bible and the Gospel message is foolishness to those who are perishing. Its spiritually discerned. One cannot truly understand the Scriptures without the help of the Holy Spirit. This is why we absolutely must pray when witnessing that the holy Spirit will open the hearts, minds and spiritual eyes of the unsaved.

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