Why Would Anyone Reject the Gospel?

[serpentdove]

[Why Would Anyone Reject the Gospel? Proclaiming the Gospel Ministries] "It is the greatest news that any convicted sinner could ever hear! A full pardon for sin is offered by a holy and righteous God who cannot let sins go unpunished (Ex. 34:7). The pardon is offered because of a love story, written in blood, on a wooden cross, 2000 years ago. It is free because the Lord Jesus Christ cancelled the eternal debt to satisfy divine justice for His people. He paid a debt He did not owe because we had a debt we could not pay. Forgiveness is a free gift of God's grace to those who repent and believe the Gospel.

At the moment of conversion, repenting sinners are forgiven and acquitted (Col 2:13). They are justified and saved from the terrifying wrath of our Holy God (Rom 5:9). They are made spiritually alive in Christ (Eph 2:5) and empowered by the Spirit (Rom 8:11-13) to live a victorious life over the power of sin (Rom. 6:17-18). By abiding in God's Word, they have come to know the truth which has set them free from religious bondage and deception (John 8:31-32). Their eternal inheritance is reserved in heaven and kept by the power of God (1 Pet. 1:3-5). To all who receive Him, to those who believe in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, citizens of heaven and co-heirs with Christ (John 1:12; Phil. 3:20; Rom. 8:17; Gal. 4:5). They will spend eternity in God's presence praising Him for His grace and mercy!

Those who reject the greatest gift anyone could ever receive will remain spiritually dead in sin (Eph 2:1) and condemned to eternal punishment (2 Pet 2:9) where they will suffer torments of hell's fire (Rev 14:11) and God's righteous wrath (Col 3:6). They will remain a child of the devil (1 Jn 3:10), hopeless and helpless (Rom 5:8), in bondage to sin (Rom 6:20) and separated God (Eph. 2:12). Those who are born only once are destined to die twice (Rev 20:14) and experience eternal, everlasting humiliation and shame (Jer 23:40)." Pro-Gospel.org

 

[Epoisses]

Repenting sinners are forgiven and acquitted and made spiritually alive before conversion. Conversion is the moment we take possession of the house that has already been bought, built and furnished by the Lord of Glory.

 

[chair]

Those of us who do not accept your holy books and your myths do not see any reason to even consider your "gospel", let alone reject it.
Why do you reject Muhammad?

 

[Epoisses]

Those of us who do not accept your holy books and your myths do not see any reason to even consider your "gospel", let alone reject it.
Why do you reject Muhammad?

The fact that the gospel is perverted in a thousand different ways should tell you the real one is at the bottom of the dung pile. You have to dig thru the filth to find it.

 

[Prizebeatz1]

I think people reject the conventional gospel because their instincts tell them it's not literal. They might not know what it supposed to mean but they know it's not the traditional popular translation. There seems to be this attitude that there is only one right view but the cost is the exclusion of any possible deeper or higher meanings than what appears on the surface. And wouldn't it be strange if the bible were the only divinely inspired book in the history of mankind?

It seems the personality is very good at restricting, limiting, diminishing, reducing and boxing in the truth in a bottle. It wants to concretize this piece of the truth and glorify and praise it proclaiming it is the one and only. This gives it a platform, an agenda, a position it can use to attack and defend. It can use it as a foundation, a structure, an identity, a thought, a belief, something....anything to hold onto to keep it alive but true life is found in letting go of all this. Notice the underlying motive is control. One symptom is it's tendency to draw up an idea of who and what it thinks God should be. It unconsciously creates a god with human form and figure instead of accepting the reality of what is infinite and eternal. The effects have been disastrous.

 

[Crucible]

If Christianity was about a god who was pleased with people doing whatever they wanted, there would be a whole lot more Christians.

Unfortunately for them, they are their own god, limited by their own futile existence.

 

[WonderfulLordJesus]

The answer is in scripture, nothing mysterious, at least to the believer. First and foremost, people love their sin more than God, which includes their inflated egos, their pride of life, believing themselves wise in their own eyes. Unrepentant sinners, who love darkness, avoid the light:

John 3

18 "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."

Repentance, of course, takes humility before God. Vain man doesn't like to admit he's, actually, more like a worm, relative to Almighty, Holy God. Those full of self are unable to even conceive of dying to self. Then, importantly, there's the structure of the gospel itself, how God uses what vain man considers foolishness to save, the gospel foolishness to the unrepentant, which is what God intends, to confound the unrepentant wicked:

1 Corinthians 1

18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
19 For it is written: " I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent."
20 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.
22 For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom;
23 but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness,
24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

In essence, thinking themselves wise they are, actually, fools in their vanity, who stumble at the wisdom of God, the gospel He has structured such that only the repentant and those seeking God, His righteousness, that only those who believe in the Lord can find. Otherwise, the gospel is meant to be foolishness to those who are perishing in their vanity: hearing they don't hear, seeing they don't see, because they refuse to come to the Lord Jesus on His terms, to the foot of the cross as a lost sinner, first and foremost.

It's really as simple as that. The things of God are spitually discerned, impossible for the unbelieving, spiritually dead to understand, who are willingly of and in their sin. You could argue with such a person all day long, and they will only respond, blind as a bat to understanding anything you're saying.

In fact, so many message board conversations are nowhere and going nowhere, if there's an unsaved person at the other end. It's also foolish to expect somebody, without the Holy Spirit, to understand the things of the Spirit. Either a person repents and believes the simple gospel of Jesus Christ, or you may as well move on, as the deeper things of God are not going to register. Matthew 7:6.

 

[Ben Masada]

I think people reject the conventional gospel because their instincts tell them it's not literal. They might not know what it supposed to mean but they know it's not the traditional popular translation. There seems to be this attitude that there is only one right view but the cost is the exclusion of any possible deeper or higher meanings than what appears on the surface. And wouldn't it be strange if the bible were the only divinely inspired book in the history of mankind?

It seems the personality is very good at restricting, limiting, diminishing, reducing and boxing in the truth in a bottle. It wants to concretize this piece of the truth and glorify and praise it proclaiming it is the one and only. This gives it a platform, an agenda, a position it can use to attack and defend. It can use it as a foundation, a structure, an identity, a thought, a belief, something....anything to hold onto to keep it alive but true life is found in letting go of all this. Notice the underlying motive is control. One symptom is it's tendency to draw up an idea of who and what it thinks God should be. It unconsciously creates a god with human form and figure instead of accepting the reality of what is infinite and eternal. The effects have been disastrous.

In my case, I reject the Christian gospel because it is the gospel of Paul and not the gospel of Jesus, which was Judaism and whose Bible was the Tanach. If any of you denies my assertion, it is because you don't believe Jesus was a Jew.

 

[Ben Masada]

John 3:
18 "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

The name of the only begotten son of God is "Israel". Said the Lord: "Israel is My firstborn son; let My son go that he may serve Me." That's reported in Exodus 4:22,23.

 

[Prizebeatz1]

In my case, I reject the Christian gospel because it is the gospel of Paul and not the gospel of Jesus, which was Judaism and whose Bible was the Tanach. If any of you denies my assertion, it is because you don't believe Jesus was a Jew.

Hi-five on that one. I think the real gospel message has been downplayed to favor Paul's interpretation. Dying for your sins was not an essential ingredient Jesus' message so why would Paul's version of the resurrected Christ have a different message than the original?

 

[Ben Masada]

Hi-five on that one. I think the real gospel message has been downplayed to favor Paul's interpretation. Dying for your sins was not an essential ingredient Jesus' message so why would Paul's version of the resurrected Christ have a different message than the original?

Because Paul was a Hellenist from birth and, bodily resurrection was an item in the Hellenist religion. Then, if you read II Timothy 2:8, Paul was the one who fabricated the idea of Jesus' resurrection.

 

[Prizebeatz1]

Because Paul was a Hellenist from birth and, bodily resurrection was an item in the Hellenist religion.

And sacrifice was very important for the Jews. It was also a popular belief that a man could become a god as they placed this title on emperors.

 

[Epoisses]

In my case, I reject the Christian gospel because it is the gospel of Paul and not the gospel of Jesus, which was Judaism and whose Bible was the Tanach. If any of you denies my assertion, it is because you don't believe Jesus was a Jew.

Jesus and Paul were in complete harmony.

Both preached the gospel - check!

Both preached faith - check!

Both preached the love of God - check!

Both taught that Jews and Gentiles are bound by the Spirit of the law - check!

Both taught the worthlessness of trusting in the letter of the law - check!

 

[Prizebeatz1]

Jesus and Paul were in complete harmony.

Both preached the gospel - check!

Both preached faith - check!

Both preached the love of God - check!

Both taught that Jews and Gentiles are bound by the Spirit of the law - check!

Both taught the worthlessness of trusting in the letter of the law - check!

While there are similarities, I think there is one big difference. Did they both preach that he died for our sins? Why do we find Jesus only mentioning this briefly in but 2 of the 4 gospels if it was so important? Why do we suppose Jesus only uttered one or 2 sentences about it? And why would what little he did say about it be so vague that it depends on how one interprets it? Dying as a ransom for many does not equate to dying for our sins IMO. This is fragile ice to me. What are your thoughts?

 

[Silent Hunter]

The fact that the gospel is perverted in a thousand different ways should tell you the real one is at the bottom of the dung pile. You have to dig thru the filth to find it.

I've flipped over a fair number of cow pies in my time. The only thing I ever found on the bottom was the underside of a cow pie.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

 

[Ben Masada]

Jesus and Paul were in complete harmony.

Both preached the gospel - check!

Both preached faith - check!

Both preached the love of God - check!

Both taught that Jews and Gentiles are bound by the Spirit of the law - check!

Both taught the worthlessness of trusting in the letter of the law - check!

Take a look at this:

1 - According to the gospel of Jesus, Israel was the son of God. "Israel is my son; let My son go that he may serve Me." (Exodus 4:22,23)

2 - According to the gospel of Paul Jesus was the son of God. (Acts 9:20)

3 - According to Epoisses, Jesus and Paul were in complete harmony. Does any one here know what "Complete Harmony" is? I am confused after this one.

 

[Ben Masada]

And sacrifice was very important for the Jews. It was also a popular belief that a man could become a god as they placed this title on emperors.

Yes, but until we came to the understanding that the sacrifices had become the main reason for most of our problems with HaShem. Only now we know that HaShem never commanded that sacrifices be part of the religion of Israel.(Jeremiah 7:22)

Regarding the popular belief you mention above, you might be right because Jesus' disciples placed the title of King of the Jews upon him at the entrance of Jerusalem and the game ended up with Jesus on the cross. (Luke 19:37-40) It didn't help though because the other version of the story that the Jewish authorities had forced Pilate to crucify Jesus enhanced much more the Pauline policy of Replacement Theology.

 

[jamie]

Yes, but until we came to the understanding that the sacrifices had become the main reason for most of our problems with HaShem. Only now we know that HaShem never commanded that sacrifices be part of the religion of Israel.(Jeremiah 7:22)

True, the instructions regarding sacrifices did not occur until Mt. Sinai. Israel did not reach Mt. Sinai on the day they came out of Egypt.

Good point, Ben.

 

[Ben Masada]

True, the instructions regarding sacrifices did not occur until Mt. Sinai. Israel did not reach Mt. Sinai on the day they came out of Egypt.

Good point, Ben.

Good understanding Jamie!

 

[Elia]

[Why Would Anyone Reject the Gospel?

Bs"d

Because it is based on lies and deceit.

"O Y-H-W-H, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come to You from the ends of the earth and say, 'Surely our fathers have inherited lies, worthlessness and unprofitable things.' Will a man make gods for himself, which are not gods?"
Jeremiah 16:19