If We Fail to witness, will their blood be on "our heads?"

[Arbo]

I do not know the answer to the question posed in the OP, but I do think (I know of no Scripture to back it up) that there are times that the answer may be yes.

About twenty years ago I felt a compelling, undeniable conviction that I needed to speak about my faith with a friend of mine. Soon. I spent an evening with him, discussing the spiritual and eternal.

Within a year he died in a plane crash.

I don't know for certain his spiritual state, though I have my suspicions. I do know that had I not obeyed the prompting I had, I would have some form of guilt.

 

[seekingthetruth]

I do not know the answer to the question posed in the OP, but I do think (I know of no Scripture to back it up) that there are times that the answer may be yes.

About twenty years ago I felt a compelling, undeniable conviction that I needed to speak about my faith with a friend of mine. Soon. I spent an evening with him, discussing the spiritual and eternal.

Within a year he died in a plane crash.

I don't know for certain his spiritual state, though I have my suspicions. I do know that had I not obeyed the prompting I had, I would have some form of guilt.

Arbo, I think your post here is the closet I have seen to my actual beliefs.

Too many times, Christians try to witness to people whose hearts have not been opened to the gospel by the HS. In those cases alot of damage can be done to the person's future conversion, by driving them further away instead of closer to God.

I believe our true witness is in how we live our lives and how we represent the gospel by our actions...not our words. Most ogf the times that I was able to help lead a person to the Lord was when they came to me and asked about my life, and what was different about me.

If our lives are a good witness for God, then God will lead us to oppurtunities to give verbal witness to the gospel.

And if we reserve our verbal witness for the ones that the HS has opened up to recieve it, then we will be much more effective in our witnessing.

I am not saying that we should not preach out of season, as well as in season, I am just saying that trying to convict a unwilling person's heart is wrong because that is the job of the HS.

The HS will compel us when the time is right.

John

 

[fortytworc]

Arbo, I think your post here is the closet I have seen to my actual beliefs.

Too many times, Christians try to witness to people whose hearts have not been opened to the gospel by the HS. In those cases alot of damage can be done to the person's future conversion, by driving them further away instead of closer to God.

I believe our true witness is in how we live our lives and how we represent the gospel by our actions...not our words. Most ogf the times that I was able to help lead a person to the Lord was when they came to me and asked about my life, and what was different about me.

If our lives are a good witness for God, then God will lead us to oppurtunities to give verbal witness to the gospel.

And if we reserve our verbal witness for the ones that the HS has opened up to recieve it, then we will be much more effective in our witnessing.

I am not saying that we should not preach out of season, as well as in season, I am just saying that trying to convict a unwilling person's heart is wrong because that is the job of the HS.

The HS will compel us when the time is right.

John

Definitely agree! We are responsible to do what the Holy Spirit leads us to do. The hearts of people are out of our reach, and are too much for us to tackle. (I would say here that parents need to ponder this.) You are Not the holy Spirit.

If I'm responsible for someone going to hell because I didn't witness to them, do I get to take credit for their salvation if I witness and they believe?

If either of these are true of you I want to make sure to treat you Very nicely, Friend.

If my neighbor is predestined for heaven, and is one of God's elect.....but he has not repented yet.....and I dont witness to him, will God revoke his election?

If he is truly predestined and elect, then wont he go to heaven whether i witness to him or not?

And if this is true, then what blood can be on anybody's hands?

Isnt the OP a useless question for Calvinists?

Just asking

John

If every OP has to be relevant to a Calvinist Most of us need to go to some other place!(This is said in jest, just in case it was taken seriously.)

I do not know the answer to the question posed in the OP, but I do think (I know of no Scripture to back it up) that there are times that the answer may be yes.

About twenty years ago I felt a compelling, undeniable conviction that I needed to speak about my faith with a friend of mine. Soon. I spent an evening with him, discussing the spiritual and eternal.

Within a year he died in a plane crash.

I don't know for certain his spiritual state, though I have my suspicions. I do know that had I not obeyed the prompting I had, I would have some form of guilt.

You did what Jesus said He did. He said and did what He heard and saw the Father doing. Nice post. Good questions. Good discussion. All done respectfully.

 

[freeatlast]

For question #1 - Define 'witness', if you mean to share our faith at all times.. then yes.
Now, if you would, define what you mean by 'every person we meet'.
And lastly one other question, IF in 'witnessing' you mean 'sharing our faith' please define for me what YOU mean when you speak of sharing your faith. (ie.. gospel message, our life in Christ, ect..)

For question #2 - What consequences do you presume believers will have to deal with regarding willful disobedience to God's commands (discipleship, going and telling the gospel message, prayer and fasting, ect..). I simply ask question in answer to your question because of the way you posed your question.

Witness;
warn another about the judgement and how to excape it

Question
2;
All dsiobediance is willfull and the consequences are here and now depending on what the disobediance is.

 

[seekingthetruth]

If every OP has to be relevant to a Calvinist Most of us need to go to some other place!(This is said in jest, just in case it was taken seriousl

The OP was posted by a Calvinist, which makes me wonder if he was serious or not.

On the one hand he says that man is totally depraved and that salvation is totally up to God's discretion, and on the other hand he starts a thread about people being held responsible for the salvation of others in that if we dont witness to them and they die lost, then their blood is on our hands.

So my question to JesusFan is.....how can this be?

It appears to me that if man is totally depraved, and and an individual dies lost, then it is because God did not grant that person saving Grace. Therefore by your own logic, the lost person's blood is on God's hands.

If I cant seek God on my own, then how can I convince my neighbor to seek God? And why would his damnation be my responsibility?

John

 

[fortytworc]

The OP was posted by a Calvinist, which makes me wonder if he was serious or not.

If I say something , I say something.You can ask me if you want, rather than putting toward some 3rd party that I may be a liar. Totally unnecessary!!!

On the one hand he says that man is totally depraved and that salvation is totally up to God's discretion, and on the other hand he starts a thread about people being held responsible for the salvation of others in that if we dont witness to them and they die lost, then their blood is on our hands.

So my question to JesusFan is.....how can this be?

It appears to me that if man is totally depraved, and and an individual dies lost, then it is because God did not grant that person saving Grace. Therefore by your own logic, the lost person's blood is on God's hands.

If I cant seek God on my own, then how can I convince my neighbor to seek God? And why would his damnation be my responsibility?

John

Seekingthetruth
If I say something , I say something.You can ask me if you want, rather than putting toward some 3rd party that I may be a liar. Totally unnecessary!!!

 

[seekingthetruth]

Seekingthetruth
If I say something , I say something.You can ask me if you want, rather than putting toward some 3rd party that I may be a liar. Totally unnecessary!!!

I was in no way insinuating you were a liar, goodness no!!!

I was simply explaining why I questioned the reasoning of a Calvinist putting the responsibility of salvation of others on my haed.

It is JesusFan's OP that I question, not you. You simply asked how this got turned into a Cal/non-Cal issues, and I was explaining.

I still say that the OP makes no sense from a Cal point of view, and since the poster is a Cal, it makes me wonder what his intentions are here. But I meant no disrespect toward you.

John

 

[fortytworc]

I was in no way insinuating you were a liar, goodness no!!!

I was simply explaining why I questioned the reasoning of a Calvinist putting the responsibility of salvation of others on my haed.

It is JesusFan's OP that I question, not you. You simply asked how this got turned into a Cal/non-Cal issues, and I was explaining.

I still say that the OP makes no sense from a Cal point of view, and since the poster is a Cal, it makes me wonder what his intentions are here. But I meant no disrespect toward you.

John

My apologies. Me thinks I jumbled the posts somehow. Thank you for your patience with me in this matter.

 

[Yeshua1]

The OP was posted by a Calvinist, which makes me wonder if he was serious or not.

On the one hand he says that man is totally depraved and that salvation is totally up to God's discretion, and on the other hand he starts a thread about people being held responsible for the salvation of others in that if we dont witness to them and they die lost, then their blood is on our hands.

So my question to JesusFan is.....how can this be?

It appears to me that if man is totally depraved, and and an individual dies lost, then it is because God did not grant that person saving Grace. Therefore by your own logic, the lost person's blood is on God's hands.

If I cant seek God on my own, then how can I convince my neighbor to seek God? And why would his damnation be my responsibility?

John

God would still see me accountibile to Him for failing to witness/share christ with others,
since even we calvinists would see that while the lord knows who are his own, still MUST be a witness to all that we meet, as God knows that fact, but we do not!

Just because God does the final choicing, we still MUST take the message to the world, and to share with those He brings in our way!

A person at work passed away from heart attack just last week, and still have anxiety to know if I lived before him as I should have, if I missed opportunities to share with him!

some high cals might feel that since God saves His elect regardless, that they do not feel the complusion/need to be witnesses, but I do not share that, as still feel that I can do better to live for jesus and try to witness better, to have more boldness!