Which is more effective, to make Christ ‘attractive’?
‘You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar’,
So the adage goes about positive persuasion,
Avoiding harsh words and a negative demeanor.
Does that also work in winning souls for salvation??
Convincing people of Christ’s immeasurable Love for them,
Is a form of positive persuasion, undoubtedly,
With incredible results in this Age of Grace from Him.
But what about His role as Ultimate Judge, dreadfully? 1
Across all religions, people may know ‘God is Love’,
But not all equate God with the man, Jesus,
Nor agree that He is ‘One in a three-fingered glove’. 2
For many, ‘God plurality’ …is bogus!
Most Christians also know ‘God is Love’.
Thus, irrespective of one’s ‘backslidden condition’,
And because we are ‘The Lord’s beloved’,
Some strongly embrace the ‘once saved, always saved’ notion. 3
Is winning souls based on God’s love for all,
And not teaching them about His role as Ultimate Judge,
Or that from His Grace, backsliders may fall,
Enough to help ensure their love for Him will never stall??
Whatever happened to ‘teaching the whole counsel of God’?
Not avoiding…
--His strategic use of judgments on sinfulness,
--His four tactical instruments to achieve ends He lauds, 4
--His past, current and future judgment promises??
Ponder the consequences of a ‘one-sided view’ of God:
--Inability to connect-His-dots to issues of life,
--Loss of respectful fear for Him by Whom most of us were awed,
--Weak or no comprehension of His plans for our afterlife.
Could Paul’s warning of a major ‘falling away’ from the faith,
Be today’s fruits of past seeds planted of this one-sided view??
What role might it play in us biting devils ‘backsliding bait’?!
Ponder The Lord’s warning about people who
from His mouth He’d spew!! 5
Reflecting on the ‘honey versus vinegar’ question,
I recalled The Lord’s long-term Grace to ancient Israel.
Then I recalled those He called to His ‘prophet profession’.
To both Grace and warnings, most responses were abysmal!!!
As The Lord’s ‘expiration dates’ of Grace drew nearer,
He then intensified His strong ‘vinegar-like’ warnings.
Then when Grace expired, everyone faced their conquerors.
Only small remnants were spared to enjoy …some new mornings. 6
Similarly…
As the great tribulation, the apocalypse, draws near,
The Lord will, once again, repeat this exact pattern!
That time, warnings from angels, ‘all hearing people’ will hear.
Read them here. Love or ‘vinegar’? What do you discern?
Both is what I discern, from their hearts full of love, warnings to preach.
You see, to abuse The Lord’s Grace, we have a proclivity!
So only by (1) loving Grace, (2) warnings, then (3) judgments,
will preaching teach.
I hope you’ll note in my writings and songs, I address these three.
For you who don’t, please come, join me~
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1 See: John 5:18-23
2 No disrespect intended. Religious non-Christians may tend to denigrate the concept of The Trinity. I don’t.
3 Many Bible verses, as well as the history of ancient Israel and Judah, prove the error of this notion, especially Revelation 3:16, in context.
4 See: Jeremiah 9:23-24 (The Lord’s summary strategy in the Earth), then Ezekiel 14:12-23 (His 4 preferred judgment tactics)
5 See: 2 Thessalonians 2:3, in context, and Revelation 3:16.
6 When judgments fall upon 'a land' or 'a people' per Ezekiel 14:12-23, bona fide saints therein are somewhat protected from the worse impacts, but we do suffer collateral damages. The Lord’s Grace comes with ‘un-disclosed expiration dates’ that only sincere repentance can reset or even delete. Otherwise, they apply. NB: To His bona fide saints, The Lord applies corrective chastening. To un-repentant backsliders and sinners, He applies harsh judgments.
