....only when the theater is on fire.
I have friends who say that it offends them when Christians talk about their faith. It offends them when Christians say that Jesus Christ is the only true religion, that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven.
They say “Don’t try to force your beliefs on me!”
I’m not trying to say that it is ok to be rude or forceful of confrontational. I try very hard not to be that way at all. I find, however, that most people put up such a stone wall at the very hint of a conversation about Jesus, that there is little danger of getting to the point of being overly forceful or rude even if I wanted to.
So what about it? Is it rude for a Christian to talk openly about his faith? Worse yet to try to convince someone who rejects the claims of Christ that Jesus is the only way to know God and the blessing he has for those who follow Him in this life and the one to come?
Well if we are all wrong about Jesus, then yes it is is rude. The Bible itself even says so in 1 Corinthians Chapter 15 verse 17-19.
And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
What Paul is saying is that if Jesus Christ was not crucified on the cross for our sins, then resurrected from the dead, then we are to be pitied if we continue to follow Him. It would logically follow that we would deserve to be despised if we also tried to convince others to follow Christ with us under those circumstances.
If the claims of Christ death on the cross and later resurrection are not true, if Christ is not the son of the one true God, then we are like someone crying FIRE FIRE in a crowded theater that is not on fire.
If it is all true about Jesus and we say nothing, then we are like a man who knows that the theater is on fire, but slips out the back exit without warning anyone.
One thing I know for absolute certainty. If Jesus is who He said He is, the consequences for you to reject Him are very severe and I have a responsibility to tell you what I know to be true about Jesus Christ, even if you want to ignore me or revile me so that you can sit in the dark and watch life go by like a bad “B” movie.
UPDATE (10.20.06)
Response to Steven's comment:
Wow! You are one angry Catholic. Because your comment addresses so many issues not even brought up in my post, it appears to be an excuse to go on an anti-protestant rant.