| Poster | Thread | BranchinVINE
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Joined: 2016/6/15
Posts: 1268
Australia
| | Hell | |
Quote:
"And what is wrong with the old method of scaring the ungodly with
a sermon on hell?" - Vance Havner
Buddhism also teaches hell (naraka) which is fearfully and graphically presented.
My Question:
If the fear of hell is the driving force, why would a person become a Christian and not a Buddhist to escape hell?
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Jade
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|  2021/10/22 21:28 | Profile | sermonindex
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Joined: 2002/12/11
Posts: 39795
Canada
Online! | | Re: Hell | | brother,
The reason for any main religions to show a belief in a higher power and hell as a punishment for wrong doing is that God has put a conscience in the heart of every man and woman. It is self-evident that there is a God (creator) and that sin (wrongdoing is bad and deserves punishment). This is the reason for laws in every society no matter how pagan and punishments for what is wrong.
All religions start from Cain who modified the true religion of Abel. All deviate from what is true.
Buddism as well as Hinduism and all other religions have "some" truth in them but are deviations from the actual truth of God. (True religion from above). Religion from below is man-made and modifying the heavenly sent belief.
All men and women know there is a need for justification before God in some sense. They all yearn for this and are scared of death and punishment for sin.
To directly answer your question why would a person become a Christian and not a Buddhist to escape hell, is quite simple. Nothing in Buddism truly will help a person escape death and hell. Only Christianity will. Jesus Christ rose from the dead, trampling death with death. His resurrection shows He is the only one that has triumphed over death and the grave and gives us hope of resurrection.
The Son of God manifested in this world is the only true hope and saving way. This is the Gospel of God, the good news that death has been defeated, Christ is risen, Hallelujah! Our sin debt has been paid.
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SI Moderator - Greg Gordon
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| | 2021/10/23 4:52 | Profile | BranchinVINE
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Joined: 2016/6/15
Posts: 1268
Australia
| | Re: | |
brother Greg,
Quote:
Nothing in Buddism truly will help a person escape death and hell. Only Christianity will. Jesus Christ rose from the dead, trampling death with death. His resurrection shows He is the only one that has triumphed over death and the grave and gives us hope of resurrection.
The Son of God manifested in this world is the only true hope and saving way. This is the Gospel of God, the good news that death has been defeated, Christ is risen, Hallelujah! Our sin debt has been paid.
Amen.
The answer is GRACE. The difference is the GRACE of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The bad news is that nothing good dwells in anyone. No one can truly do good because the principle of evil is in everyone who wants to do good.
All our self-righteous deeds are like a filthy garment to God (Isa. 64:6).
The Gospel we preach is the GOOD NEWS of GRACE.
Quote:
"And what is wrong with the old method of scaring the ungodly with a sermon on hell?" - Vance Havner
This:
Quote:
All men and women know there is a need for justification before God in some sense. They all yearn for this and are scared of death and punishment for sin.
Surely we are not commissioned to bring bad news to further scare scared people.
Good News (Gospel) give scared people comfort and hope!
Isa. 40:1 –
“Comfort, comfort My people,” says your God.
Isa. 49:13 –
Shout for joy, O heavens!
And rejoice, O earth!
Break forth into joyful shouting, O mountains!
For the LORD has comforted His people
And will have compassion on His afflicted.
Isa. 49:10 –
They will not hunger or thirst,
Nor will the scorching heat or sun strike them down;
For He who has compassion on them will lead them
And will guide them to springs of water.
Rom. 10:12-13 –
……… the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him;
for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”
This is the GOOD NEWS (Gospel) from God!
Blessings
_________________
Jade
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| | 2021/10/23 8:36 | Profile | sermonindex
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Joined: 2002/12/11
Posts: 39795
Canada
Online! | | Re: | | Quote:
Surely we are not commissioned to bring bad news to further scare scared people.
Jesus scared people. He preached more on hell than heaven. He would warn people religious or non-religious (all of us in humanity are actually religious in one way or another).
Of course the message of the Gospel is Good News (Glad tidings of great joy). The Gospel is to be received as the remedy and cure to our ailments of sin. If we believe we are not in sin or death does not lead to hell then we have a fundamental problem of being lawless.
As the Scripture says the Law is good for those who need to understand there is a rule and there are consequences to breaking of the law.
The gospel is not good news unless there is bad news first.
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SI Moderator - Greg Gordon
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| | 2021/10/23 11:46 | Profile | TMK
Member
Joined: 2012/2/8
Posts: 6650
NC, USA
| | Re: | | Obedience arising from fear of punishment is always begrudged obedience.
If we do not love the King, whatever begrudged obedience we may render is a sham. It is not salvation.
_________________
Todd
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| | 2021/10/23 21:44 | Profile | deogloria
Member
Joined: 2020/2/12
Posts: 393
| | Re: | | "And what is wrong with the old method of scaring the ungodly with a sermon on hell?"
We shouldn't use "methods" we should preach from the Word of God and the full council of God.
"Buddhism also teaches hell..." But that is a false religion and what they are teaching is completely irrelevant. We need to compare Scripture with Scripture.
For the Apostle Paul the Gospel was all that mattered, he preached Christ. |
| | 2021/10/23 23:20 | Profile | BranchinVINE
Member
Joined: 2016/6/15
Posts: 1268
Australia
| | Re: | |
brother Greg,
Quote:
Jesus scared people.
But how can anyone be scared of a loving and compassionate Saviour who healed the sick, changed water into wine, fed the hungry, calmed the storm and died to save us?
The words of Jesus were words of kindness, words of hope, words of life.
Luke 4:18-19 –
“The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”
Matt. 11:28 –
“Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
John 10:10 –
The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].
There was no fear. There was hope.
Mark 5:27-28 –
When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.”
Quote:
He preached more on hell than heaven.
How can this be when the Lord Jesus opened heaven that had been closed to us?
Gen. 3:24 –
So He drove out the man and stationed cherubim on the east side of the Garden of Eden, along with a whirling sword of flame to guard the way to the tree of life.
John 1:51 –
And He said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
Quote:
The gospel is not good news unless there is bad news first.
Of course.
The bad news is already known in the million tears and endless sorrow and meaningless lives of people everywhere in the world.
The bad news already fills every page of the tragic history of mankind
What value is there in giving a starving man stone when he needs bread?
Scaring the ungodly with a sermon on hell changes nothing.
Faith comes by hearing the word of Christ (Rom. 10:17)!
Only the feet of those that bring good news of good things are beautiful (Rom. 10:15)!
Blessings
_________________
Jade
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| | 2021/10/24 8:23 | Profile | BranchinVINE
Member
Joined: 2016/6/15
Posts: 1268
Australia
| | Re: | |
Hi Markus,
How would you persuade a Buddhist that his beliefs are false?
These are some Buddhist beliefs:
THE EIGHTFOLD PATH
1. Right understanding and viewpoint (based on the Four Noble Truths).
2. Right values and attitude (compassion rather than selfishness).
3. Right speech (don't tell lies, avoid harsh, abusive speech, avoid gossip).
4. Right action (help others, live honestly, don't harm living things, take care of the environment).
5. Right work (do something useful, avoid jobs which harm others).
6. Right effort (encourage good, helpful thoughts, discourage unwholesome destructive thoughts).
7. Right mindfulness (be aware of what you feel, think and do).
8. Right meditation (calm mind, practice meditation which leads to nirvana).
Blessings
_________________
Jade
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| | 2021/10/24 8:36 | Profile | sermonindex
Moderator
Joined: 2002/12/11
Posts: 39795
Canada
Online! | | Re: | | Quote:
The bad news is already known in the million tears and endless sorrow and meaningless lives of people everywhere in the world.
The bad news already fills every page of the tragic history of mankind
Sister,
The bad news is worse then this, its an never-ending hell of punishment for those who choose to rebel against God's ways. The worst in this life multiplied by 1 million still does not even touch the true horror and sadness of hell.
In our western cultures people don't believe there are consequences for their evil behaviour anymore. Even pagan nations have more of a fear of "god" or punishment for wrong doing.
People need to again realize that God is yes, love and compassion, but also Holy and there is punishment for our sins.
Jesus said it would be better someone was not born then go to hell.
I personally came to a knowledge of Jesus Christ through a period of time understanding my sin was not against others only but against God Himself and deserved eternal punishment. While in that place of considering this the love of God poured out upon me and I became born again.
The verse Romans 5:8 meant a lot to me when I realized my sins deserved eternal separation from God:
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
The good news is only good news because it saves men from the bad news. Our sins are the sickness that we need to be healed from. Christ came with the true vaccine (the one that actually works).
_________________
SI Moderator - Greg Gordon
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| | 2021/10/24 8:43 | Profile | sermonindex
Moderator
Joined: 2002/12/11
Posts: 39795
Canada
Online! | | Re: | | Quote:
THE EIGHTFOLD PATH
1. Right understanding and viewpoint (based on the Four Noble Truths).
2. Right values and attitude (compassion rather than selfishness).
3. Right speech (don't tell lies, avoid harsh, abusive speech, avoid gossip).
4. Right action (help others, live honestly, don't harm living things, take care of the environment).
5. Right work (do something useful, avoid jobs which harm others).
6. Right effort (encourage good, helpful thoughts, discourage unwholesome destructive thoughts).
7. Right mindfulness (be aware of what you feel, think and do).
8. Right meditation (calm mind, practice meditation which leads to nirvana).
All these things in themselves are good and Christians practice all of these things within our context of belief. My argument would be that Buddhist look good on the outside but really do not get very far with subduing their flesh by the flesh. Meaning by their own efforts they an pretty up their flesh to seem to act holy but in the end they all struggle inwardly with compromise, hypocrisy and sin.
All these things also practiced will never truly "justify" them, death will swallow them up there is no escaping it. Only through the risen Christ can we overcome death and sin.
_________________
SI Moderator - Greg Gordon
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| | 2021/10/24 8:46 | Profile |
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