The Religious Crowd is a Problem in Soulwinning
In the area of soulwinning, one has to face the real problem of the religious crowd's members. Why is that? Well Jesus did face the problem of the Pharisees in His earthly ministry. Throughout Matthew, Mark, Luke and John the Pharisees suffered from one HUGE problem called self-righteousness. They thought they were all well and better off than everyone. In fact, the Pharisees while they were openly righteous, they had the huge issue of running a religious system that was far more dangerous than the Roman occupation that was already bad enough for Israel. In some situations, they criticize Jesus accepting lost sinners who were repentant and humbled, coming just as they, fed up with sin and that He would embrace people like Matthew and Zacchaeus. In fact, I believe they were appalled at the idea that the chief of sinners can become a righteous man, a changed man in Christ. Was the issue new? Not at all because in Jeremiah 5:31 it was mentioned that the people were loving the evil system of the priests ruling rules by their means. In fact, these legalists were so dangerous that Jesus had no choice but to be confrontational with them. Sadly, the problem is not over. If there's anything that I believe is really a headache to every fundamentalist preacher is the problem of the religious crowd!
What is the REAL problem of the religious crowd? It's the issue of works salvation and them embracing manmade religion, good works, sacraments, rituals, etc. ad the way to Heaven and not the REAL Way to Heaven which is the Lord Jesus Christ because such a false doctrine appeals to their pride and pride comes before the fall. Pastor John F. Macarthur had quite quoted how the broad way is where people can work in crowds or how works salvation appeals to pride especially in his book "The Jesus You Can't Ignore". For the Pharisee, the narrow way means swallowing one's pride which is very hard for many to do In fact, they find it hard to believe that salvation is reserved for only those who are humble, repentant sinners and that Jesus even said in Matthew 21:31-32 that the harlots and publicans are most likely to get saved before they did. By human standards of "righteousness" the Pharisees would deserve better but not for Jesus. In fact, in the real life it so happened that a licentious porn star saw her sinfulness, counted the cost of following Jesus and had a conversion which changed her from a home-wrecker to a homemaker. But not so much for the religious crowd... they think nothing is wrong with them and they possess more or less the same kind of hypocrisy the Pharisees do. They would in fact scorn at the whole idea at how a slutty woman could reform after conversion, they even insisted that she was hopeless and scorned her right to salvation. They even say, "Wait pastor, you should dine with us!" All I can say is that she's repentant, they are not! That is why I really hate other religions (but not the followers) because their adherence to it is damning them to Hell because they refuse to receive the One, the Lord Jesus Christ, the only One who can save them and I love them enough to tell them Jesus' Gospel and NOT what they think of Jesus' Gospel!
In fact, Jesus drew this example in the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican in Luke 18:9-14. Two men went unto the Temple to pray. The Pharisee voiced out loud his self-righteousness. He was bragging that he was far better than everyone. On the other hand, this tax collector (probably Matthew or Zaccheus) as all he could do was from his heart say, "God be merciful to me a sinner." What was far insulting for the Pharisees was this simple truth, "I tell you that the tax collector and not the Pharisee went home justified." The Pharisees by human standards would be said, "They deserve Heaven. They did all they can." And Jesus told this story to portray the reality of the situation in His day. Perhaps a great attack on legalism was also this in John 8:1-11 which tackles on the reality of Jesus and the adulterous woman. The Pharisees didn't only break the Law concerning death sentences, also they felt they were far better. Also it was a trap. However Jesus full of compassion said, "Let he who had not sinned cast the first stone." Why He did not cast a stone even if He did not sin, it would be a violation of the Law if He did. Remember in an adultery case, it takes two to tango so where was the man? No valid witnesses either! Worse, the Pharisees were accusing her as if they never sinned. Then He went to the woman and said, "Does anybody condemn you?" Then she said, "No man, Lord." The reply was, "Go and sin no more." At that moment, it was the woman caught in adultery and not the Pharisees who received grace. As said, let he who sinned not teach works salvation! The Pharisees were no doubt smoking with anger when Jesus dismissed them as sinful as the publicans and the prostitutes of their day. Indeed they were- in fact they needed Christ like every outcast of society.
I did remember of a pastor who approached a Roman Catholic guy and told him about salvation. He told him that salvation was by grace through faith, that salvation is in receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and trusting in Him 100% in absolute surrender. He then said that if you are still bad, you will still go to Hell which he said he believes in a faith plus works salvation. I told him that if the person so-called "receives" Christ and still is bad, then he wasn't saved to start with. Yet he insisted in a faith plus works doctrine. Then he said, "Look nothing is wrong with me! I am religious. I pray the Rosary daily, I pray my Novenas, I pray..." and the list can go on. Sadly after the man was witnessed to, told of his sinfulness, he just left. There was nothing wrong with how the pastor preached, he wasn't doing a watered down preaching. He preached the need to repent. However the whole problem has to be this- the man hardened his heart against the Gospel. Remember when a seed hits a hard surface, it does not make any root at all! Or perhaps, he had a bedrock or weeds, or a combination. Whatever, the man had his huge problem- PRIDE! Ray Comfort in "True and False Conversion" did mention how pride creates a rocky surface. Try to throw seeds into a rocky area, you'll never see it germinate! The issue is surrendering of one's life to Jesus means recognizing one's depravity, sinfulness and coming to Him. In turn, Christ receives the life of the believer just as it is, cleanses it and removes sin. But they refuse to surrender to Christ because of PRIDE!
What is really even worse for the works salvation crowd is this- they end up sinning all they please and think their rituals can save them. So much for teaching conditional security and yet many of them live like devils! A typical example is how a typical religious guy prays a lot, he attends Mass a lot and after that he lives like he has a license to sin while he unjustly condemns Baptists and Evangelicals of teaching a license to sin. After all, after a typical Roman Catholic does confession and say, "Bless me father for I have sinned, I was caught watching tons of pornography, I had multiple love affairs..." then the priest after hearing all the sins will say, "Just pray 10 Hail Marys and 5 Our Fathers." What happens is, the man does such penance thus "erasing" his sins. But why after confessionals and mass do they return to their sinful lifestyles? Simple- confessionals provide no regeneration for the lost sinner. They simply add sin to sin. In fact, 1 John 1:9 is clear that sins are to be confessed directly to God. 1 Timothy 2:5 is clear that Jesus is the Mediator between God and man, He listens to our confession of sins, He cleanses us from sin and He regenerates the repentant sinner. In fact, the grace of God is even absent (Titus 2:11-15) or the real fact that Isaiah 64:6 is clear that their good works are just rags, in short, just fake disguises. And a closing thought in Romans 10:3 that such people try to establish their OWN righteousness but being ignorant of the righteousness of God. For them it's their own righteousness ignoring this one fact in James 2:10 that NOBODY can keep the whole Law. Man is helpless, desperate and in need of salvation. Romans 3:10-19 just talks of the total depravity of man- that man in his own nature does not want to seek after God.
However soulwinners should not be upset. I used to be part of the religious crowd. I used to sin a lot. In fact, the Apostle Paul used to be a Pharisee, very religious and in fact perhaps he even confessed even the most minutest of sins but he got saved after encountering the Lord Jesus Christ. Some of the most religious hypocrites are now the most daring of Christians. Or think of how Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea were once Pharisees then they became Christians. Or think of how many people gave up their idolatrous faith for the Lord Jesus Christ. Everywhere, where God's righteousness gets imputed into people, lives truly change and quite different from how religiousness just leaves people alone without a Savior from sin. Not so with Christianity- Jesus NOT religion saves people once and for all from their sins!
What is the REAL problem of the religious crowd? It's the issue of works salvation and them embracing manmade religion, good works, sacraments, rituals, etc. ad the way to Heaven and not the REAL Way to Heaven which is the Lord Jesus Christ because such a false doctrine appeals to their pride and pride comes before the fall. Pastor John F. Macarthur had quite quoted how the broad way is where people can work in crowds or how works salvation appeals to pride especially in his book "The Jesus You Can't Ignore". For the Pharisee, the narrow way means swallowing one's pride which is very hard for many to do In fact, they find it hard to believe that salvation is reserved for only those who are humble, repentant sinners and that Jesus even said in Matthew 21:31-32 that the harlots and publicans are most likely to get saved before they did. By human standards of "righteousness" the Pharisees would deserve better but not for Jesus. In fact, in the real life it so happened that a licentious porn star saw her sinfulness, counted the cost of following Jesus and had a conversion which changed her from a home-wrecker to a homemaker. But not so much for the religious crowd... they think nothing is wrong with them and they possess more or less the same kind of hypocrisy the Pharisees do. They would in fact scorn at the whole idea at how a slutty woman could reform after conversion, they even insisted that she was hopeless and scorned her right to salvation. They even say, "Wait pastor, you should dine with us!" All I can say is that she's repentant, they are not! That is why I really hate other religions (but not the followers) because their adherence to it is damning them to Hell because they refuse to receive the One, the Lord Jesus Christ, the only One who can save them and I love them enough to tell them Jesus' Gospel and NOT what they think of Jesus' Gospel!
In fact, Jesus drew this example in the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican in Luke 18:9-14. Two men went unto the Temple to pray. The Pharisee voiced out loud his self-righteousness. He was bragging that he was far better than everyone. On the other hand, this tax collector (probably Matthew or Zaccheus) as all he could do was from his heart say, "God be merciful to me a sinner." What was far insulting for the Pharisees was this simple truth, "I tell you that the tax collector and not the Pharisee went home justified." The Pharisees by human standards would be said, "They deserve Heaven. They did all they can." And Jesus told this story to portray the reality of the situation in His day. Perhaps a great attack on legalism was also this in John 8:1-11 which tackles on the reality of Jesus and the adulterous woman. The Pharisees didn't only break the Law concerning death sentences, also they felt they were far better. Also it was a trap. However Jesus full of compassion said, "Let he who had not sinned cast the first stone." Why He did not cast a stone even if He did not sin, it would be a violation of the Law if He did. Remember in an adultery case, it takes two to tango so where was the man? No valid witnesses either! Worse, the Pharisees were accusing her as if they never sinned. Then He went to the woman and said, "Does anybody condemn you?" Then she said, "No man, Lord." The reply was, "Go and sin no more." At that moment, it was the woman caught in adultery and not the Pharisees who received grace. As said, let he who sinned not teach works salvation! The Pharisees were no doubt smoking with anger when Jesus dismissed them as sinful as the publicans and the prostitutes of their day. Indeed they were- in fact they needed Christ like every outcast of society.
I did remember of a pastor who approached a Roman Catholic guy and told him about salvation. He told him that salvation was by grace through faith, that salvation is in receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and trusting in Him 100% in absolute surrender. He then said that if you are still bad, you will still go to Hell which he said he believes in a faith plus works salvation. I told him that if the person so-called "receives" Christ and still is bad, then he wasn't saved to start with. Yet he insisted in a faith plus works doctrine. Then he said, "Look nothing is wrong with me! I am religious. I pray the Rosary daily, I pray my Novenas, I pray..." and the list can go on. Sadly after the man was witnessed to, told of his sinfulness, he just left. There was nothing wrong with how the pastor preached, he wasn't doing a watered down preaching. He preached the need to repent. However the whole problem has to be this- the man hardened his heart against the Gospel. Remember when a seed hits a hard surface, it does not make any root at all! Or perhaps, he had a bedrock or weeds, or a combination. Whatever, the man had his huge problem- PRIDE! Ray Comfort in "True and False Conversion" did mention how pride creates a rocky surface. Try to throw seeds into a rocky area, you'll never see it germinate! The issue is surrendering of one's life to Jesus means recognizing one's depravity, sinfulness and coming to Him. In turn, Christ receives the life of the believer just as it is, cleanses it and removes sin. But they refuse to surrender to Christ because of PRIDE!
What is really even worse for the works salvation crowd is this- they end up sinning all they please and think their rituals can save them. So much for teaching conditional security and yet many of them live like devils! A typical example is how a typical religious guy prays a lot, he attends Mass a lot and after that he lives like he has a license to sin while he unjustly condemns Baptists and Evangelicals of teaching a license to sin. After all, after a typical Roman Catholic does confession and say, "Bless me father for I have sinned, I was caught watching tons of pornography, I had multiple love affairs..." then the priest after hearing all the sins will say, "Just pray 10 Hail Marys and 5 Our Fathers." What happens is, the man does such penance thus "erasing" his sins. But why after confessionals and mass do they return to their sinful lifestyles? Simple- confessionals provide no regeneration for the lost sinner. They simply add sin to sin. In fact, 1 John 1:9 is clear that sins are to be confessed directly to God. 1 Timothy 2:5 is clear that Jesus is the Mediator between God and man, He listens to our confession of sins, He cleanses us from sin and He regenerates the repentant sinner. In fact, the grace of God is even absent (Titus 2:11-15) or the real fact that Isaiah 64:6 is clear that their good works are just rags, in short, just fake disguises. And a closing thought in Romans 10:3 that such people try to establish their OWN righteousness but being ignorant of the righteousness of God. For them it's their own righteousness ignoring this one fact in James 2:10 that NOBODY can keep the whole Law. Man is helpless, desperate and in need of salvation. Romans 3:10-19 just talks of the total depravity of man- that man in his own nature does not want to seek after God.
However soulwinners should not be upset. I used to be part of the religious crowd. I used to sin a lot. In fact, the Apostle Paul used to be a Pharisee, very religious and in fact perhaps he even confessed even the most minutest of sins but he got saved after encountering the Lord Jesus Christ. Some of the most religious hypocrites are now the most daring of Christians. Or think of how Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea were once Pharisees then they became Christians. Or think of how many people gave up their idolatrous faith for the Lord Jesus Christ. Everywhere, where God's righteousness gets imputed into people, lives truly change and quite different from how religiousness just leaves people alone without a Savior from sin. Not so with Christianity- Jesus NOT religion saves people once and for all from their sins!