“And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life” (John 5:40).
Being a Christian is important to Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, according to his own testimony. However, it is very clear that Mr. Buttigieg does not understand what being a Biblical Christian is.
The Bible says that a Christian is a person who is committed to following the teachings of Jesus Christ. Jesus asked, “
Yet, many will not come to Christ in truth, though they will come to Him in pretense as Judas Iscariot did for three years.
There are numerous reasons why people do not come to Christ in truth.
Some people do not come to Christ because they have not heard that Jesus died on the Cross for sinners. Christians are to go to every nation and tell individuals that faith in Christ and His substitutionary death at Calvary is the only hope mankind has for salvation. Joseph Smith, Jr. cannot save. Mohammad cannot save. “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). It is not baptism, confirmation, communion, or Church membership that saves. It is not even being a good person. Faith in Christ alone saves the soul. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31).
Some people do not come to Christ as LORD and Savior because they are committed to a sin they love. Every United States presidential candidate in one of the major political parties is committed to the homosexual agenda, an agenda which God has condemned for time and in eternity. “For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: 27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet” (Romans 1:26-27).
Pete Buttigieg Wants Agreement on Abortion
Some people do not come to Christ as LORD and Savior because they have murder in their heart. On the Lord’s Day, January 26, 2020, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, a leading presidential candidate within the Democrat party, refused to answer a constituent about her pro-life views. A lady wanted to know if she would be welcomed in the party. The response that was given was clever.
“I am pro-choice and I believe that a woman ought to be able to make that decision. I know that the difference of opinion that you and I have is one that we have come by honestly and the best that I can offer, and it may win your vote, and if not, I understand, the best I can offer is that if we can’t agree on where to draw the line, the next best thing we can do is agree on who should draw the line, and in my view it’s the woman who’s faced with that decision in her own life.”
With clever rhetoric feigning agreement, Buttigieg went on to advocate his own view as to who should make a decision about abortion, indicating it was a decision about her own life, when the reality is that abortion is about the life of another, the baby in the womb.
Clever rhetoric smoothed over the harsh reality that the man has murder in his heart, and is hiding behind a woman’s choice, a woman who could be a godly and good mother if she only loved her baby more than herself. Is it any wonder the Church is commanded to teach women to “love their children” (Titus 2:4)? Millions of women do not love their children. They kill them in the womb, and godless men cheer them on and help them, with bloody hands, in the slaughter of the innocent.
If Pete Buttigieg wants us to come to agreement on “who should draw the line” on abortion, then let us agree it is not the man, it is not the woman, it is the CREATOR of the life of the man, woman, and child in the womb that should “draw the line” as to whether or not the child should live. The sovereignty of God over His own creation is logical. “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honour, and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created”(Rev.4:11).
If we agree who should decide whether an unborn child lives or dies, if we agree the Creator should be the final decision maker in this matter, then life will prevail. ” Shall I bring to the time of birth, and not cause delivery?” (Isaiah 66:9, NKJV). The moral arch of pregnancy is to bring forth life. Let us agree on life.
Some people do not come to Christ because they do not want to be considered narrow minded. However, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Prov. 14:12). To believe in Christ, to follow the ethics of Christ is to be narrow minded, for truth is very narrow minded, but it is also right minded. Jesus taught that there are two roads, and two destinies, heaven and hell. You must choose which path, and which destiny you want to have.
Some people do not come to Christ because they want to be neutral. In politics there are those who declare themselves to be Independent. They have both feet planted in mid-air. Whichever way the political wind blows they are free to go with the flow. The Bible says that “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:8). In religion there are those who want to be independent so they can consider the latest theological bias. They are like the Athenians who first heard the gospel. “When they heard Paul speak about the resurrection of the dead, some laughed in contempt, but others said, “We want to hear more about this later” (Acts 17:32, NLT). However, Jesus does not allow for independence. Jesus said, “He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad” (Matt. 12:30).
Some people do not come to Christ because they do not want to be involved in the problems of others. To be a Christian is to become part of the Church, whose assembly is not to be forsaken (Heb. 10:25). To be a Christian is to weep with those who are weeping (Rom. 12:15). The Lutheran pastor, Martin Niemoller (1892 – 1984) did not want to get involved in the problems of others in Nazis Germany. Later he wrote with tears of regret, sorrow, and shame,
First they [the Nazis] came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me.”
To be a Christian is to speak out for the unborn, for the weak, and for the oppressed. To follow Christ is to “Have mercy on some who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them from the fire; on others have mercy in fear, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh” (Jude 1:22, 23 The Apologetics Study Bible).
Some people do not want to come to Christ because of their theology. They are not sure if Jesus is Lord, or a liar, or worse, a lunatic. They are not sure about God. They want someone to prove God.
That cannot be done. The Bible says, “In the beginning God” (Gen. 1:1). The existence of God is a presuppositional thought that is embraced by faith.
But it is more logical than the presupposition of evolution, which postulates that out of nothing, everything came. No, out of nothing, nothing comes. The evolution theory says that Time Plus Space Plus Chance Equals Everything. That is not logical, and it is unscientific. It is unprovable. The Bible says of God, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Heb. 11:6). Everything in nature tells us there must be a God. “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork” (Psalm 19:1).
The Universe works with precision. There is a Supreme Being. We call Him God. Though blind, death, and unable to speak, Hellen Keller (1880 – 1968) was told the name of God by Anne Sullivan through the communication of touch. She said, “I knew Him, but I did not know His name” (The Story of My Life). God is real. God is a spirit. He created the world. He is from everlasting to everlasting and He changes not (Malachi 3:6; Psalm 103:17).
A person can keep their skepticism and not come to Christ, but their philosophy will not comfort them in flames of the fires of hell. And that is tragedy, for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son for sinners.
Some people do not come to Christ because they do not trust the Bible. Job said, “I have esteemed the words of His mouth more than my necessary food” (Job 23:12). “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). It is easy to ask questions of Christians about things in the Bible which they cannot answer. However, just because a person raises a question which cannot be answered does not mean the Bible is not trustworthy. The Bible is the eternal Word of God, and contains the thoughts of God which are higher than man’s thoughts. ““For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9). What any person can do, is believe the things in the Bible which are understandable, and accept the rest by faith. If you do that, the Bible will change your life, and feed your soul. It is a living Book. It is a supernatural Book.
Some people do not come to Christ because they think there must be some dramatic and emotional experience. The truth is that very few people have an encounter with the Living Lord as Saul of Tarsus had on the Damascus Road. Most people simply fall down on their knees and cry out, “Lord help me.” “Lord Jesus save me.” “Lord, help my unbelief. Take charge of my life. Be my Savior.”
Do you want a personal relationship with Christ? Come to Him by faith in this very hour. Jesus will forgive you of all your sins, put hope in your heart, and give you power to live a different life. Come to Him now. May God enable you to make that decision, and begin to move in a different direction. That is repentance. That is conversion.
Some people do not come to Christ because they know the Church is full of hypocrites. Well, there are hypocrites in every area of life, but that does not stop people from becoming a doctor, a teacher, a professor, a lawyer, a shop keeper, or a businessman and a business woman. The issue is not whether or not someone else is a hypocrite. The issue is your own personal salvation. Do YOU want to be forgiven from the power and pollution of YOUR sin, no matter what others do or say? Then you must come to Christ. Only God can forgive sins. There is no self-forgiveness. There is no papal pardon to be received.
“What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus!”
The true Church is not a society of saints. The true Church consists of sinners saved by grace. Therefore, you qualify, and I qualify to be a member of the true universal Church, for “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). The local Church simply strengthens our knowledge of the Lord, and commitment to Christ. The local Church provides fellowship and encouragement. The local Church is designed to help people grow in grace, witness to others, and learn to serve.
Perhaps the main reason people do not come to Christ is because they do not want to pay the price. They do not want to pick up the cross that Christianity involves. They do not want to die to self and live for Christ. But Jesus will not compromise. He will not negotiate. Jesus demands your life, your all.
Found among his papers in Zimbabwe, after he was martyred for his Christian faith, is the moving testimony of a faithful Christian.
I’m a part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I’m a disciple of His and I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.
My past is redeemed. My present makes sense. My future is secure. I’m done and finished with low-living, sight-walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living, and dwarfed goals.
I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don’t have to be right, or first, or tops, or recognized, or praised, or rewarded. I live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by Holy Spirit power.
My face is set. My gait is fast. My goal is heaven. My road may be narrow, my way rough, my companions few, but my guide is reliable, and my mission is clear.
I will not be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded, or delayed.
I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, or hesitate in the presence of the adversary. I will not negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I won’t give up, shut up, or let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, and preached up for the cause of Christ.
I am a disciple of Jesus. I must give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes. And when He does come for His own, He’ll have no problems recognizing me. My colors will be clear!”
This vibrant declaration was contributed by Dr. Nina Gunter, who got it from veteran missionary Louise Robinson Chapman (Africa: 1920-1940).
Come to Christ. Make your commitment now.
