HANDLING EXCUSES PDF

8 HANDLINGEXCUSES Excuses can come from those who are not yet ready to trust Christ. They may feel bad about their sin or want to have the securitythat Christ offers, but only when they come under the conviction the Holy Spirit willtheir excuses begin to buckle and fall. It is our responsibility o...

8 HANDLINGEXCUSES Excuses can come from those who are not yet ready to trust Christ. They may feel bad about their sin or want to have the securitythat Christ offers, but only when they come under the conviction the Holy Spirit willtheir excuses begin to buckle and fall. It is our responsibility only to show truth where we can, to address their excuses with Scripture, and trust that the Holy Spirit will knock those excuses from their mind. Are you saying that we should argue with unbelievers? No. We let the Word of God and the Holy Spirit do the work. When we hear excuses, we should not argue that the exXcUses are ridiculous, but we should offer Scripture that the Holy Spirit will use to work in a person's mind. As we seek to understand the person'squestions and offer biblical counsel, excuses can unravel and God will work. Let's get started. Some major excuses are given below, along with verses that should answer the person's questions. THERE ARE TOO MANY HYPOCRITES IN THE CHURCH First, you should agree. There are too many hypocrites in the church. There are also too many hypocrites running gas stations and managing grocery stores, but I still buy gas and get groceries. Always be truthful when dealing with the unsaved. Don't try to defend the hypocrites in the church. We all know they are there, and you willonly prove your own hypocrisy if youtry to cover up the truth. Response Romans 2:1-3. Does the fact that there are hypocrites in the church excuse a person who is not in the church? 68  Each of us willhave to answer for our own behavior, not the hypocrisy of others. And we are not talking about church membership--we are talking about accepting Christ. Romans l4:10-12. What good does it do us to judge another person? Will it help us? What does this passage say about that? Matthew 24:51. Where do all hypocrites go, according to this yverse? How can you use this verse to help a person using hypo crites as his excuse? I'MAFRAID ICAN'T HOLD OUT ASA CHRISTIAN-ICAN'T LIVE IT Once more, agree with the person. No one can live it or keep it. That's the very reason we need Christ. Response 2 Timothy 1:12. According to this verse, who does the keeping, or guarding? What do we do, according to this verse? Is God able to guard us? Does God ever do anything halfway, then quit?, Philippians 1:6. Of what was Paul confident? 69  1 Peter 1:3-5. Who does the keeping, according verse? this If God cannot keep me saved, what does that say about His power? IT DOESN'T MAKE MUCH DIFFERENCE WHAT IBELIEVE AS LONG AS IAM SINCERE A person might say this to hide his guilt over sin. Show him the folly of this statement by introducing him to the following three people from the Bible. Response Cain (Genesis 4:1-7)What clues do we see in this passage that Cain sincerely expected God to accept his offering? Did Cain's sincerity help him? Why did God not accept Cain's offering? Ethiopian Eunuch (Acts 8:26-35)-Was this man religious? Why had he been to Jerusalem? Did he read the Bible? Was he saved or lost when Philip met him? Religious and sincere as he was, he was lost. Cornelius (Acts 10:1-2, 44-48)--Name four good thingS about this man, according to verse 2. 1. 2. 70  3. 4. Had he accepted Christ yet? Though he was devout, religious,and sincere,Cornelius was lost. Like each of us, he was saved only after he believed on Christ and received forgiveness for his sin. Agood illustration is anurse who in allsincerity gives aperson medicine for an illness. But the bottle, wrongly labeled, is poison and kills the patient. We can be sincere, but also sincerely wrong. THERE ARE THINGSICAN'T GIVE UP This excuse is not often spoken out loud, but it often lies at the back of the person's mind. The real problem is that he is not yet convicted togive up everything for the Lord. You must be wise enough to detect this problem and address it. Response Luke 18:18-23. In your own words, what one thing did the rich young ruler lack? Why did the rich young ruler not follow Christ? Don't try to eliminate everything youthink might keep the lost from saying yes. In doing so you might also eliminate one of the most important and essential elements in salvation-repentance. What is repentance, according to the glossary? We must make the plan of salvation as simple as possible, but never easier than God made it. 71  What was Paul's message to the Gentiles (Acts 26:20)? What has God commanded in Acts 17:30? What is God's will, according to 2 Peter 3:9? Aperson who is not willing to give up his sin, who is not sick of his sin, or who does not hate his sin-he's not ready to repent. Only the Spirit can work repentance in his heart. Don't make it easy on the person by saying, "Don't worry about your sin. You can worry about that when you get saved. That is tantamount get saved to saying you can get saved and and keep keep on sinning without con sequence. Remember, salvation's very foundation is its dealing with the sin problem. Sin should be at the forefront of the mind of the sinner at the moment of conversion. He must face his sin, hate his sin, and by faith turn to the blood of Christ for cleans ingfrom his sin. Complete This Section Without Looking Back at the Lesson 1. Name the four excuses discussed in this chapter and list the Scriptures that answer each. 72  2. What is repentance? 3. Why should repentance be emphasized? 4. Give an illustration that shows sincerity doesn't save. 5. What three men in the Bible were sincere but lost? Verses to Memorize Matthew 24:51 Philippians 1:6 Acts 17:30 73