What We Should NEVER Say

We should never tell anyone that we do not know well that they are or have become a Christian, especially not an individual whom we have just heard pray a sinner*s prayer.

Romans 8:16: The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

1 Peter 3:15: But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

If an individual has become saved, I want them to tell it to me. I want them to tell it to me because the Holy Spirit has told it to them and He has made them willing to tell it to me. They MUST hear it from the Holy Spirit. Bearing witness with their spirits that they have become a child of God is His job, not mine. I cannot know for certain if the Holy Spirit has spoken to them through me or not. My telling them that they have become saved could be untrue. I want them to trust the Lord and not me. I enjoy hearing them thank me for sharing the gospel with them but hearing me tell them they are saved could cause faith in me and that could be extremely dangerous.

Jeremiah 17:5: Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.

I often ask one who has just prayed and asked the Lord to save them: Did He do it? If they tell me that He has, I still do not tell them that they are Christians. Even if they have said something or done something that makes me believe they have become saved, I DO NOT TELL THEM THAT THEY HAVE BECOME CHRISTIANS! I cannot look on anyone*s heart and know if the Lord has saved them. It can take a short time or a long time for me to become confident that someone has genuinely received Christ and become a new creature. Even after we have seen their fruits we must still be cautious about what we say to them because their fruits can be counterfeit.

John 3:8: The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

1 Samuel 16:7: But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.

Matthew 7:16: Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

Sometimes I have a sense within seconds of someone praying the sinner*s prayer that they have lied to the Holy Spirit. Other times I get that sense later. Should I stop sharing the gospel with others or hesitate to do so because I believe some of them have lied to the Holy Spirit? ABSOLUTELY NOT!! The Holy Spirit does the saving and the bearing witness. By sharing the gospel with others, I am just along for the ride and for the joy I have when I believe one has genuinely received Jesus. When I believe that one has lied to the Holy Spirit, I pray for them inwardly.

While I share passages from the Bible with them that will tell a lost person that he is lost and how he can be saved, I NEVER tell them they are lost. Bringing them to faith is the purpose of the Bible and telling them they are lost is the function of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 10:17: So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

John 16:7: Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. 8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 Of sin, because they believe not on me; 10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; 11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

I am not a substitute for the Word of God or for the Holy Spirit!!

Care to discuss What We Should NEVER Say with Ron?

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