I must offend

Recently some friends became very offended due to a post I had made concerning the gospel of Jesus Christ. One is Jewish and the other and atheist. Due to the note I created (actually it was a repost from a friend I called "a note from a friend to all my friends) I have now lost their friendship, but while I hate that it bothers me much more that they're eyes have yet to be open to Christ.

Below is a modified (for spelling errors and to conceal identities and minor changes to clarify my thoughts) reply that I sent to them. It is the say reply I would have to anyone that the gospel has offended.

I post this hear because I desire my friends first off to know my God, but secondly to know where I stand. I cannot bear to think that I go another day and not tell each of you about my amazing God and King. I beg you to read. If we were to never speak again this is the only thing I would desire for you to know.

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Dear friends,

My heart is screaming for relief. I have so many emotions as I read your letter. Know that I truly do hate that I hurt you, but I think you must also know that I am in no way sorry for the truth that I have written and shared.

Know that as long as you have known me I have known that Christ is the only way to salvation, and my regret is that I had not let you know sooner.

Please know that I do indeed love you and that is why I must not keep quiet concerning the Lord I know and serve.

Understand that I by no means believe that you are going to hell because you are an atheist or because you are Jewish. I believe you are going to Hell because you are a sinner and you have sinned against a Holy God. A God that created you and of you demands perfection, but your sin has made you an enemy of God and He will continue to seek to destroy you as such unless your relationship with Him changes.

Truly all people who are not in Christ are Enemy's of God because of their sin.

All men are alike this and that includes me. Of myself I am nothing but evil. My most righteous of deeds is like dirty rags to a Holy God. The fact that I and all people did not make Hitler look like a boy scout is due to the grace God has so mercifully bestowed. Had God not changed my evil heart and called me to Himself I would suffer His eternal wrath in Hell.

Yes, this Hell is indeed the destination of all men for their sin. But God did indeed have a plan from before the world began and that was to send His Son, Jesus Christ.

God demands punishment for sin but because He desired to save His people we needed a substitution. We needed one who could take upon Himself God's wrath and that sacrifice had to be perfect. So God became man. He walked among us and was tempted by all things, but yet He did not sin. And then just as God had planned Christ was killed by those He came to save.

Yet it was not merely Christ death that paid for us, but it was that all of God's wrath that was let out upon Christ. The pain of the cross was nothing compared to this.

Christ is so great and so glorious and so worthy that His momentary stay under His Father's wrath was enough to pay for all those that would come to believe in Him and repent of their sins.

But Christ did not stay dead. No, three days in the grave and He rose so that He may reign above all creation.

By His death we were cleansed of our sin and by His life we are counted in His righteousness.

But we must come to Him. We must cry out repenting of our sins continually and serving Him completely as Lord of our lives and of all things.

So no I do not think you are going to Hell because you are Jewish or atheist or Muslim or any other religion, but I do know that without coming to Christ you will go to Hell for sinning against a Holy God.

How much more evil would I be had I not spoke this? How cruel would I be to know the truth and not share it? I say these things because I love you more than you could ever know. I love you with the very love of God and beg you to seek christ. I weep that you do not.

I know this is offensive. It is so offensive that they killed my savior over it. If only I had offended you sooner for if I have not done so until now then I truly have done a great disservice to you for I must have never fully spoke the truth to you. By love I must offend or I do not know love.

I will continue until I die to speak these words and if I must lose your friendship then so be it. I wil not not stop speaking truth, I will not stop loving you, I will not stop respecting you, and by no means will I stop urging you to seek after Christ until He changes your heart and forgives you sin.

Call out to Christ for He alone can save you.

I desire in no way to lose your friendship, but if you cannot accept my faith then I wish you all the be stand will keep you in my prayers.

Love,
Jason