Recently four different professing Christians came up to us after open-air preaching on the square in downtown Springfield, MO and told us that we were doing it wrong. They all said that we weren’t loving people to Jesus. They all said that we were pushing people farther away from God. A week before that an agnostic at Missouri State University told me the same thing. He said that what I was doing was wrong. (Does anyone else see the irony of a non-believer telling a believer that he’s witnessing for Jesus incorrectly?)
Maybe you think open-air preaching is the wrong way to reach non-believers. If so, here’s a scenario for you to consider: You are standing in front of an old downtown building on the square. You are smoking a cigarette right in front of the building. It’s a clear blue sky and you think life is good. You are in no hurry to move. What you don’t know is that there is a natural gas leak in the building. You are in eminent danger! You need to move AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!
But the “good-hearted” professing Christians that think you are in danger also think it would be rude to warn you of the danger you are in. So instead of warning you, they want to get to know you. They want to become your friend before they tell you that you should leave where you are standing. So they buy you a cup of coffee and come over and start a conversation with you. They don’t want to scare you or alarm you, so they tell you that across the square there is a water fountain. They ask you if you’d like to move over by the water fountain.
They point to it and tell you that you would be more comfortable if you were sitting by the water fountain. They don’t want to warn you of the danger that you are in, they just want to tell you that your life would be so much better by the fountain. So you say “No, I’m fine where I’m at.” They tell you to have a nice day and that they hope to talk to you some other day. Do you see how unloving this really is? The professing Christian is “nice” to you. They bought you a cup of coffee. They struck up a conversation with you. But they didn’t warn you to run for your very life!
Here’s the example of open-air preaching. Same scenario. You are smoking in front of the old building where there’s a natural gas leak (unrepentant sinners are very much in danger, they are in danger of going to Hell if they die in their unregenerate condition). Instead of buying you a cup of coffee and worrying about taking time to befriend you to “earn” the right to warn you of danger; I grab you by the arm and drag you away from the building. Does your arm hurt? You bet it does. Is a little pain better than dying in a natural gas explosion? Of course it is!
This may seem like a far fetched example, but I don’t think it is. Buildings really do blow up from natural gas explosions. Look at the picture above. That is a picture of JJ’s Restaurant after it exploded from a gas leak in February 2013. One lady died and 15 other people were injured. Gas explosions can really happen.
Just like Hell is real, death is real too. You cannot cheat death. Over 150,000 people die each and every day. Out of the ones that died today, I dare say most of them didn’t realize that today would be their last day on this earth. And if Jesus Christ was not their Lord and Savior, then they are burning in Hell this very moment (Matthew 25:41). Don’t you think they are wishing one of their “nice” professing Christian friend’s would have warned them to avoid the torments of Hell? (Luke 16:22-24). They are probably cursing their Christian friends right now for not telling them how horrible Hell really is.
The most loving thing any Christian can do is to warn you to flee from the wrath to come (Matthew 3:7). Repent therefore and be converted (Acts 3:19). Yes, being a Christian is better than being a non-Christian. God doesn’t promise you life will be all roses after you come to salvation, but no matter what you go through, Jesus Christ lives inside you through the Holy Spirit. Whatever trials and temptations you go through, Jesus is right there with you. Yes, life is better by the water fountain than right outside the building with the natural gas leak.
But you need to recognize the danger you are in before you will flee from that danger. You need to come to Jesus Christ because you need to be forgiven for your sins, not because He’s going to improve your life (Luke 24:46-47). You need to repent and believe the Gospel. Jesus is the only way of salvation, but you have to turn away from your sins and put your faith in Him (Acts 4:12).
Only Jesus saves (Acts 16:30-31). Flee from the wrath of God today. Repent and put your trust in Jesus. Don’t keep playing with fire until you die in a gas explosion. Turn away from your sins and cry out for Jesus to save you. Surrender your life to Him. Do this today. Turn to Jesus. He is the Living Water. He’s calling for all who are thirsty to come (John 7:37). Flee from the Hell that awaits you. Acts 20:21 says that we are to have repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.