Dealing with Christian Hecklers

Dealing with Christians that are angry about us sharing the gospel and open air preaching is one of the hardest things to deal with.  Many times those people that are upset are not really Christians themselves and we need to use the Good Person Test on them.

Other times the Christians think that someone other than God can take a person out of His hands. (John 10:28-29)They do not believe that we should be talking about sin and judgement and Hell.  However, the Bible tells us to preach the whole counsel of God. (2 Tim 3:16)

Many times it is because they are ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus.  They are ashamed of the fact that God is holy, righteous and just.  But, we are not ashamed of the Gospel.  (Romans 1:16)

We need to take these people aside and explain the gospel to them.  We need to open up the Bible and show them the scriptures.  The scriptures that you see in the links at the bottom if on your phone or to the right if you are on your computer can help you greatly as well as the stories seen below.  Many times they will tell you that their God is a God of love and would never send anyone to hell.  You can explain to them that they have made up a God of their own image.  They made up a God that is good with their own sin.

  • Cancer Doctor Story – A patient is found to have cancer.  They have 10 clear signs they are dying of cancer. If the doctor would decide that he did not want to ruin the patients bad day then he would not tell the patient about the cancer.  Would that be kind to not tell the person that they have cancer?  It would not allow the patient to decide to get treatment.  If the doctor cares about his patient he must tell the patient the bad news that they have cancer so that they will decide to get treatment.  Sharing the gospel is the same as this.  Each person has has 10 clear signs that they have sinned against God and broken the 10 commandments.   If we do not tell them that they are guilty of breaking God’s law, and that they will judged. Then they will not look for the cure which is trusting in Jesus payment on the cross and repenting of sin. (Basic Story from Ray Comfort www.livingwaters.com)
  • Blind Convention Story – ” Imagine if I said to you, “I’ve got some good news for you:

    someone has just paid a $25,000 speeding fine on your behalf.” You’d
    probably react by saying, “What are you talking about? That’s not good
    news; it doesn’t make sense. I don’t have a $25,000 speeding fine.” My
    good news wouldn’t be good news to you; it would seem foolishness. But
    more than that, it would be offensive to you, because I’m insinuating
    you’ve broken the law when you don’t think you have. However, if I put
    it this way, it may make more sense: “On the way to a meeting, the law
    clocked you going 55 miles an hour through an area set aside for a blind
    children’s convention. There were ten clear warning signs stating that
    15 miles an hour was the maximum speed, but you went straight through at
    55 miles an hour. What you did was extremely dangerous. There’s a
    $25,000 fine. The law was about to take its course, when someone you
    don’t even know stepped in and paid the fine for you. You are very
    fortunate.”

    Can you see that telling you precisely what you’ve done wrong first
    actually makes the good news make sense? If I don’t clearly bring
    instruction and understanding that you’ve violated the law, then the
    good news will seem foolishness; it will seem offensive. But once you
    understand that you’ve broken the law, then that good news will become
    good news indeed.

    Now in the same way, if I approach an impenitent sinner and say,
    “Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins,” it will be foolishness
    to him and offensive to him. It will be foolishness because it won’t
    make sense; the Bible says that: “The preaching of the cross is to them
    that perish foolishness” (1 Corinthians 1:18).
    And it will be offensive because I’m insinuating he’s a sinner when he
    doesn’t think he is. As far as he’s concerned, there are a lot of people
    far worse than him.” 

    But if I take the time to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, it may
    make more sense. If I take the time to open up the divine Law, the Ten
    Commandments, and show the sinner precisely what he’s done wrong—that he
    has offended God by violating His Law—then when he becomes, as James
    says, “convinced of the law as a transgressor” (James 2:9),
    then the good news of the fine being paid for him will not be
    foolishness, it will not be offensive, it will be “the power of God unto
    salvation” (Romans 1:16). (Taken from “Hell’s Best Kept Secret”  Ray Comfort)

  • Parachute on the Plane – “Two men are seated in a plane. The first is given a parachute and told to put it on as it would improve his flight. He’s a little skeptical at first because he can’t see how wearing a parachute in a plane could possibly improve a flight. After a time he decides to experiment and see if the claim is true. As he puts it on he notices the weight of it upon his shoulders and he finds that he has difficulty in sitting upright. However, he consoles himself with the fact that he was told the parachute would improve the flight, so he decides to give the thing a little time. As he waits he notices that some of the other passengers are laughing at him because he’s wearing a parachute in a plane. He begins to feel somewhat humiliated. As they begin to point and laugh at him, he can stand it no longer. He slinks in his seat, unstraps the parachute, and throws it to the floor. Disillusionment and bitterness fill his heart, because, as far as he was concerned, he was told an outright lie.

    The second man is given a parachute, but he’s told to put it on because at any moment he’d be jumping 25,000 feet out of the plane. He gratefully puts the parachute on; he doesn’t notice the weight of it upon his shoulders, nor that he can’t sit upright. His mind is consumed with the thought of what would happen to him if he jumped without that parachute.

    Let’s analyze the motive and the result of each passenger’s experience. The first man’s motive for putting the parachute on was solely to improve his flight. The result of his experience was that he was humiliated by the passengers; he was disillusioned and somewhat embittered against those who gave him the parachute. As far as he’s concerned it’ll be a long time before anyone gets one of those things on his back again. The second man put the parachute on solely to escape the jump to come, and because of his knowledge of what would happen to him without it, he has a deep-rooted joy and peace in his heart knowing that he’s saved from sure death. This knowledge gives him the ability to withstand the mockery of the other passengers. His attitude toward those who gave him the parachute is one of heart-felt gratitude.

    Now consider what the modern gospel says. It says, “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ. He’ll give you love, joy, peace, fulfillment, and lasting happiness.” In other words, “Jesus will improve your flight.” So the sinner responds, and in an experimental fashion, puts on the Savior to see if the claims are true. And what does he get? The promised temptation, tribulation, and persecution. The other passengers mock him. So what does he do? He takes off the Lord Jesus Christ, he’s offended for the word’s sake (Mark 4:17), he’s disillusioned and somewhat embittered, and quite rightly so. He was promised peace, joy, love, fulfillment, and lasting happiness, and all he got were trials and humiliation. His bitterness is directed toward those who gave him the so-called “good news.” His latter end becomes worse than the first—another inoculated and bitter backslider.

    Instead of preaching that Jesus improves the flight, we should be warning the passengers they’re going to have to jump out of the plane, that it’s “appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). And when a sinner understands the horrific consequences of breaking God’s Law, then he will flee to the Savior solely to escape the wrath that’s to come. And if we’re true and faithful witnesses, that’s what we’ll be preaching: that there is wrath to come. That God “commands all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). Why? “Because He has appointed a day, in which He will judge the world in righteousness” (verse 31).

    You see, the issue isn’t one of happiness, but one of righteousness. It doesn’t matter how happy a sinner is, how much he’s enjoying “the pleasures of sin for a season” (Hebrews 11:25). Without the righteousness of Christ, he’ll perish on the day of wrath. “Riches profit not on the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death” (Proverbs 11:4). Peace and joy are legitimate fruits of salvation, but it’s not legitimate to use these fruits as a drawing card for salvation. If we continue to do so, sinners will respond with an impure motive lacking repentance.

    Now, can you remember why the second passenger had joy and peace in his heart? It was because he knew that parachute was going to save him from sure death. And as a believer, I have, as Paul says, “joy and peace in believing” (Romans 15:13), because I know that the righteousness of Christ is going to deliver me from the wrath that’s to come.

    With that thought in mind, let’s take a close look at an incident on board the plane. We have a brand new flight attendant. She’s carrying a tray of boiling hot coffee. It’s her first day; she wants to leave an impression on the passengers, and she certainly does. Because as she’s walking down the aisle, she trips over someone’s foot and slops that boiling hot coffee all over the lap of our second passenger. Now, what’s his reaction as that boiling liquid hits his tender flesh? Does he go, “Ssssfffff! Man that hurt”? Mmm-hmm. He feels the pain. But then does he rip the parachute from his shoulders, throw it to the floor and say, “The stupid parachute!”? No. Why should he? He didn’t put the parachute on for a better flight. He put it on to save him from the jump to come. If anything, the hot coffee incident causes him to cling tighter to the parachute and even look forward to the jump.

    Now if you and I have put on the Lord Jesus Christ for the right motive—to flee from the wrath that’s to come—when tribulation strikes, when the flight gets bumpy, we won’t get angry at God; we won’t lose our joy and peace. Why should we? We didn’t come to Jesus for a happy lifestyle; we came to flee from the wrath that’s to come. And if anything, tribulation drives the true believer closer to the Savior. And sadly, we have literally multitudes of professing Christians who lose their joy and peace when the flight gets bumpy. Why? They’re the product of a man-centered gospel. They came lacking repentance, without which you cannot be saved. (Part of Hell’s Best Kept Secret by Ray Comfort www.livingwaters.com)  We love Ray and Living Waters. 
  • Where would all these people go without Jesus’ payment on the cross for their sins?
  • Bible is full of open air preaching Jonah, Ezra, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, John the Baptist, Jesus, Paul
  • Salvation is of the Lord. It does not come by any other way than hearing the Gospel message and God transforming their heart.  Without them hearing the Gospel message a person cannot be saved.
  • Who are you to judge the servant of another Romans 14:4