A Guilty Conscience - Soul Choice Ministries

“You’re trying to shove your beliefs down my throat.” Ever heard this when you were trying to share the way of salvation with someone who doesn’t believe Jesus is the only way? This is the response even if you are being sensitive, careful, and loving to them. The truth is that no one is forcing a belief on anyone. It’s simply sharing facts so they can make an informed decision about their afterlife.

Why is this a common response from an unbeliever? It is because they know they are guilty before their Creator. Their heart condemns them and they are pricked by their conscience.

John 8:9, “Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience.”
Romans 2:15, “Their conscience, bearing witness.”

If they were told about any other religion besides Christianity, they wouldn’t feel guilty nor express such an unreasonable response. They may reply with, “Thanks, but I’m not interested.” Biblical truth reminds us of our sin, just as the symbol of the cross can spark angry emotions.

John 3:20 tells us everyone practicing evil or sin hates the light, and doesn’t want to hear the gospel because they don’t want their deeds exposed. The Bible tells us another reason why unbelievers can respond this way:

1 Corinthians 4:4 says that their minds are blinded by the god of this world. Satan has deceived them. As Revelation 12:9 says, he deceives the whole world. Satan is very good at deception.

Another reason is found in Proverbs 21:24. It says, “The haughty man – scoffer is his name, acts with arrogant pride.” The pride of man causes a scoffing response to the Gospel.

This reminds me of a very recent conversation I had with a teenage girl after a church service where I shared my 23 Minutes in Hell experience. She approached us and said she had been praying for her sister, who refuses to hear about God. She said she brought her to the church that night to hear me, but she wouldn’t get out of the car. She asked if I could try and say something to her to convince her to at least hear about Jesus. I said I would try. She went to get her sister who approached us with arms crossed, rolling her eyes back, as if she was very bothered and was not really going to listen. I tried my best in a very caring way, simply to share about Jesus, heaven and hell. I pleaded with her to only listen a few minutes. But she refused to even hear me, and then responded with, “your trying to shove your religion down my throat.”

We assured her we were only trying to share information so she could make an informed decision, and would never force any belief on her. She said, “I’m fine with my belief. I’m good.” We tried a bit more but she then got angry and accused us again of forcing our ways upon her. She stomped away angry, saying how awful we were. We saw the pride, the unreasonable attitude, and refusal to hear anything.

Jesus said in Matthew 13:15, “For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed.”

My brother-in-law had a friend who had cancer and was dying. He refused to listen to me or to anyone else about the Bible. The man was dying and he knew it. Why wouldn’t a person want to at least listen about God and the afterlife during their last several days of life? This man had accumulated several hundred million dollars to prepare for his retirement years, yet didn’t have enough insight to prepare for his eternity. He died shortly after rejecting God. How sad for him.

In Mark 8:36, Jesus said, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?”

Another encounter I had was with a very wealthy elderly man in his 90’s who asked me to sell his home. He knew I was a Christian, and when interviewing me, he began to mock God saying it was all foolishness. I confronted his false accusations about the Bible but he refused to listen.

I told him he would soon be facing death and his Creator. I explained to him that he must repent and acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God and receive Him as Lord and Savior or he would be condemned to hell for all eternity. He said that only the uneducated would be scared into believing in a God and hell.

The Bible says that if we continue rejecting the way of salvation, that our conscience can become seared. The Greek word for seared is “Kauteriazo” where we get our word, cauterized.

1 Timothy 4:2, “having their conscience seared with a hot iron.” This most likely was the state of this man’s conscience.

These next verses describe how the mind without God is lacking insight into spiritual things:

1 Corinthians 2:14, “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
1 Corinthians 1:18, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
Proverbs 19:3, “the foolishness of a man twists his way, and his heart frets against the Lord.”
Proverbs 15:2, “But the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness.”
Proverbs 12:15, “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise.”

What a shame for an educated, wealthy man. This is why even though he was educated, the Bible says this about him:

Psalms 14:1, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’”
Proverbs 9:10, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”

If a person doesn’t fear the Lord, they don’t even have the beginning of wisdom.

He may have thought he was smart but he actually was a fool.

And think about this: Why should Christians even take the time to tell arrogant people how to avoid hell? Why should we care what they do or where they go? It’s only because of the love of God in us.

Romans 5:5, “The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.”
2 Corinthians 5:14, “For the love of God constrains me.”

Jesus said in Matthew 12:37, a person’s own words will condemn them. They send themselves to hell by their own words. They say, “I don’t believe Jesus is the only way” as Jesus said he was in John 14:6.

He told believers in Mark 16:15-16, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”

When a person tries to share the way of salvation with you, realize they are not shoving their beliefs down your throat. They are sharing the way to be saved and avoid hell. They are displaying God’s love toward you.

That person you scorn may be your last opportunity to turn from your sin, receive God’s forgiveness, and ask Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior.