Evangelism Archives - NowTHINK!AboutIt

Everyone Needs Repentance, Even Christians

July 23, 2026 by EnnisP 1 Comment

To Encourage Repentance
You Must Be
Intellectually Clear
And
Emotionally Disarming

I recently made the comment that America needs to repent.

It was a very familiar setting. I and several family members were sitting around the dinner table enjoying a shared meal and the conversation gravitated toward philosophical ideas and that’s when I made my comment.

I don’t remember the entire conversation leading up to my comment but, no, we weren’t discussing any specific political issues or personalities. We’ve had those discussions but find it best these days to stick to peripheral ideas. It creates less friction, and that’s where we were at that moment.

And, instead of challenging my comment, one person at the table asked, “What do we need to repent of?”

It was a fair question, asked in the spirit of genuine enquiry.

My comment, of course, wasn’t original. Others have made similar remarks, but the reasons one person believes we need to repent don’t always agree with another’s.

In fact, when someone makes that remark, what they usually mean is America needs to think like me.

So, again, it’s a fair question.

It’s also true that what is meant by repentance, how it’s defined and how it works, can vary widely from one person to another so the question got my gears turning.

Repentance Is Not Coercion

We usually think of repentance as changing our ways, getting rid of bad traits. We repent of things like smoking or drugs or foul language or lying or stealing or drunkenness or any one of a number of other bad habits. It’s usually a corrective response to something you do addictively, and those who wish others to repent make statements that are aimed directly at those habits and are designed to shame more than enlighten.

Why do you talk like that? Why do you eat so much? Why don’t you wear something different? How can that music be good for you?

That’s not a great strategy, but we want people to repent so badly that we resort to anything we think might do the trick, even shaming. [Read more…] about Everyone Needs Repentance, Even Christians

Reasons To Believe Jesus Cares More About People Than Issues

May 9, 2025 by EnnisP Leave a Comment

Jesus Exemplified
A People-First Approach
To Ministry

There is no question that Jesus cares. He endured great difficulties during His short life and that alone gives us a measure of His interest.

Just being born exposed Him to humiliation, inconvenience and threat, and then later He was buffeted by insult, doubt, rejection and finally crucifixion.

And none of that was a surprise. He knew this would happen but it didn’t deter Him.

All of that is to say He’s invested. He cares but the question is what exactly does He care about?

He had to have a good reason to willingly subject Himself to these abuses and we need to ask what that was. [Read more…] about Reasons To Believe Jesus Cares More About People Than Issues

Book Release: Calvinism’s Fallacies by Ennis Pepper

March 13, 2023 by EnnisP Leave a Comment

Calvinism’s Fallacies: Why The Gospel Applies To Anyone, Anywhere, At Any Time, Under Any Circumstance

Calvinim’s Fallacies is available for free through Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited program but the ebook version can also be purchased at Amazon inexpensively for just $2.99.

This book is not so much about Calvinism as it is a response to Calvinism. Since Calvinism grates against fairness and logic to begin with and has proven very difficult to clearly and rationally explain, it wouldn’t make sense to write another book on that topic.

To be sure, there are plenty of books attempting to explain or teach Calvinism and if you read them all, you would still be in the dark. Apart from the terminology (called, chosen, elect, predestined, grace, etc.), which everyone accepts, calvinists and non-calvinists alike, there is no thread of agreement. The acronym, TULIP, is a good example.

The acronym represents the five points of Calvinistic teaching, which on the surface seems to focus the thinking and coalesce disparate ideas, but when you read through explanations for each point, you find a range of variations as broad as the Gulf of Mexico and the reasoning for the differences, if you could call it that, as long as the Mississippi.

The intention here is not to explain Calvinism but rather to point out an entirely different perspective on terms like elect and predestined. There are, of course, other books that have attempted this also but those voices are drowned out by all the celebrating over being specially chosen while everyone else goes to hell. Hence, one more book to add a different perspective to a well worn discussion. Hopefully you find it clear and concise enough to be helpful.

This book only shares a few anecdotes on the historical effect of Calvinism but an extensive study on that topic could settle the question for most people. The interesting truth is Calvinism wasn’t institutionalized till John Calvin gave it academic weight in His Institutions. It didn’t take strong hold till it settled into the American northeast with the Pilgrims. Maybe that will be the next book.

Biblical Predestination Not Focused On Individuals Or Minutia

January 24, 2022 by EnnisP Leave a Comment

What is the point of loving someone in this life if they are condemned to hell without recourse in the next?

Plans And Goals Are Predestinated
Not People
Part 3 of 3

Part 1 – Calvinism Has No Connection To Election Or Predestination

Part 2 – Biblical Election Has Many Applications

Predestination is definitely a biblical concept but we must be very careful how we apply it because, without very clear definitions and applications, it can mean anything.

Calvinists have taken it to mean God selected certain individuals in eternity past, before creation, and predetermined that they would be saved. That’s the upside. The downside is everyone else is condemned to hell without recourse.

What is amazing about this idea is the fact that the preselected ones can’t avoid it, they can’t aid it, and anyone not selected has no choice in the matter either. It’s all predestined, or so they would have us think.

The Calvinist version of Predestination literally cuts the heart and soul out of motivation. Some won’t try to believe because maybe they weren’t selected. Some won’t do more to evangelize because maybe the target audience wasn’t elected.

Who will be saved and who will not be saved is absolutely settled completely and entirely by God’s choice before creation.

Of course, these false ideas about Predestination don’t stand alone. They are aided and abetted by Calvinistic teachings on Election. When these two concepts start swirling, the effect is catalytic. People get caught in the resulting vortex and just give up.

Once Election is understood correctly, however, which was the point of my last post, it opens the door to a very different viewpoint on Predestination.

Predestination Doesn’t Kill Hope

The biggest problem with Calvinistic ideas about Predestination is they leave absolutely no wiggle room for variable outcomes and give no hope. That’s a problem. Hope is everything. We endure momentary difficulties because we have hope. We fight for survival because we have hope. Take hope away, which is what Calvinism does, and people tend to harden, not against God but against people.

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Once you start picking individuals to favor with eternal bliss leaving the rest to suffer eternal torment, you lose traction. Why bother trying. All the important questions are settled and there is nothing anyone can do to change it.

Predestination Doesn’t Encourage Questionable Motives

A good question to ask is why does any Calvinist obey the commands of Scripture, like preach the Gospel to every creature and love your neighbor.

This may not be true in every case but one reason a preselected person would love their neighbor (which we are commanded to do, even the ones who are easy to hate), who also may not be selected, is to rub it in.

I’m one of the chosen and I’m so much better than you.

You may think I’m exaggerating, but visit a few churches where Calvinism reigns and tell me the atmosphere isn’t laced with a sense of superiority. If you’re not sure where to find such churches, just look for the words Reformed or Covenant in the name. That’s usually a dead giveaway, although you find all kinds of churches laced with Calvinism’s ideas these days.

There’s a good reason for this phenomenon. When you’re beliefs run contrary to your actions, it makes you look at least confused, maybe stupid. You have to do something to shore up apparent sophistication. If you’re not BEING the part, you have to try and LOOK the part. [Read more…] about Biblical Predestination Not Focused On Individuals Or Minutia

Two Important Truths Motivate Evangelism

January 7, 2022 by EnnisP Leave a Comment

Laws And Political Processes Are Essential
But Only The Gospel Can Change The World

The WHAT and WHY of evangelism should be the primary point of every curriculum in every Bible teaching program, whether it’s Sunday School, small group, or Bible college.

Why do I say that? Because Evangelism is paramount. Jesus didn’t die so you and I could become clever theologians. He died to save sinners.

Christians have a thirst to learn about God and the Bible and are more sensitized to Bible truth but knowledge for the sake of knowledge isn’t exactly the point. We should learn all we can and use what we learn for productive spiritual purposes but learning makes you responsible and accountable, not special. It doesn’t make you more spiritual.

Learning is important not because it makes us more knowledgeable but because the process of learning helps us develop useful qualities. The ability to read, analyze, and reason is helpful for all of life.

Christians often say the unconverted can’t intellectually process Bible truth but if you follow that idea to its logical end, you’ll find yourself in a junkyard of disposed ideologies. All humans can engage with biblical topics intellectually, saved or not.

I know some will read that and disagree. Why? Well, the Bible makes a statement that seems to counter the idea.

The natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:14)

But is that verse speaking of the ability to grasp the truth or the ability to tolerate it? Probably a little bit of both. Remember that the Pharisees often reacted defensively to the teachings of Jesus not because they didn’t understand but because they did.

Either way, salvation should be the first point of discussion. If you are of the opinion that the unconverted have zero ability to see spiritual truths, that’s all the more reason to start and regularly flavor every conversation with the Gospel. How much you know otherwise may be helpful to you personally but it won’t impress the unconverted.

The Gospel and Salvation are the things we should talk about more frequently than anything else. It should at least be the first topic on the list. Think of it as Bible 101.

If you really believe the unconverted can’t understand Bible teachings at a deeper level then your only reasonable option is to speak often and repeatedly about salvation. That’s the only way to get the ball rolling.

With a conscience, anyone can understand the concepts of sin, faith. and forgiveness.

But they’ll never know about it if we don’t talk about it, hence Evangelism.

There are two important truths that can help motivate our evangelistic efforts but before mentioning those, a little background. [Read more…] about Two Important Truths Motivate Evangelism

To Encourage Repentance You Must Be Intellectually Clear And Emotionally Disarming