A great many men will say, “I do not see why God could not save men in some other way than by the death of His son.” Is. lv. 8, 9, Romans xi. 33 are useful in dealing with such. I have used Romans ix. 20 with effect with men of this sort. A young student said to me one night, when I asked why he was not a Christian, that he did not see why it was necessary for Christ to die for him; why God did not save him in some other way. I opened my Bible and read to him Romans ix. 20, and put the question right to him, “Who art thou that repliest against God?” and then said to him, “Do you realize what you are doing, that you are condemning God?” The young man very much confused said “I did not mean to do that.” “Well,” I said; “that is what you are doing.” “If that is so,” he replied, “I will take it back.” A good way to do with such men is to show them by the use of passages given under the chapter “Dealing with the Indifferent” that they are lost sinners. When any one is led to see this, God’s way of salvation will approve itself as just the thing.
4. THOSE WHO COMPLAIN OF CHRISTIANS. Very frequently when we try to persuade men to accept Christ as their Saviour, they reply; “_There are too many hypocrites in church_.” Romans xiv. 4 and 12, especially the latter verse, are exceedingly effective in dealing with such.
Romans ii. 1, and Matt. vii. 1‒5, are also excellent. Jno. xxi. 21, 22 is useful in showing the objector that he is solely responsible for his own relation to Christ and that what others do is none of his affairs. Sometimes the inquirer will _complain of the way Christian people have treated him_. In such a case turn the attention of the inquirer from the way in which Christian people have treated him to the way in which God has treated him. For this purpose use Jer. ii. 5; Is. liii. 5; Romans v. 6‒8. Then ask him if the fact that Christians have treated him badly is any excuse for his treatment of a Heavenly Father who has treated him so well. One night turning to an aged man I asked him if he was a Christian. He replied that he was not, that he was a back–slider. I asked him why he back–slid. He replied that Christian people had treated him badly. I opened my Bible and read Jer. ii. 5, to him, “Thus saith the Lord, what iniquity have your fathers found in _me_, that they are gone far from _me_, and have walked after vanity and are become vain?” I said, “Did you find any iniquity in God? Did God not use you well?” With a good deal of feeling the man admitted that God had not treated him badly and I held him right to this point of God’s treatment of him, and not man’s treatment, and his treatment of God. Matt. xviii. 23‒35; Eph. iv. 30‒32; Matt. vi. 14‒15, are also useful as showing the absolute necessity of our forgiving men.