Rejecting Christ with Nothing to Lose

"I see so many people come in here who hear the gospel, and yet continue to reject the truth. At times, I fear that they have hardened their hearts to the point where God has given them over permanently to their sin."

These words, told to me by an evangelist at Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago, resonated deeply. The Mission, which has been serving the Chicago area since 1877, has a unique vision that is rarely seen in ministries that care for the poor and destitute.

• To reach the lost with the Gospel of Christ
• Help others through any season of life to become fully functioning followers of Christ
• To provide a peaceful, clean and safe environment to the homeless
• To provide life's necessities physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

(Source: PGM Website)

I, along with three other guys, had gone to the Mission in order to volunteer and serve them in whatever need that presented itself. Although I had personally visited "PGM" in the past, it had never been for an extended period of time as a true believer. As a result, I saw the purpose of the whole organization in an entirely new light than before.

Every day I was there, I saw hundreds of non-christian men and women from various backgrounds pass through the doors into the Mission. Their needs ranged from needing food and shelter to seeking help for a drug/alcohol addiction. All were welcomed and each was given the opportunity and resources to get back on their feet. However, while the humanitarian aspect of the Mission is obviously beneficial, one thing that stuck out to me was the recognition of where true peace and stability comes from:

"...Homelessness is resolved by the transforming power of Jesus Christ (Source: PGM Website)"

A well known policy of PGM is that everyone who stays there is required to listen to a gospel message presented by an evangelist. As a result of this gospel-focus that permeates the entire organization, all of the individuals that PGM helps are also given the truth about Christ and the forgiveness for our sins.

This was refreshing for me to see as a believer, given how often the gospel is dumbed down for the sake of being more appealing. But despite this Christ-centered atmosphere, I began to realize something key.

Everyday, a myriad of "overnight guests" (as the Mission likes to call them) would pass by me in the halls. They would hear a gospel message 2-3 times a day, be cared for by Christian individuals in a safe environment, and see firsthand in others how Christ can change people's lives............and yet despite all this most of these people continued to reject the gospel.

The simple transforming message of the gospel, to repent, believe, and follow Christ, was preached to them every day. And yet, these individuals with nothing to lose continued to choose and go back to the self-destructive lifestyles that were killing them, both spiritually and physically. They would hear the saving message of the gospel, and then spit in Christ's face as they returned to their drugs, alcohol, crime, and whatever else consumed their desires.

As I watched this spectacle unfold everyday that I was in Chicago, it reminded me of the passage from John 3:18-21

"He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God."

The realization that everyone is personally responsible for their sin, no matter their social status or cultural upbringing, was clearly shown. After all, sin wasn't only something they just did, but rather something they wanted to do. It wasn't a matter of passive ignorance, but rather one that was willful and intentional in nature.

And yet, despite all of this, there is still hope. My testimony, along with other Christians who work at PGM, shows that no one is beyond God's reach.

"1 Corinthians 6:9-11: 

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God."

Our responsibility as Christians is to continue to preach the gospel, despite all the feelings of complacency and disinterest that we will encounter. Any persuasive argument that we give should be rooted in Scripture, as this is the most powerful tool that we can wield (Hebrews 4:12)

"1 Corinthians 3:7-9:

So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters in anything, but God who causes the growth. Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.

Romans 10:14: 

How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!'"