Jim Bramlett on Fox News Pastor Rick Warren

Powerful worldwide witness on FOX News Jim Bramlett Dec 4, 2008 Dear friends: Last night on FOX News' Hannity and Colmes program, Pastor Rick Warren was interviewed. He delivered a beautiful and simple explanation of the gospel which, with great wisdom, was in words that all the people of the world can understand, no matter what religion. It was an awesome proclamation of the gospel to a huge, diverse worldwide audience, no doubt orchestrated by the Holy Spirit. I will excerpt from the video: Warren and the two hosts were talking about Christmas, its origin, and the idea of gift giving, starting with the wise men who brought gifts to the baby Jesus. Warren took advantage of the topic and said, "God has given us a gift in Jesus Christ... People do not understand. It's for our benefit. The Bible says, 'For unto you is born this day, a Savior.' People may say, 'But I don't need a Savior,' but believe me, if people didn't need one, God would not have sent it..... Jesus meets every one of our deepest needs.... What we need to do is to accept this gift, have our past forgiven, have a purpose for living, and have a home in heaven." Devil's advocate (literally) Alan Colmes, said "But not everybody goes that route. I am Jewish." This is the typical ploy used by secular, non-believing TV hosts, trying to trip up the Christian guests or make them look stupid. I have seen many top Christian leaders stumble and give poor and unconvincing answers. Rick Warren handled it masterfully. Warren replied that Jesus did not come for Christians, but for everyone, naming those in several non-Christian religions, quoting the Great Commission of Jesus to “go into all the world.” He said Jesus Christ still loves you, no matter what religion you are. Still trying to trip him up, the advocate of the devil said again, "That's a wonderful message, but if you do not accept Jesus, can you find your way to heaven?" Warren wisely replied, "I am not the authority on that but I believe Jesus is. Everybody is betting his life on something. Jesus said, 'I am the way.' I am betting that He is not a liar. I am betting that He told the truth." Frustrated, the advocate of the devil replied, "But what about those people who do not accept Christ as their personal Savior?" Warren challenged, "This is the perfect time for people to open their lives and give Him a chance.... God wants people to love Him. God says, 'I've given you this gift of grace. You don't earn or work your way to heaven. That means you simply receive my gift.' That means we need to unwrap that gift God has given to us. Then your past can be forgiven, you have a purpose for living, and you can have a home in heaven." Persistent, the advocate of the devil tried again, "Can you have all those things in other religions too?" With great wisdom, Warren replied, "I don't see how that is possible. God didn't send 100 Jesuses. He didn't send a thousand. He sent just one." From http://www.foxnews.com/hannityandcolmes/ Praise God for Rick Warren. He has had many detractors but I have always seen that he has been a great witness for Jesus and the gospel. I have read his best-selling book, The Purpose Driven Life, and only disagreed with a very small part, and that was about biblical prophecy. Some "religious" people will still hate Rick Warren because in that extremely limited TV time he did not include all their religious hoops for people to have to jump through, but it was a magnificent summary of what God Himself says in John 3:16 and Ephesians 2:8-9. Jim