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Repent or Perish

 

 

 

 

 

 

This one will start a conversation!   

The shirt shows the remains of a person who went through the judgment of God almighty.  The "Mark of the Beast" (666) still etched into his forehead indicating his unwillingness to repent and turn to God. 

He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name. This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's number. His number is 666.   
                                                                                                       ~Revelation 13:16-18

This is the fate that awaits all whose name has not been written in the book of life (See Revelation 13:8). God has made it possible for every person to have his or her name added to the book. For those who refuse God's offer it will be 'a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God'.

If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay." and again, "The Lord will judge his people." It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.    
                                                                                                           ~Hebrews 10:26-31

The name of the shirt "repent or perish" comes from Luke chapter 13 where Jesus is telling the disciples about people who had suffered and whether they were worse sinners.  In this passage, Jesus is making it clear that there are not levels of sin but rather sin in any form precludes you from entering Heaven.  His point in the end is "unless you repent, you too will perish".

Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.  Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them -- do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish."
                                                                                                   ~Luke 13:1-5

 

A different picture for those who repent. 

Yet for those who repent there is a completely different plan. God has prepared a place with no more death, mourning, crying or pain.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or morning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then He said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be His God and he will be my son."
                                                                                                                      ~Revelation 21:3-7

 

how to use this shirt as an evangelism tool:

This shirt has been designed to give all who wear it, the opportunity to talk about Jesus.  You may have noticed that there are no scripture references on it!  People will rarely ask you about your shirt if they see scriptural references because they are used to seeing Christian T-shirts.  While shirts with references on them mark you as a believer, they rarely give you the opportunity to share your faith.  People see the scripture references and assume they know the  ‘religious’ ideals of the wearer.   What we want to do is cause people to ask you about the shirt.  “I don't get your shirt?”  “What does it mean?”  “That's Cool”

Anytime someone begins the conversation with you, the door is open to share the Gospel and the love of Jesus with them…. and remember, they asked you!

what to say when you are asked about the shirt

Most Christians, when confronted with an opportunity to share their faith often talk “religious” (they say what they think they should say with lots of Christian Buzz words) and turn people off.  Just be yourself!  After reading the above information, you should easily be able to explain how sin is a major threat to each of us and that there is only one antidote for the problem. Talk to them about Jesus and what He has done for us, making a way for us to confess our sin and come to God for forgiveness.   

This is your opportunity to explain the Gospel of  Jesus and then to inquire into their relationship, if any, with Him.

if they are open to further conversation

At this point, the person will say “yea, whatever” and walk off, OR want to hear more.  (Remember that God’s word does not return void.  Even if the person walks off, the Word of God was sewn into that person's life… you did not fail!)  If they want to know more:

 

Steps to Salvation

awareness of our sinful nature

When we talk about salvation we must bring people to an awareness of their need for salvation. The Bible is very clear on this point. Everyone has missed the mark or fallen short of the standard set by God. As a race we all fall short. This is not a close call, even the best person misses the mark by a mile.

 ... for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God 
                                                                                                     ~Romans 3:23

But the good news is that God has made provision for us. He has a free gift, the gift of eternal life for us. (See Romans 6:23)

belief in Jesus Christ

God chose to fulfill His standards for us. He knew that no person could meet them and so all would fail. We would all be in a hopeless state, with no place to turn. So God decided to send His Son, Jesus Christ, to live as a man here on earth. Jesus lived as a man, but He met all of God's requirements. He met God's standard perfectly. 

But this still did not deal with the problem, we still fall short of meeting God's standard. We cannot live like Jesus, even after His example. 

The answer, God's answer, let the one who lived perfectly die in the place of all the rest. He let Jesus die for mankind, since no one else was good enough to do so. (If a man were to die it would be for his short comings, it would be just what he deserved).

So God has prepared for us a gift of salvation. God accepted the death of Jesus as meeting His standard. Then He raised Jesus from the dead. His gift of salvation is available to every one who will believe in Jesus Christ and the work He has done for us. (See Romans 10:8-10 and John 1:12-13)

 repentance of sins

This gift from God is a wonderful salvation, complete with everything we need to live a full life, now and for the future. This includes forgiveness of our sins (areas where we have not lived up to God's standard). This forgiveness comes as we admit to our sins and ask God to forgive us. (See Luke 24:46-47 and Acts 13:38-39) 

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 
                                                                                                       ~1 John 1:9

receiving Jesus as savior

So now we can receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior. He now becomes the one who died for us so we can have good relationship with God. We can now become a part of God's family, not by any work that we have done, but by believing that Jesus has done the work for us.

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 
                                                                                                             ~John 1:12-13

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

 
 
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