What do you do with someone who thinks they are fine and won’t listen to the Bible?
Question:
How can I evangelize somebody who says that he already does what is right by not lying or killing anybody and that all is needed is to just love God and that's it? I don't see any opening to evangelize because if I talk about Jesus, they will just call me crazy. Not that I'm scared, but it is what this person does. He is mostly closed against the Word all the time.
Answer:
"I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers" (I Corinthians 3:6-9).
Rather than thinking you must completely conquer to be successful, remember that you are there to plant a seed or to water what was planted earlier. You know where this guy is offtrack, so look for things to demonstrate that loving God means being obedient in all things -- not just most things. "For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all" (James 2:10). We need God to be saved, but loving God doesn't mean deciding for myself what I want to do. "He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him" (John 14:21). I suspect that you'll see him slipping up and there will be your opportunity to turn to the Bible and say that God wants him to act differently.
While we want to be successful with everyone, the truth is that few are interested in God. Rather than hitting a wall that you can't penetrate, realize that there are thousands of others who need the Gospel and some will listen. There is too little time in our lives to waste it on someone who isn't interested. Pray that someone else can reach him and move on. "If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet" (Matthew 10:13-14).
Question:
Thank you for your message. That will help me a lot. The only problem is that the people I was talking about is my family, more specifically my parents and brother. My mom is a woman of faith in God and loves Him and uses the excuse that not killing is good enough. She is kind of against me going to church I'm frequenting now. (I'm 16 by the way). But you helped a lot! I will try my best to plant the seed in their hearts, probably indirect ones, and hopefully, use my life to evangelize also. God bless you.
Answer:
That just means the people are more important to you, but the method of reaching people with the gospel is still the same. Always take everything back to the Word of God. Then it isn't your opinion versus their opinion. It is God's commands versus their opinion.
