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.<\/p>\n\t
“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<\/em>” (I Corinthians 3:6-9).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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<\/em>” (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<\/em>” (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.<\/p>\n
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<\/em>” (Matthew 10:13-14).<\/p>\n\t
Question:<\/h2>\n
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.<\/p>\n\t
Answer:<\/h2>\n
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.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[451],"class_list":["post-31454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-teaching"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":92979,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-a-church-spend-money-on-community-service-to-get-people-to-evangelize\/","url_meta":{"origin":31454,"position":0},"title":"Should a church spend money on community service to get people to evangelize?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 31, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Should a church use its money in community service to gain the attention of people to preach to, because of the current lack of seriousness in people toward the gospel? Is it the correct pattern of evangelism? Answer: \"Jesus answered them and said, 'Truly, truly, I say to you,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":34157,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-bring-an-agnostic-friend-to-christ\/","url_meta":{"origin":31454,"position":1},"title":"How do I bring an agnostic friend to Christ?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 20, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello. I thank you again for the opportunity to ask questions and get them answered so promptly! I am debating with my close friends, so my question is how do I bring my agnostic friend to Christ? Here is a discussion we are having at the moment and please\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16400,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-reach-out-to-my-atheist-roommate\/","url_meta":{"origin":31454,"position":2},"title":"How do I reach out to my atheist roommate?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 18, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Well, recently I have moved into college as a freshman. Now, the person I'm rooming with is a friend I've had through high school. He calls himself an atheist. Now, I'm not exactly sure if he is a true atheist or not. He doesn't actively protest God and go\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":46684,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/helpers\/","url_meta":{"origin":31454,"position":3},"title":"Helpers","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 11, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jefferson David Tant \"And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings,\u00a0helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues\" (I Corinthians 12:28) Perhaps you have noticed that people are different - different in personalities, appearance, talents. Evidently, God designed us that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18997,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-baptism-be-denied-if-the-person-has-not-fixed-all-known-sin\/","url_meta":{"origin":31454,"position":4},"title":"Should baptism be denied if the person has not fixed all known sin?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 24, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, I am a member of the Lord's church having had my sins washed away, and I also actively evangelize. I read the topic below and have been studying this and have a few scenarios. If a person is in an unscriptural marriage, must the person divorce before becoming\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":38402,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-ensure-i-am-following-what-the-bible-truly-means\/","url_meta":{"origin":31454,"position":5},"title":"How do I ensure I am following what the Bible truly means?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 16, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Greetings Brother Hamilton, Upon my defending the gospel and the one true church many learned men desire to use the Restoration Movement as an assault against the church of Christ claiming it could not possibly be the true church. How do you deal with such attacks? 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