A friend shared their hurt and disappointment over a friendship that had gone awry. They had been trying to witness to a non-believer, i.e. convert someone to Christianity.
“I’ve been a Christian for years and I’ve never brought anyone to Christ.”
Their shame and sense of failure was evident. They’ve mentioned worry over the possibility of losing their salvation before.
“Ummm, how many people do you have to ‘bring to Christ’ in order to get into heaven?”
“None.”
“Correct.”
Thank goodness many churches have gotten over guilting members into shoving the gospel down people’s throats, aka often how “witnessing” goes down. “Love God, love people, make disciples,” which pulls together a couple things Jesus said seems more meaningful in our culture. And far less preachy, weird, and all-about-ourselves achievement-oriented.
Sure, share what following Jesus has done for you, but not until asked or it fits naturally into a conversation. How about being friends / loving people without an agenda, without making them a project? People can smell that fakeness from a hundred miles away. Maybe in an anxiety-ridden society, talking about the peace you have – because Jesus – would be more impactful.
And to the denominations and churches that lead their parishioners to obsess over whether they’ve done enough to maintain their salvation … please stop. Yes, Jesus said keep his commands, and we should do that to the best of our human ability. But we’re saved by faith, not works.
The speaker at our recent ladies’ banquet at church talked about seeds of faith. Rarely is it just one person who brings someone to Christ. More often multiple people have planted seeds. We plant, God harvests. We’re responsible for being faithful, God is responsible for the results. In a culture where success is defined as overachieving, the accumulation of wealth, and personal happiness … is it any wonder we get everything backwards?
I shared with my friend this video about a woman who had been trafficked her entire life coming to faith. Viewer discretion is strongly advised and it’s 27-minutes long, but there’s something to be learned from her story.
Once saved, almost always saved, kids.
Love God, love people, make disciples.
