How do you share Jesus’ salvation with your loved ones that won’t listen?

Part 1

 

There is nothing more important in this world and your lifetime, than the salvation of your soul and where you will spend eternity. Once your heart is set on Jesus and following Him wholeheartedly, now, it’s time to think of others. Think of your family or friends that are unsaved that you may have been praying for them for countless years wondering if God can hear or will ever answer your prayers, we all have lost loved ones. Today you are going to learn about their common objections to you helping them find God’s truth, and, we will give you a better understanding of what their objections mean, and what God wants you to do.

Sharing Jesus with lost loved ones is not for the faint of heart. While timing is key, waiting on the Holy Spirit to guide you is the most important step. God doesn’t need you to attempt anything without His guidance and direction. Without Him, you are doomed to fail in helping them find salvation. There will be times that God will use you to lead your loved ones to salvation through Jesus, but more times than not, it will be a non-family member that God uses to get through to them.

You learn in studying Jesus’ story, that His own people in Nazareth where He grew up, would not believe He was the Messiah when His ministry began. They only saw Him as Joseph and Mary’s son. He told His disciples that you will have a better chance reaching those who don’t know you. (Mark 6:1-6)

Don’t let that discourage you though, you can still be a light to them and plant seeds for God to water behind you. Let’s begin by addressing typical resistance responses you might get when talking to someone you love. Since this is such an important subject, there is much to cover and learn; therefore, we will break this up into two blogs. The first blog focusing on the Bible myth rejections you get from them. The second part will focus on one of Jesus’ teachings and learn how to be obedient, sprinkle the seeds He gives you, and then move on so God can water them.

Remember, you are NOT responsible for the outcome of your conversations or interactions with them. You are only responsible for being a willing vessel when He needs you.

 

Salvation myth busters

It’s time to address some common myths about salvation. Myths spread by those who call themselves “good people going to Heaven.”  Those who make statements to justify not studying the whole Bible, nor do they attempt to follow God’s commands that were given to all God’s followers that He commanded to be passed down from generation to generation, forever. (Deuteronomy 5:29)

 

Myth #1: “The Old Testament isn’t relevant anymore”

Growing up in church, many have been taught that the Old Testament of the Holy Bible is “not relevant,” “it’s to hard to understand,” “just focus on the New Testament,” and “it’s been nailed to the cross” so you don’t need to read it. Did you know that all of those statements are not true according to scripture?!?

As an example, the below verse in Leviticus is not just for the process of the temple worship back then, it’s a subtle message for all followers of God to follow forever. This is just one tiny example that all His Word is relevant forever.

“And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamps to burn continually. Without the vail of the testimony, in the tabernacle of the congregation, shall Aaron order it from the evening unto the morning before the LORD continually: it shall be a statute for ever in your generations. He shall order the lamps upon the pure candlestick before the LORD continually.” Leviticus 24:1-4

This is not only a process for the Levitical priest to follow to keep the light burning in the temple, it’s also for all His followers to keep the light burning in their temple (their body is His temple now).

The point being, it is necessary to study the whole Bible with an open heart to learn what God wants to teach you. On the surface, speed reading the Bible to say you have read it, you can miss the deeper meanings God has hidden in His Word for you to find. By speed reading, you can also easily misinterpret His Word. When your heart is not in His Word wholeheartedly, He prevents you from seeing the truth. Stay tuned for those scripture references.

To better understand the above verse, the tests and trials of life beat us down, but NOT out! God prunes and refines us so that His light can shine through us. He continually shapes us throughout our lives to ensure His light keeps burning through us to others to share His love. When you invite Him to do whatever it takes to shape you into what He created you to be, it may be painful, but it’s indescribably peaceful because He is with you. These are the type lessons that you miss by not studying the entire Bible.

Are you ready for the whole truth? All you have to do is turn to Him and ask God to show you. He is waiting. (Jeremiah 33:3)

 

Myth #2: “The Old Testament was nailed to the cross.” Was it?

When you are witnessing with someone and they make the above statement or any form of it telling you the Old Testament is not relevant, don’t try to argue the truth. They can’t hear it. For those who study the whole Bible, they discover the fascinating details of how Jesus only spoke what His Father spoke. There was no New Testament when Jesus and His disciples were in ministry; they were quoting the Torah and the Prophets in the Old Testament. Jesus says He did not come to abolish the law but to uphold it. He made it easier to understand but He did not abolish God’s law. He abolished man’s law that was added to God’s commands; BIG difference. We will break that down more later. 

When someone says they are a believer and they are going to Heaven but they tell you that the Old Testament doesn’t matter, they are a counterfeit believer. They are literally blinded to the truth and get mad when you try to show them any different.

In the book of John chapter 8, the Pharisees are trying to trap Jesus in lies after they tried to stone the adulterous women and walked away from conviction of their own sins. It’s a great chapter to study. Jesus answers their many questions and tells them that God is His father and if they knew His father, they would know Him. They argued with Him and would not listen to truth. He explained to them who He was and why they were sinners and they said that He was evil, that they were good people that loved God. He told them that their father was the father of lies, that they didn’t know Jesus or His father.

Jesus told them they didn’t quote Him correctly, they twisted His truth. In John 3:19, He says men love darkness. If you believe in me, let my shine light on all your sins and cleanse them. If you refuse to give me your whole heart, you are not mine.

Let the word of God cleanse and work in you. No one is a true believer until the whole word of God has a place in your heart.

You can’t believe and be saved and block out the whole rest of the Bible.

 

Myth #3: “No thanks, I’m good with just the New Testament”

When we fall into the trap of believing that we don’t need the whole story that our Heavenly Father, Adonai our God breathed for us to learn and follow, we miss out on all He has for us.

Think of the Holy Bible as a treasure hunt. Consider this, let’s say you were told that there were twelve special treasures that were hidden in a scavenger hunt for you to find and when you find all twelve you win a grand prize, plus, you get to keep the treasures, but you must find all 12. Let’s say it took you a while but you finally found two and decided to stop, deciding that it was to much work to find them, and that two was plenty. Determining in your mind that it was to much trouble to find the other ten, or it was to hard, or could they really matter, or how special could they be; two is good enough.

That’s what most people do with the Bible. They settle for only reading the New Testament, and still not all of it; just small portions that feel good. Once they find a treasure or two, they decide that’s good enough and they stop searching for more treasures God has hidden for them in the whole story, the whole Bible, cover to cover. These ones have deprived themselves of the true love of God. They don’t know Him or how much He truly loves them. Because they don’t know how much He loves them, they think they have to do life in their own strength. They have no idea that the answers to all their problems are in the rest of the story.

Yes, as with anything, it takes time, dedication, and determination to develop a relationship with anyone, including God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. If you would give them your heart and go all in with them, you would find that by spending time with them in the Holy Bible studying your daily bread, how much they love you and would excitedly learn all that they want you to know. It’s in this daily quality time with them that your relationship grows and you find indescribable hope, peace, and love that the world cannot offer. The world offers fake temporary hope, peace, and love. God offers the everlasting version.

If you refuse to study the whole Bible, the whole Word of God, and believe it, you will never be satisfied or fulfilled, and will miss out on the true treasures of God. Treasures that money can NOT buy.

 

Myth #4: “I quit because I wanted too”

Did you know that when you invite Jesus into your heart, that He makes all things in you new and the old is washed away? He gives you His Holy Spirit, our Helper, who teaches you and convicts you to turn from your old ways. Conviction is key! The Holy Spirit convicts our heart and gives us His power to stop sinning, to stop our old ways. It is not possible to stop sinning permanently in your own strength. When you do things in your strength, it’s temporary. That’s how Satan gets you to sin that same sin again, because you tried to stop with your strength and not the power and strength of the Holy Spirit.

“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.” John 16:7-11

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2Corinthians 5:17

When Jesus lives in you, He has made you new. In a relationship with Jesus, you no longer want to do the things of the world. The old is washed away and He makes all things new in you. If you continue to do what you used to do, you didn’t allow Him to move into your heart and change you. Asking Jesus into your heart and then continuing your sinful ways and worshipping other gods and idols will not prevent you from going to hell.

I met a person years ago while I was doing street ministry that when asked if we could pray with Him to receive Jesus in His heart at the end of our conversation, he gave an answer I had not experienced before. He said, “yes, why not? I welcome all religions in my life. Why not add Him too.”

There was no conviction of his sins, he was just collecting religious beliefs to cover all his bases. The person I was with prayed for him in hopes that he would find truth. We have no idea if he did, but his current belief system will not get him to Heaven.

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12

All you need is Jesus.

 

Myth #5: “I’m going to Heaven, I’m a good person.”

Sadly, according to scripture, being a good person will not get you into Heaven. Getting mad at someone for not agreeing with your theory does not mean they don’t love you; it’s just the opposite, they are telling you Bible truth because they do love you. They want you to hear Bible truth before it’s too late. They want you to get your heart right with Jesus so that you can experience His amazing love for eternity.

Complete faith in Jesus and wholeheartedly following Him is the only way to spend eternity with Him. We can’t manipulate God, we can’t make the rules of how we want to live and expect God to do things our way. He created the world and everything in it, including all humans. His commands  must be followed. He tells us how to live, not the other way around.

“He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit” Titus 3:5

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, Not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9

“For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.” Romans 3:28

If we could get into Heaven by being a good person, then we wouldn’t need Jesus. Being a good person will not get you to Heaven, only Jesus can.

 

Myth #6: “Don’t worry about me. Heaven will be so crowded that you won’t know if I’m there or not!”

When someone is trying to tell you they are concerned about you and your soul and that they love you and want to make sure your heart is right with Jesus, the above response is not the appropriate one you should give. That is a defensive response to shame the person for trying to share truth with you. You going to Heaven isn’t about anyone but you. It’s not about letting your family down or disappointing anyone. It’s about where you will spend eternity.

God did not create hell for humans, it was created for demons. For those demons to suffer for infinity. Why would a person want to play around with a horrible prospect of burning in a lake of fire for eternity? It’s a real place; no human should be there. Scripture tells us who belongs there. Unbelievers who are good people will be in hell with all the horrible people also. Good people should not be there but if they don’t believe in Jesus and follow His ways, they are doomed to hell.

“But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” Revelation 21:8

“And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:14-15

“Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels”
“And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” Matthew 25:41, 46

Heaven is where all God’s followers will spend eternity in peace and joy. That’s where He wants you to be. Turn to Him today and give your heart to Him so that you can enjoy a peaceful eternity.

 

Interlude

The Interlude is a pause in the story when it’s long so that you can take a break and get ready for the second half, the rest of the story.

While you await part two, study John chapter 8. We will go into more detail about that story we began today. It would help you to be familiar with it before we continue. Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to teach you everything He wants to show you in that chapter and these blog lessons. He loves to teach you if you will allow Him. (Jeremiah 33:3)

Feel free to share this blog with others to spread His light in this dark world.

 

May God bless you and keep you.

 

Join me on:
Telegram: https://t.me/chosencrownedone
Instagram: ChosenandCrowned & Grace Reacher Books
Podcastle: Chosen & Crowned – Coming soon (for those who want to listen rather than read)