Evangelistic Efforts with Family: My Cousin. January 19th, 2019
- hemadeusalive
- Jan 31, 2019
- 5 min read
1 Corinthians 1:18 “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
This is my first post of 2019, and I am glad to be making it. I had the amazing privilege to share the Gospel with my cousin on January 19th. I have been a Christian for almost 6 years now, and I lament that this is the first time I have spoken to her in detail about the truth that gives eternal life (John 10:28). I think I mentioned her briefly in my Evangelism over Email: Part One post, asking for prayer. The Lord has worked greatly in my own heart through this experience, and I am so thankful that He has allowed me to share the gospel with someone I love so much.
To give a bit of background, she goes to school about four hours away from where I live. Back when I was in Scotland, we talked a couple times about the Bible, and I have been praying since that the Lord would bring about conversion in her. When I saw her over Christmas, I did not share the Gospel face to face; however, I gave her and her brother Don’t Stub Your Toe Booklet‘s as part of their gifts.
I really love tracts, and have utilized them many times when sharing the gospel. Despite my own love for them, something that is frustrating about tracts (especially detailed, involved ones) is that there is no guarantee unbelievers will take the time to read them. This has been the case with every person (4) I gave one to over Christmas. I hope this example from my life doesn’t discourage anyone from giving out evangelistic tracts– I still do! I am just making a point to say this because I think the Lord has been showing me the importance of verbally sharing the Gospel with those that I love. Sometimes, when dealing with people so close to your own heart, it is hard to be bold. Praise Him for working in my fearful, sinful heart.
By the time I actually spoke to her about eternal things, she had gone back to school. Additionally, that week I made the long trip to the G3 Conference in Atlanta with some friends and my fiance. The theme of this year’s conference was missions; while I do not feel called to be a missionary, I found a lot of the sessions very helpful and equally as convicting. One sermon given by Paul Washer led me to leave the conference center upon its ending to call several people I knew in order to share the Gospel. Paul Washer did not convince me to do this, rather the Lord working through him. At one particularly scary point he spoke of the eternal consequences of hell. I have known about hell since I have been a Christian, but I find myself growing numb to it occasionally. This is a great atrocity; in becoming lukewarm to hell, I become lukewarm to the Gospel.
I actually felt physically ill knowing that there were people who I have known for all of my life who I have not shared the Gospel with. The Lord brought me to repentance and to action, praise Him for this! His working in me made me share the Gospel with two people that night, and, while they were not brought to saving faith in that moment, I am praying that the Lord will bring about regeneration within these people.
As previously mentioned, I called her after that night’s sermon. We spent the first few moments catching up on the past few weeks, and she asked me if I was learning anything “enlightening” at the conference. I replied that I was learning a lot, and that I felt convicted about some things, (things that I was about to tell her). I simply asked what she believed in, and she replied that she would affirm the things she was taught at church when she was little. Building off of that, I asked if she thought she would be going to heaven when she died. She, being a little stunned at the question, told me that I was thinking very deep thoughts that night and then eventually came to the conclusion that she would. She said that she did good things, and that Jesus died for her. I asked her if she knew why He died, and she stumbled around the concepts of sin and hell.
I asked if I could share some things with her, as well as ask some questions. When she said yes, I began by talking about how God created the universe and everything in it. He also is good, righteous and just. He set up rules for us, and these rules are the Ten Commandments. Working through the Law, I asked her if she had ever lied, stolen, lusted, or blasphemed. She admitted that she had broken all of those, and probably the rest of the Ten as well. I told her that God says the person who follows the Law will live, while the person who breaks the Commandments is cursed (Leviticus 18:5, Deuteronomy 27:26), and that by her own admission she would be headed for hell if going to heaven were based on her own goodness. She then replied that everyone sins.
I am thankful that the Lord has been equipping me with examples via sound apologetics and preaching so that I could answer this. I gave her the example of a judge in a courtroom. If someone commits a heinous crime, he does not walk free because everyone else does it. God is a just judge, since He is good He HAS to punish evil. Once I explained this, I think she began to understand what I was saying.
Then I had the amazing privilege to explain to her why Jesus came on this earth. In an act of great love, Jesus came down in the form of a human, lived a sinless life, and died a horrific death on a cross so that he could atone for our sins. I explained that in the Old Testament, the Jews made sacrifices with pure, spotless animals when they committed sins. Jesus was a pure and spotless human, sacrificed for all of man’s sins. It was like a transaction. If she were to repent and believe in Him, she would be able to have eternal life with Him.
After explaining what repentance and belief meant, I pleaded with her to do those very things. It was very unlike me to do something like that. I say this with shame, because I know that we should be pleading with sinners daily. I was reminded of 2 Corinthians 5:20 during those moments. Wanting to make sure that there wouldn’t be a false born again experience, I told her that she shouldn’t just say she repented and believed because she wanted to please me or anyone else, but that she should because of who God is. I then told her that it is not to early to be thinking about eternal things, and that 4 students in my year at college have died since 2016. I think that fact humbled her a little bit, based on her reaction at the time.
Before we hung up, she thanked me for sharing and told me that she loved me a lot. I have only talked to her sporadically since. Please pray for her soul, and that the Lord would save her. I am so thankful that He has even allowed me to share this wonderful, true news with someone I love so much. Pray that He would bring about conversion in her heart. I long for her to be saved and to share with her this hope that is within me. If the Lord were to save her, she would be the second Christian in my family. Please pray!
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