A family from our neighborhood came came to one of our church meetings on Sunday, and afterwards, when the other families had left, they stayed in our house to ask us more questions. They had a lot of sincere questions about their marriage (the theme of the sermon that day).
In the conversation, it became evident that they had wrong views of what it means to be a Christian. The wife believed that to be a Christian meant simply have a good marriage and a happy family. The husband believed most religions are the same, and it doesn’t really matter which god you identify with, as long as you lived a moral life.
I began telling them what the Bible says about what it means to be a Christian. I told them it has to do when knowing the truth about who God is in His holiness, who man is in his sinfulness, the punishment our sin deserves, the salvation Christ accomplished, and the authority of Christ as our Lord. Finally, I clarified that to be a Christian is not simply to believe certain things about Christ, because even Satan and his demons believe in the true God (James 2:19), but they don’t love or obey Him. True saving faith is that which responds to the commands of Christ in loving obedience (Ephesians 2:10).
The conversation went on for more than an hour, and they were very attentive. Inside, I was pleading with the Lord to illuminate their hearts and lead them to repentance. Eventually, they had to leave, and we said goodbye.
But they were left with an uneasiness after our conversation, and they decided to come by our house again to continue talking, this time with all of their children. We talked for a long time over coffee. We shared with them again about the greatness of our Lord Jesus and the salvation He offers to those who come to Him. It was a good conversation again, but there is still no conviction of sin or confession of Christ as Savior. Please pray for them. We’re going to continue talking to them about Christ.
