We had a fantastic discussion in worship planning the other day about how to convince people that Jesus is the way. We've been studying different world religions, and the question came up, how do you talk with a Muslim, a Hindu, or anyone who doesn't acknowledge that the Bible is the absolute authority. To us, the Bible is it. Many people who don't claim Christ will at least agree that the Bible is God's Word, or at least a "holy book." A growing number of people these days, however, do not recognize the Bible as the supreme authority. Without being able to use the Bible as a reference source, how do you convince someone that Jesus Christ is the only way to God?
The answer we landed on is that you don't. It is not up to us to convince anyone of anything. Our job as Christians is to go and tell what Jesus Christ has done for us - it is up to the Holy Spirit to draw people. We are a results-driven society, and we are trained to look for the outcome. If I invest time and money into this project, I expect it to return money, or publicity, or whatever the goal of the project was. If it doesn't yield the results I want, then I consider it a failure. Be honest, it's shameful, but don't most of us treat witnessing for Christ this way? We invest time and energy into someone building the relationship - then, at some point along the way we share Christ with them and they say, "Thanks, but no thanks." Our inclination is get mad and sever the relationship, or to keep after them and keep bugging them, or simply to become indifferent. BUT, what we don't count on, is that every time you point someone to Christ it is cumulative. That's what the Bible means when it says that His Word will never return empty (Isaiah 55:11). It doesn't mean that if you share Christ then that person is going to automatically accept Him. I believe it means that when you speak God's Word and when you share Christ, God will always use it to accomplish His purposes - which may or may not be in the short term. We put so much emphasis on the "if you die tonight, would you go to heaven or hell?" (I remember that question being posed countless times in church growing up.) And while that's essentially a valid question, it tends to cause people to make an emotional decision out of fear (which may or may not be a genuine acceptance of Jesus and His forgiveness and Lordship). God doesn't always work that way in people's lives. In fact, from my experience, God seems to work in people's lives over the long term much more than the short term. I hate to sound like I'm trivializing it, but I think the best way to describe it is my recent conversion experience.
I have used PCs basically all my computing life (except for those early Apple IIc machines in junior high and high school. I can take them apart and build them, network them, and do basically whatever I want to with them. On the scale of PC tech knowledge, I'd rank myself a 7 out of 10. I've heard for years that Macs are better machines. "Sure." I'd think. "Whatever you say. If Macs are better machines, then why does most of the world run on Windows? If Macs are superior, then more people would be using them." Time progressed, and I continued to hear that Macs were better machines, and specifically better in the area of graphics and video production. Well, one time that really caught my ear because in my job I use graphics and video, and at that moment I was experiencing some trouble with my PC machine that ran video on Sunday mornings for worship. So, I did some research. I talked to some people I knew who were Mac users. I went to the Apple store. And soon after, I purchased a Mac pro for our church...but ONLY for Sunday mornings. I was still a PC guy, I was just using the Mac for what I needed. But then, as I began to work on the Mac and experience it in direct comparison to my PC, I began to realize that it really is a superior machine. That it is better, and that my computing life was less stressful when I used the Mac. When I changed churches and they asked me what kind of computer I wanted, I asked for a Mac. Now I'm hooked. I'm totally a convert. Macs are better, without a doubt.
For most, I think coming to Christ is an experience not unlike that. They keep hearing about Jesus and how His way is better, but they don't really believe it. After all, what they're doing works just fine for them. BUT, one day there will come a time when they realize that what they're doing isn't working. And that what they thought was "it" for them, really is coming up short. At that moment, everything they've ever heard about Jesus is there. And perhaps they do a little more investigation and talk to their friends who are "Jesus users" (Christians). Maybe they ever go to the "Jesus store" (Church) and check it out. Whatever the case, when they actually "try Jesus," they realize that He is superior, and that He is the best way.
That is, of course, an oversimplification of the process of salvation, but the principle remains. Our focus as Christians is not to bring someone to Christ. Again, that is the job of the Holy Spirit. We are simply to be people who live a Christian life and point others to Christ. Let God take care of drawing them to Him...you just show the way through how you live.
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