How do you witness to someone who thinks he is saved but not?

[ROSSELLA]

Rossella, Your family is like many who think they are secure in the church but not following the Lord. Many are thought to get saved, "Believe on the Lord Jesus and you shall be saved." it's also written, "For we are saved id we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end. Are these 2 verses saying the same thing? According to the second verse you are not yet saved either you have not yet finished your course. Can you solve the riddle?

I will not leave you in the dark and will explain, but would like your thoughts at this time. What are you thinking, if you have not solved the puzzle don't feel bad most Christians think they are already saved by Grace. If we read again with emphasis on word meaning instead of mental ascent as believing, you will find the 2 verses are saying the same thing. Some get mad because it takes away their eternal security, of living in their comfort zone, but its not meant to take away our secure place in Christ, but to face that being saved: we don't stay the way we are. I believe that your honest and understand this.
Believe (follow) Jesus and you shall (security is remaining in Him whom we follow and implied in shall) be saved.
What would cause someone to fall from grace when nothing can separate us from the Love of Christ, why is there a falling away prophesied before the end: many shall be offended and shall betray one another to death. The answer is between the lines, can you see it. For if you forgive not, neither will your Father in heaven forgive you. Refusing to walk in Love is rejecting the Holy Ghost. Please don't forget I want your thoughts, I'm already posting this in another discussion eternal security as well. Your brother Ray

Well, it's one of the things in the Bible that gives one a headache isn't it? We've been saved, are being saved, and will be saved at the same time. Jesus saved us through His death on the Cross. Once one accepts His grace and mercy, our salvation is secure. But the proof of Him having saved us is that He continually saves us from our sins, changing us so that we desire Him and not sin and helping us root out sin in our lives. When we finally see Him face to face, we will be saved, never sinning again and spending eternity worshipping God.

 

[Gabriel2020]

The only proof i will accept from a person who says that they are saved, is Are you filled with the Holy Ghost,and if they are, then ., i will see if they are producing the right kind of fruit. That is the the fruit of righteousness and the spirit in them that speaks only of the kingdom of God and nothing else. That is the only way for me.

 

[brotherfred]

I will still like to referred u to Acts 1:8 Gods expects you to preach his word here with power.a christian without the power of the holly spirit looks empty in front of unbelievers.what you need to do is to pray for ur parents give time for the holy spirit to touch them.now ask for the power of God bring to u deep revelations about your family .just a miracle will cause them to believe try i will support you in your prayers. devote your self to this and it will work .get back in contact for testimony.

 

[PennEd]

How do you witness to a family member who thinks he/she is going to Heaven but not? Almost my whole family thinks everyone, as long as they are pretty good goes to Heaven. My father in particular believes the Bible was written by men who may have gotten things wrong and that all religions have a part of the truth. My mother claims to believe the Gospel but also that almost everyone goes to Heaven. It's hard to go up to them and talk about Christianity because they'll agree with almost everything the Bible says, but not that many 'good' people will go to Hell for not believing in God. A Christian to them is any one who says he or she is a Christian. Does anyone have any tips on witnessing to them?

"You knew me before I accepted Jesus, you know me now. Can you see the love of Jesus shining out of me"?

Our greatest witnessing tool is to show how the Lord has given us a new heart. We do that by loving them. Giving them The Gospel, and then pray they accept Him.

 

[Rosemaryx]

Hi Rossella...I have a little story to share with you...My son is doing life in prison, he went into prison at the age of 26, he is now heading 37, he went into the system the most arrogant, selfish, judgmental, narcissistic person i have ever known, he was a drug user, drinker,thief and many more things, i tried to love him the best i could from between the prison walls, through letters upon letters trying to change him from his horrid ways, but nothing i said or done even touched him...Two years ago this October i got saved and Jesus changed my life, i learned from Scripture that i was to hand over everything to Him that i owned, on this i gave Him my son, i prayed without ceasing for God to prick my sons heart, i cried my tears of sorrow to God till i could breath no more and slumbered many many a night with a drenched face...My son has witnessed what the Lord has done in my life, and through the Grace of our Almighty Father my son is now saved \o/, all the praise to Him forever...Please understand you can not change no one, it will just bring you heart ache, give your family to God and enjoy your life abundantly that Jesus died to give us, there is POWER in the name of Jesus, let go and let God...xox...

 

[Yoseph]

Heaven and earth shall pass away
but my words shall never pass away.
thou has the words of eternal life.Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out the mouth of God.I am the true bread that came down from heaven,which if a man eat he shall live forver.Give us day by day our daily bread(the true eternal bread) Are they eating this bread,You can't eat of this bread and abide in darkness(worldliness)We love God because we keep his sayings(words).
Meditate on this and Jesus will speak to you. Don't try to win or take on all.Choose your front or family member to work on.Some will believe because others believe.Do all with their best interest at heart.Trusting his Grace to help. SHALOM!

 

[mcubed]

Honestly, I get it. My story is a little different but same concept. Most of my family believes they will go to heaven because they are religious Jews; the other half atheist. Not a one of them believes Y-shua is Messiah. Same situation as yours. Only knowing Messiah as our personal Lord and Savior is anyone saved. What do we do? Pray the blinders will be removed from their eyes. The Scriptures tells us they have blinders over their eyes. And we are told to make them jealous. Because we are saved we are different and if the world cannot see that we need to take inventory with our walk with Him.

I have a long way to go with my family. But when I first got saved my mother would have nothing to do with me. Today she is saved. I have six sisters and a brother. Today three sisters are saved the rest still reject Messiah. My grandfather at 93 on his deathbed, in the hospital, G-d gave me the privilege to lead to Messiah. My grandmother 97 still rejects Messiah. She scares me… she thinks she survived the holocaust as a religious Jew and completely rejects Messiah. But I will keep praying for the blinders to be removed from her eyes. And thank Him she tells G-d every morning she is not ready to come home yet (she has no idea how right she is) and as long as G-d chooses to give her life I promise you I will not be ashamed of the gospel, that “woman” will be made jealous of my peace that passes all understanding, my joy, my hope. Because He, Messiah is my Peace, my Joy, my Hope. The presence of Y-shua is tangible, He is alive and He is alive in you.

You are a living testimony of the Living Messiah! By the word of your testemonity and being that living example, by prayer, you will win your family to Him.

 

[OneFaith]

How do you witness to a family member who thinks he/she is going to Heaven but not? Almost my whole family thinks everyone, as long as they are pretty good goes to Heaven. My father in particular believes the Bible was written by men who may have gotten things wrong and that all religions have a part of the truth. My mother claims to believe the Gospel but also that almost everyone goes to Heaven. It's hard to go up to them and talk about Christianity because they'll agree with almost everything the Bible says, but not that many 'good' people will go to Hell for not believing in God. A Christian to them is any one who says he or she is a Christian. Does anyone have any tips on witnessing to them?

If they feel that strongly, it seems they would not be against reading the Bible with you. Have them read aloud to you verses like "For if it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?" And "Wide is the way that leads to destruction, and most enter through it. Narrow is the way that leads to life, and only a few find it." Then ask them to explain in their own words what those scriptures mean to them.

"There is one Lord, one Faith (belief/religion), and one baptism." The Bible says that some have abandoned the Faith to follow deceiving spirits." (joined or created branched-off churches). They still believed in God and tried to worship Him, so "the Faith" does not simply mean belief in God. Faith is a mixture of belief, truth, and trust. Jesus says the only worshippers God accepts are those who worship in spirit and in truth.

The church is the body of Christ- of which He is the only head (Col.1). There is not one head to many bodies, and there is not many heads to the one body. Therefore, it is up to each individual to "study the scriptures daily" to make sure they are in the church that Jesus established and purchased with His blood, and shall remain unchanged until He comes again.

The gospel is baptism. The Bible says the gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and that we must obey the gospel. How do you obey a fact? By doing the same. We die to ourselves, bury our old sinful self in the watery grave of baptism, and are raised a new creature in Christ. "With flames of fire He will take vengeance on those who know not God, and who obey not the gospel of His Son." "This water symbolizes baptism- which now saves you." 1Peter 3:21

Romans 6:3 "Or don't you know that all who were baptized into Christ were baptized into His death?" This is how we get in Christ, and only those in Christ will be saved. During baptism we come into contact with the blood- which is where He shed it- in His death- which God uses to perform 'circumcision of the heart (Col2). We stay in contact with the blood by taking the Lords Supper upon the first day of the week in the assembly of the saints (Christ's body's blood circulation). It is the same as a physical body, only its spiritual.

 

[Frankparkway]

I like this thread so useful

 

[Enow]

Since Jesus said that a prophet is not without honor except in his own country and among his own people, you leave this matter to a non-family member who can be far more effective. The brothers of the Lord Jesus Christ refused to believe on Him until after the resurrection. That should be a lesson for all of us.

Still, you can witness to a family member since it is on God to cause the increase.

1 Corinthians 3:[SUP]5 [/SUP]Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?[SUP] 6 [/SUP]I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.[SUP] 7 [/SUP]So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.

You can share what you believe about what the Bible actually says and not just Who you believe in.

1 Peter 3:[SUP]15 [/SUP]But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

But you are right in that no one should be frustrated when witnessing to family members that have contrary views when they do not listen to them, but yet again, it is not a hopeless situation either that they should not say anything when asked.