Take My Chances

4/7/13                Vince, Hector            50 or so, mid 20’s

I arrived early to church this morning, and decided to go for a walk to see whom the Lord might have me reach out to.  In two separate conversations - Vince and Hector - both answered my questions about eternity with the same answer – “I don’t know, I’ll just take my chances and find out when I get there”.  How should I respond to this?  Is this a fatalistic attitude, a smug self-confidence, or just a lazy indifference?  I can think of four approaches in response: I could try to convince them of 1.) God’s love and the possibility of heaven; 2.) their sin and God’s wrath; 3.) the joys of being a Christian right here in this life; 4.) or just wish them well and do nothing.  For much of my life in Christ I believed the “sin/wrath” approach would scare everyone away.  I thought most people assumed they were unworthy and God was unapproachable, so we should try to convince them of His love.  But hundreds of conversations have shown me that nothing could be further from the truth.  The vast majority believe that, although they aren’t perfect, God will understand and they will be found worthy of heaven.  The lazy indifference comes from a smug self-confidence in one’s own goodness.  They believe they are “good enough” for heaven and “if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it”.  They judge themselves by their own standards or the world’s, not God’s.  They don’t need me to shrug my shoulders and walk on, they need to be awakened to their desperate situation of being one heartbeat away from an eternity cut off from God because of their sin.  They need a “John the Baptist” to help them repent in preparation for the forgiveness found only in Jesus.  Does this mean we need to be rude, obnoxious, or insensitive to try to get our point across?  No, that would only distract people from the message.  How then, could I get Vince or Hector’s attention?  Fortunately God has given them the same thing He has given everyone – a conscience – and He has given us a way to awaken that conscience – His law.  Galatians 3:24 says “So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.”  The Ten Commandments can help people see their need for Christ – lets make good use of it!  (For more information and videos of how to share your faith biblically and effectively, check out www.LivingWaters.com)