“Are you a Christian?” I asked the 60-year-old woman who approached our booth at the fair.
“Yes!” she said.
“Great! How did you become a Christian?”
“When I was 14 in a youth group.”
“What did you learn in youth group that made you a Christian?”
After a pause she finally replied, “I can’t remember.”
This is not unusual, and I don’t just mean memory loss. I’m referring to people not knowing why or how they are saved.
Part of our job as stewards of the gospel of Christ is to make sure people know what it is.
Don’t stop talking to someone about being Christian if they can’t explain to you why.
The conversation above did not end with her memory failure. She heard the gospel that saves us all, and she received literature that explained it further.
You can’t be saved without knowing why. For all I know, she was never saved to begin with.
Salvation is not a club, political party, value system, culture, or significant experience from a good memory.
Salvation is what God does to you when you believe that you need saved, that Jesus Christ is the only one that can save you, and believe the power of his death and resurrection to save.
No other doctrine matters for Christians as much as knowing why you are one.
This is evangelism work in America.
For the gospel of Christ,
Justin Curtis Johnson