“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.” (Eccl. 12:13)
We cannot convict people in the area of sin, we allow the Holy Spirit to use us to bring the knowledge of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. If we do not study the Word of God we cannot do that, offering someone a Scripture verse that is relevant to the current situation they may find themselves in is only the beginning, from that point hope must be offered. Our personal testimonies are of course relevant, for I believe that the Lord allows us to go through certain valleys so that we can help others who also find themselves in them, but unless the conversation revolves around Christ, to many that personal testimony will seem as no more than a valid opinion.
We validate our salvation by our actions and words, there is nothing else we have to offer, it is the Word of God that convicts, if they follow you, they are not following Christ.
Far too many who claim Jesus as Lord believe in what I will call here a magic trick, if they are supposed to speak to someone about the Savior, then the Holy Spirit will automatically begin speaking through them, they will not have a choice in the matter. I offer you this truth, we are slaves to Jesus Christ by our own free will, the Lord does not impose His will upon any. You not only have to desire to serve, to be His slave, but you must act upon those desires. The Lord did not make any robots.
Your sins, all of them, were forgiven at the cross of Christ, if you in all earnest employ 1 John 1:9 when necessary, you will meet the Savior with no unconfessed sins, with a sin nature yes, that will be removed then, but not with sins unconfessed. You will not be judged for what you did, as much as for what you did not do.
Allowing the Holy Spirit to use us for the glory of God is a choice we must make, we are the ones that must walk over to that person, He will not take control of our body and do so, we are the ones that need to initiate the conversation of Christ, the Holy Spirit will not take over your vocal cords, you are a slave, not a puppet.
Slaves have been given commandments, and they are expected to obey them, in the case of those who have been born-again, we are not forced to serve. “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15) When Jesus said to those present that day, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15) He was looking at you, and He meant what He said.
I offer these words for your contemplation only, if not one person who came to Christ for the salvation of their souls that day did what they were told, would anyone else ever have been saved? “There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.” (Romans 3:11) God does not need us, He allows us to make a decision, serve or not. If you do not intentionally seek the lost for His glory, who are you expecting to do that?
There is that fine line I do not care to cross, what is the very least that a person can do to show to the world that they indeed have been saved by the grace of God? Is the once-a-week attendance at the church enough? Is a life of not cursing and swearing, of attempting not to fitting into society enough? If you do not speak to others about Jesus Christ, are you saved?
Contemplate these words with intent, those that the Lord Jesus Christ will say He is embarrassed to know, (Luke 9:26) is He speaking these words to them at the gate of heaven, or at the great white throne of judgement?
