What Do Christians Do?
A missionary from the Middle East was a guest in my CrossPoint University class last night. I am not mentioning his name for security reasons. He is a missionary in a part of the world that is closed to the gospel, and the local governing authorities typically enforce that censorship with either imprisonment, or worse, death. Actually, this friend is not listed as a missionary with the Southern Baptist International Mission Board in order to protect him and his family.
My missionary friend taught us much about the Middle East during our class. Perhaps one of the most amazing stories he shared concerned a brand new Muslim convert. The new believer wanted to know what it is that Christians do. My missionary friend advised, “Christians are supposed to tell other people how to become Christians.”
The new convert took our missionary at his word and began immediately telling everyone in his family and village about how to approach God by faith through Jesus Christ. He passed out Bibles and tracks, and even showed the Jesus filim in his house. Of course, this evangelistic effort was not well received by the local Muslim leadership. So the new Christian was always under constant surveillance.
The story progresses to a time when the new convert was visiting his dying grandmother. Knowing his grandmother was near death, he felt led by the Spirit to share his newborn faith with her. He wanted her to know about the comfort and salvation she would receive by believing in Jesus. But he also realized he could lose his life if someone overheard him, or if his grandmother turned him into the local authorities. Yet the new convert did what our missionary told him to do—tell other people how become a Christian.
The man’s grandmother did not turn on him. Instead, she turned her heart over to Jesus and was born again. When our missionary asked him how he decided to communicate the gospel message while risking death, the new believer said, “I would rather die for telling my grandmother the truth, than live knowing that I did not.”
As our missionary friend said last night, “There are no casual conversions in the Muslim world.” The new convert’s story is a prime example.
For those of you wondering what we Christians are supposed to do, I encourage you to accept my missionary friends’ challenge: Christians are supposed to tell other people how to become Christians. I pray the Lord leads JUST ONE MORE individual to you today for you to tell how to become a Christian. Why? Because that is why Christians are supposed to do, tell other people how to become Christians.
My missionary friend taught us much about the Middle East during our class. Perhaps one of the most amazing stories he shared concerned a brand new Muslim convert. The new believer wanted to know what it is that Christians do. My missionary friend advised, “Christians are supposed to tell other people how to become Christians.”
The new convert took our missionary at his word and began immediately telling everyone in his family and village about how to approach God by faith through Jesus Christ. He passed out Bibles and tracks, and even showed the Jesus filim in his house. Of course, this evangelistic effort was not well received by the local Muslim leadership. So the new Christian was always under constant surveillance.
The story progresses to a time when the new convert was visiting his dying grandmother. Knowing his grandmother was near death, he felt led by the Spirit to share his newborn faith with her. He wanted her to know about the comfort and salvation she would receive by believing in Jesus. But he also realized he could lose his life if someone overheard him, or if his grandmother turned him into the local authorities. Yet the new convert did what our missionary told him to do—tell other people how become a Christian.
The man’s grandmother did not turn on him. Instead, she turned her heart over to Jesus and was born again. When our missionary asked him how he decided to communicate the gospel message while risking death, the new believer said, “I would rather die for telling my grandmother the truth, than live knowing that I did not.”
As our missionary friend said last night, “There are no casual conversions in the Muslim world.” The new convert’s story is a prime example.
For those of you wondering what we Christians are supposed to do, I encourage you to accept my missionary friends’ challenge: Christians are supposed to tell other people how to become Christians. I pray the Lord leads JUST ONE MORE individual to you today for you to tell how to become a Christian. Why? Because that is why Christians are supposed to do, tell other people how to become Christians.
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