"So on a scale of 1 to 100, how sure are you that you will go to heaven when you die?" "100%", he replied. I asked why. He said "Because I choose to place my trust in Jesus". That was music to an evangelists ears!
I asked him that if he had died before this conversation, where would he have gone? “I would have gone to hell”. Why? “I thought I was a good person, when I’m not”. And now where would he go? “Heaven.” Why? “Because I don’t deserve it, but Jesus has taken all my sins on the cross. It’s nothing to do with me.” We went over some more checking questions. and it turned out he had indeed had a false conversion.
Jericho – I had to labour a bit with Jericho regarding the concept of universe = universe maker. Once he conceded, we were off and running. He thought he was a good person, but had an uh-oh moment when he realised that he wouldn’t make it to heaven.
Out came a string of abuse and threats. He said if I called the cops they would take five minutes to get here, and he could kill me in just one. At that point I threw my hands up and backed off. He said very colourfully that if I didn't get the Jesus stuff out of his face he would make sure I wasn't able to tell anyone anything ever again.
LDS missionaries – as I approached these two young Samoan guys, I could overhear them mocking the ladies for believing that Jesus was God. That mad me a bit angry, and it took all my effort not to yell at them. One looked at me and asked me if I believed that too. I said I believed it because Jesus said He was (John 10:30).
Our faith has an object, and that object is Christ Himself. Our faith in Him for the forgiveness of our sins has appeased the Father’s anger towards us, clothing us with His righteousness. When He now looks upon us, He is pleased, and we can enter His presence without fear.
I was able to lead Jessie through the Gospel conversation, all the while her mum throwing verbal volleys at me. It was like having my own personal heckler. Jessie was very humble, admitting that she would be judged by God and given hell as a punishment. But she was distracted and embarrassed by her mum’s behaviour, and said she should go.
One is now at war with the world. The hunger for more has created a dictator over everyone, accountable to no one. The depths of greed have even clouded judgement to the point of demanding that God rush to one’s side with a click of fingers like a divine butler, to fulfil all wants and desires. Of course, these will fall on deaf ears, as He bows to no decree.
He was trying to think up another way to get around this. I short-cutted this strategy, telling him that the only way to avoid his hell punishment was if someone took it for him. He listened silently as I gave him the Gospel of grace, saying that there was nothing he could do but place his faith in Christ, who did all the work for him. He was quiet for a long time, then said that it made perfect sense.
The meeting got off to an unusual start, as at right on 10 am, a Jehovah’s Witness turned up the back door. Sometimes you don’t need to go fishing when they just jump into your boat! This woman was trying to convince me that a few obscure verses in Psalms was the key to the future on earth for believers.