Ron Hutchcraft Ministries - Where's the Beef? (Part 2 of 3)

In our previous blog, we looked at a group of people who have been given just enough religion throughout their lifetime to keep them from the real thing - a personal, life-changing relationship with Jesus. We call this group the religious lost. And the question we are asking is "What can we do to reach them?" Allow me to speak to this from a couple of different perspectives.

First, as friends of the religious lost, we must continue to pray for the true salvation of those around us who are not bearing fruit. And remember that when you commit to laser-focused prayer for the lost, you are joining the greatest prayer partner of all time - Jesus Christ (see John 17:20 ).

Second, we must continue to love one another and bear fruit, showing ourselves to belong to Jesus (John 13:35 ). This is not a "look down your nose at others who don't match up to you" approach, but rather it is a genuine seeking after the things of God on our part and allowing others to see the progress we are making toward being like Jesus. It's the little things that add up, like returning kindness for criticism, worshiping in private before worshiping in public, and having a servant's heart and attitude when others are wanting power. The list could go on.

Third, when the time is appropriate in a private conversation with your religious lost friend, ask them if you can share your testimony with them; how you came to know Jesus personally. Then ask them to share their testimony with you in return. If they are willing to share their testimony, listen closely (not in a condemning way but in a spirit of love) for cues that might become open doors later on to share the Gospel with them.

Chances are, they'll tell you they grew up in church, they belong to a certain denomination, they "pray all the time," may refer to God as "the man upstairs," or tell you how they prayed and asked God to help them out of some huge ordeal one time and He did. So, in their mind that's their confirmation that they are okay with God and He is okay with them.

Here are a few things I like to listen for when others are sharing their testimony, or what Ron Hutchcraft calls their Hope Story. These are not in any particular order.

Listen for a definite beginning in their relationship with Jesus. On June 25, 1994 I made a public commitment of my life to my wife in marriage and I wear a wedding ring as a continual reminder and symbol of that life-long commitment. But the night before the actual wedding ceremony, we went through a wedding rehearsal. We said all the right things, we walked and stood where we were supposed to. We did everything that looked like a wedding would look. But there was no commitment made to each other at the rehearsal.

For many people in our churches today, their whole church life has been nothing more than a rehearsal without a life commitment. They've said the right words, prayed the right prayers, worn the right clothing. But their life has never been changed by Jesus. Listen for a definite beginning.

Another cue I listen for is a definite and complete trust in Jesus and Jesus alone to rescue them and give them new life. So many people have been fooled into thinking that if they live a good enough life, it will get them into heaven. When confronted with this issue, I gently remind people that if their good works could get them into heaven, then Jesus died on the cross in vain. He accomplished on the cross what our good works never could. His death satisfied the justice of God for our sin, making it possible for us to receive forgiveness and have a personal relationship with God Himself.

One cue that is easily overlooked, is trying to determine whether the person has ever experienced true conviction of sin by God's Spirit and been shown their need for a Savior. Someone once said, "Before you can get somebody saved, you have to first get them lost." Only God's Spirit can convict someone of sin, and if you try to make somebody feel convicted yourself, you will ultimately fail, pushing that person away from the Gospel. If they have not been convicted of sin by God's Spirit, pray even stronger on their behalf and ask God to begin dealing with that person, showing them their need of Him.

While this blog provides a few practical helps for those of us who are friends with the religious lost, our next blog will provide practical helps for those who are pastors and spiritual leaders of the religious lost. Let's face it: pretty much every congregation has people in it who have only gone through the wedding rehearsal and have never truly made a commitment of their life to Jesus. What can we do as their spiritual leaders to change that?