Who will be saved? Two friends talk about salvation…

I decided to talk to my friend (let’s just call my friend “Sam” for this post) about Christ.  My friend Sam participated in many different religions. He took pride in the years of research, study, and praying to find the right “fit”.  Sam told me that he was open to all religious experiences from A to Z. Sam believes that we all serve the “same God” we just call him different names. (That just makes things so easy to rationalize doesn’t it?) He then went on to discuss the similarities between religions from an academic perspective.

I asked Sam, “Do you know where you are going when you die?”

He replied, “I don’t know”.

Then I asked, “Do you believe there is a Heaven and hell?”

Sam replied, “Yes I do”.

Then I asked, “How are you getting to Heaven Sam?”

Sam responded, “We are responsible for what we do in our lives.  At the end of life God will ask us what we have done and we have to answer for our decisions.”

I then asked, “Do you believe that God is perfect?”

Sam replied, “I do.”

I then asked, “Do you think that you and I are perfect?”

Sam replied, “No, I have done lots of wrong things in my life but I try to do the best I can.”

I then told Sam that I am a liar, a thief, adulterer (lust), and have broken God’s commandments as well.  Once we both agreed that we were far from perfect I then asked Sam,

“How do you think a perfect God would judge a sinner like you and I?”

Sam did not have an answer for this.  Instead Sam grew a little irritated and said to me, “Look…. I know what you are trying to do.  You think that I am going to “hell” unless I believe that Christ is God.  I know where you are at James… I used to be there as well, but after my research and prayer I know that am a good person and I am “pretty sure” that I am going to Heaven.”

At this point I was very slow to speak because I love my friend and did not want to argue or speak from my own understanding.  I listened for several minutes on how my “well intentioned” invitation to Christ was appreciated, but he refused to open up his heart to Christ.

At this point the Holy Spirit reminded me of this verse:

1 Corinthians 3:6-8

⁶I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. ⁷So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. ⁸The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.

This passages says to me that I may plant the seed (Christ), someone else can water the seed (Christ),but God causes the growth.  It goes further to say that “neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything”…  but only God causes the growth!

My friends, keep this scripture close to you when talking to your friends about Christ.  I am not a Pastor nor am I a Bible expert.  I believe in my heart that my job now is to pray for Sam so that he too may know Christ as I do.  If you are reading this, please pray for my friend as well…

I am sharing this message so that Christians that are sharing the gospel with friends and family understand that you will not always be received warmly talking about Christ.  If you friend has another religion, has a family that has never gone to church, or a bad experience with Church there can sometimes be a very emotional response.  If this happens, remember that you do not cause the growth.  God does.  Trust in him, pray for your friends and let God’s will be done.

Scriptures that I used during my discussion with “Sam” below:

Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

John 14:6

⁶Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.