They Can Be Saved Too

It is not the strength of your faith but the object of
your faith that actually saves you.
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-Timothy Keller, "The Reason for God"

Have you ever tried to witness to a Jehovah’s Witness or a Mormon? It can be difficult because they use some of the same words that we use, but mean something completely different. Ask a Mormon if they believe in Jesus, “of course” they will say. The problem is, the Jesus they are talking about is not the same Jesus a Christian is talking about.

I started reading a book about world religions the other day called God is Not One, written by Stephen Prothero. In it he writes, “Are Buddhists trying to achieve salvation? Of course not, since they don’t even believe in sin. Are Christians trying to achieve nirvana? No, since for them suffering isn’t something that must be overcome.” He goes on do give a sports analogy, explaining that different religions have different goals. “If you ask which sport is best at scoring runs, you have privileged baseball from the start.” He continues, “Should we be trudging toward the end zone of salvation, or trying to reach the finish line of social harmony? Should our goal be reincarnation? Or escape from the vicious cycle of life, death, and rebirth?”

Why am I sharing this? I think, perhaps, as a wake up call for those of us who have been
around “church” for any significant length of time. Our world is in desperate need of a Savior, but some things, perhaps especially, spiritual things, take time. Just because we don’t see something happening doesn't mean something isn’t happening. The Bible doesn’t say to “go and get people saved” it says to preach the Gospel. The results are in God’s hands.

Do you have someone in your life you’ve given up on? Maybe they speak the same language but have beliefs that are totally different. Or maybe they, like the person playing soccer, are playing a different game entirely. They’re not even trying to score runs. Have you given up hope that your brother, or sister, or son or daughter, or friend can be
saved?

I just interviewed a friend of mine who baptized his father not too long
ago. He prayed and witnessed to his dad for years before the fruit of
those prayers arrived (See Interview Below).
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Keep praying. Keep interceding. Trust in the Lord! Don’t give up!
Pray for your family. Pray for your friends. God is well able to save!