Sometimes in the life of a Christian, a person comes along to whom it seems practically impossible to explain the love of God in such a way as to convince that person to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. It could be a lifetime friend, a sibling, a husband or wife, or any number of people who have become so set in their ways of the world the thought of changing their lifestyle is unthinkable. To them, life is good, although lacking in spiritual aspects, materially they have most of what they want, but always lack and want more.
Have you ever been so hungry for something that nothing seems to satisfy you until you realize that a glass of water was the answer and not food? It’s the same with some people who unknowingly thirst for the spiritual and try to satisfy the thirst with the physical, i.e., lust, drugs, alcohol, money, fame, fortune, friends, etc., etc. It’s that vacuum inside every person that only a personal relationship with the Lord can fill.
2 Timothy 2:24-26, Paul writes, “And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.” (NKJV)
This is speaking of those same people and telling the “servant of the Lord” how to handle them. You might object by saying that it’s speaking of a pastor, priest, missionary, or Bible teacher, someone who is called to minister to people.
If you have acknowledged the Lord is your Savior, you are called to be a servant of the Lord. You are called just as much as anyone with a degree in theology, any ordained person, any pastor, priest, missionary, or Bible teacher. We’re all called to the “Great Commission” of Matthew 28:19-20.
What is so good about being called is that we don’t have to be able to quote scripture chapter and verse. We don’t have to have a degree behind our name or carry a Bible with us everywhere we go. There is nothing wrong in those things, but the simplicity of the Gospel is just telling others what the Lord has done in your own life. This is true whether witnessing to friends or relatives, or the person who comes knocking at your door to tell you of “another gospel”.
Nobody can argue with or disprove what God has done in your life to cause you to make a change, which of course is really by the Holy Spirit.
So, be encouraged and take heed to what Paul advises Timothy. When witnessing, be gentle, and teach by telling them what life was like before you knew the Lord as opposed to what it is afterward. If correction is needed, be patient and let the Holy Spirit do the real work in them, calling them to repentance. In following this advice, Paul says, “….they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil,”.