"Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily (Col. 1:28-29)."
Jehovah's Witness Repents and Trusts in the True Jesus for Salvation. Some friends and I went to the courthouse today to share the Gospel and pass out gospel tracts. We arrived about 7:45 a.m. The courthouse opens its doors at 8 a.m. After sharing open air with a crowd of people gathered outside, we started speaking to people one on one or in small groups. I saw a young couple waiting outside, preparing to go in. I approached them and asked if they would like some free information to help with their day in court. One of the tracts we use at the courthouse is a special courthouse tract that has do's and don'ts and also has gospel message that's very effective for the courthouse setting. They gratefully accepted the information. I then asked them if they have a church background. They looked at each other awkwardly, and the young man said that he was a Jehovah's Witness. I asked him if he believed Jesus is God. He said he believed that Jesus is the Son of God and couldn't understand why someone would believe that God came to earth to die for sins. I asked him if he knew that the bible actually says that Jesus is "God" and actually calls Jesus the "Everlasting Father"? He said he hadn't heard that. I told him not to take my word for it, and I so I pulled up Isaiah 9 on the Bible application on my iPhone. I let him read Isaiah 9:6, which foretells the birth of the Savior: "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." He was surprised to see that verse. He admitted it was very clear. We also talked about Matthew 1:23, which declares: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"—which means, "God with us." We talked about how John's gospel says that the religious leaders threatened to kill Jesus because He made Himself to be "equal with God."
I then asked him if he wanted to me answer his question about why God Himself would come to earth as Jesus the Son in order to pay for our sins. He said yes. I asked him if he had ever lied in violation of the 9th Commandment. He said yes. I asked him, what does that make you? He said a liar. I asked him he'd ever stolen anything regardless of its value in violation of the 8th Commandment. He said yes. I asked him what you call someone who steals. He said a thief. I asked him if he'd ever used God's name in vain in violation of the 3rd Commandment? At this point, his eyes started filling up with tears. He said that he had. I explained to him that the bible says blasphemy is a very serious sin, as God says he will not hold that person guiltless who takes his name in vain. He was crying. I told him that Jesus explained that God's standard of moral perfection is so far higher than man's standard that if you are even angry with someone, then you've violated the 6th Commandment -- you shall not murder -- in your heart and are in danger of judgment (Matt. 5). The law was clearly doing its work on this young man's heart - bringing conviction of sin and breaking up the hard, stony ground in order to prepare his heart for the seed of the Gospel. I gently expressed appreciation for his honesty in admitting that he's just like the rest of us -- guilty of breaking God's moral law, though we had only covered four of the 10 Commandments. I also explained that by his own admission he stood before the Lord a lying, thieving, blasphemous, murderer at heart, and that it is destined for man to appear before the Lord in Judgment (Heb. 9:27; 2 Cor. 5:10). I asked him if he would be judged guilty or innocent if judged according to the 10 Commandments. He admitted that he would be found guilty. I then told him that the bible says in Romans 3:10 and 3:23 that all men stood before God guilty and that the purpose of the law is to show us that we all desperately need a Savior and can never be good enough to enter heaven. I then explained to him that's exactly why God came down Himself and died for us -- because only the infinitely perfect blood of the sinless and Holy "Mighty God," "Everlasting Father" could be sufficient to pay the penalty for an infinite number of sins committed by all men. I told him that we broke God's law and deserve His just wrath and punishment, but He died in our place to pay the penalty for sins so we can legally go free.
I asked him if he believed that Jesus is God who paid the penalty for his sins based on the authority of God's word as I had shown him. He said yes. I asked him if he knew what Jesus said he must do in order to be born again a new creature in Christ, knowing with certainty that he would have eternal life on that day. He said no. I explained to him that Jesus said in Mark 1:15 that he must do two things, repent and believe in the Jesus who is God Himself as the only one who can save him from his sins. I asked him when he would take those two steps. He said that he had been doing it as we were speaking! I encouraged him to continue in God's word to know the truth more and more and to follow Jesus as a true disciple. Turns out that his girlfriend was a Christian who had been trying to persuade him to trust in the real Jesus for his own salvation, so she was so excited about our divine appointment today! Praise God. Please pray for Jeremy, that God will seal his conversation and make him a faithful, passionate soul-winner!
Heather. After shaking hands with Jeremy and wishing him well with his court appearance, I noticed a women sitting on the bench right next to where I had been standing, sharing with Jeremy and his girlfriend. I asked her if she heard our conversation. She said part of it. I asked her if she would like a courthouse tract with tips for the courthouse. She said she had just received one from one of my friends. I asked her if she knew what her eternal destiny would be if she were to die today. With a bit of a sad and dejected look, she said no, she didn't. I asked her if she would like to know. (I often ask this question to see if God is working with the person to stir up an interest.) She said yes, she would like to know how she can know for sure. She volunteered that she had been in some legal proceedings lately that weren't going well and she had felt compelled to start reading a bible for answers but she really didn't know what she was doing. I walked her through the basic Way of the Master approach to sharing the gospel as I had just done with Jeremy. She acknowledged that if she were to die today, she would be judged guilty according to God's standard and would be facing eternity in hell. I explained to her what Jesus did to spare her from that fate. I told her the two steps that Jesus said to take -- repent and believe in Him as Lord and Savior (Mk. 1:15; Jn. 3:3-16). I asked her when she was going to take those two critical steps. She said she was going to do it today! She said I did that yesterday, too, but didn't really know that's what I was doing until now! Praise God! I encouraged her to begin reading the book of John a little bit each day and to ask God to help her obey what she reads. I explained that Jesus said we are truly His disciples if we continue in His Word, because we will begin to learn the truth, which will set us free (John 8). I wished her well as she went into the courthouse for her appoint.
Jack. Another man started to walk by me to go into the courthouse. He offered him some free information to help with his day in court. He started asking me questions about a subpoena he had received. I helped with his questions and then asked him about his eternal destiny. Jack did not know where he was going, but was hoping that he would go to heaven. I asked him how good a person has to be in order to go to heaven. He said he didn't know and then admitted that he struggled with drinking and was actually in trouble for public intoxication. I told him, like Heather, that the bible says he can know for sure what his eternal destiny will be and it's not based on his ability to be good enough. I gave him a million dollar bill tract and wrote on the back 1 John 5:11-13 and told him to go read that verse when he gets a chance after reading the tracts, because it makes clear that he can "know" for sure what his destiny will be if he will repent of his sins and trust in Jesus Christ alone for his salvation. He thanked me for my help and got in line to go into the courthouse.
Jackie. A woman then came up to me and asked me for a tract, too. I gave her one of the courthouse tips tract and asked her name. Jackie, she said. She said she had heard me sharing the gospel and asked if I would pray with her. I asked her what she wanted me to pray about. I She said just pray for strength, that God will give me strength. So, I prayed for Jackie right then while she waited in line to go through the metal detectors to go into the courthouse. What a blessing! Oh, the great need that's in the world all around us today!
The Community Service Workers. The line into the courthouse grew to about another 40 to 50 people, so we shared the gospel open air with the crowd before leaving for the morning. After we shared with the crowd and were starting to leave for the morning (about 8:40 a.m.), a community service worker (young girl probably in her early 20's at the most) approached us with questions about the gospel and salvation. People who have been found guilty of a crime and sentenced to community service come out of the courthouse between 8 and 9 a.m. to begin picking up trash, sweeping, and doing other court-imposed acts of community service to "pay" for their crimes. She said she heard us sharing with the crowd and had questions and wanted to know how to be saved. We shared with her. She was hungry. She soaked it up. Her eyes lit up with great astonishment as we explained Jesus' interpretation and application of the 10 commandments from Matthew 5. She said she was going to repent and trust Christ for salvation today and begin following Him in truth. She asked for a bible and we gave her a copy of John. Then another community service worker came up asking questions. We went through the same thing with her and gave her a bible, too. Then three more community service workers wanted tracts, so we gave them tracts as well! Not often that fish start jumping in the boat, but today was a rather miraculous day at our "fishing hole!"
All the praise goes to God alone who saves and supplies the grace to warn every man about the peril we all face but for the incomparable mercy of God and to teach every man about the great act of salvation that God Himself performed on our behalf!
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