Fish For Souls

I find it so much harder to witness to family---especially when they were raised in a church tradition that teaches they are saved by baptism as an infant and by trusting in their church membership. Any suggestions?

Hi, Rachel! It's good to have you in the community! I don't know about you, but I was raised in that type of church. I was taught that you got baptized when you "understood" but not when you were a baby. But I was taught that I had to be a member of certain church to go to Heaven. And then it still wasn't a guarantee. I think that the first thing to do is to make sure when you witness to them you emphasize that works aren't enough. Pointing to the Ten Commandments is a good place to start. Most would say that you should follow the Commandments and that makes you a good person. Showing them that they aren't good enough on their own based on the Commandments makes it hard to refute. It won't be easy; frankly I was involved in a cult and it took a long time for the Gospel to really soak in. The fact that I was never sure about where I would go when I died was what really made me start thinking also. You can't attack their current beliefs head-on. You have to get to the heart of the matter that their sin separates them from God and no man or man-made works will save them. I don't know if you're familiar with Way of the Master, but they really explain Biblical evangelism and help you to find ways to talk to people.

Something else, Rachel, that my husband mentioned. If you do get to talk to them, ask them where in the Bible, especially the New Testament does it say anything about baptizing a baby. The only people that were baptized were adults, and ones who were already believers. You can also ask them if they believe in the Bible being the Word of God. If they do, they'll need to explain to you why it's okay for them to ignore what the Bible says in favor of what their church says. That will kind of give you some direction to work with too. What kind of church do they go to, if you don't mind me asking? I hope you enjoy your vacation! If I think of anything else, I'll let you know.