“Then Jesus said, ‘Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you. Let Me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30 NLT)
When Jesus spoke the words in the verses above, He was in the disciples literal presence. They could literally “come to” Him, follow Him, and learn to find for themselves that His words were true. But to say those words to someone today and not explain what they mean is not only misleading, but cruel.
Greg Stier said: “To compel people to come to Jesus but not preach the cross is to ask someone to walk through a door but not give them the key.” What Jesus died to give us is foreign to people who don’t understand why anyone would die for them. To invite them to Jesus and not explain who He is or why He did what He did, is almost like promising a child candy, but never showing them where it is.
It’s counterproductive and, on some levels, does more harm than good. Think of the next person who asks them about Jesus and the person responds: “Sure, I spoke with someone about Jesus just the other day.” But have they? They may have heard His name, but they certainly don’t know Him or have a relationship with Him based on that conversation.
We want to compel someone to come to the Lord, as well we should, but we don’t want to mislead them into believing something about Him or themselves that isn’t true. For example, I can explain who Jesus is, even what He did on the Cross, basically give them an entire “Gospel presentation,” yet, if I haven’t helped them understand what to DO with that information, I haven’t helped them.
Knowledge is good, but knowledge alone doesn’t save anyone. It takes the activity of the Spirit – convicting, convincing, inviting, drawing. Then the response of the person – saying yes, confessing sin, repenting, believing, reaching out to the Lord in a prayer of acceptance and seeking His power to follow the Lord.
Salvation FROM sin is an invitation TO follow Jesus, which is a foreign process to most people that needs to be explained, then closely monitored as they learn to walk WITH, not only the Lord Jesus, but with US as members of His Body. There’s really no such thing as a “Lone Ranger” Christ follower, it’s a family matter.
We’re “born” into the Family of God when we yield our life and allegiance to Jesus and just as a literal infant can’t care for and nurture itself, even an adult new believer isn’t equipped to care for themselves as an “infant” believer. Yes, of course, you can give an adult, even a child or teen, instructions, but they need close monitoring, so they know they aren’t alone.
They’ll encounter people, circumstances, problems they’re not going to know how to handle as a new believer, as they’ll encounter verses or passages of Scripture that will introduce subjects and situations with which they’re not familiar and may be difficult to understand. Does anyone fully understand the Trinity? Yes, we can give illustrations, but nothing we experience as a human being really comes close to what the Father, Son, and Spirit share in their relationship.
Let’s prayerfully seek the Lord’s wisdom EVERY time we speak with someone about Jesus. It’s sacred business that demands careful thought and prayerful guidance from the Spirit, enabling us to compel the person, not mislead them.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 