DEALING WITH THE INDIFFERENT OR CARELESS
One of the classes of men most frequently met with, is The Indifferent,
or Careless. There are several ways of dealing with them. One is to show
them their need of a Saviour. A good verse to use for this purpose is
Romans iii. 23. Get the person with whom you are dealing to read the
verse, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Then
say to him: “Who have sinned?” “All.” “Who does that include?” and keep
up the questioning until he says, “It includes me.” Then ask him what it
is that he has done, and keep at it until he comes out plainly and says:
“I have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” This is likely to
make him feel his need of a Saviour. Another good verse to use is Isaiah
liii. 6. After the verse has been read, ask him who it is that has gone
astray and by a series of questions bring him to the point where he will
say, “I have gone astray.” Then ask him what kind of a sheep one is that
has “gone astray” and hold him to it until he says “a lost sheep.” “What
are you then?” “Lost.” Then ask him what the Lord has done with his sin,
and hold him to that point until he sees the truth of the verse, that
God has laid his sin on Jesus Christ. Now, he is in a position for you
to put to him the direct question: “Will you accept this Saviour upon
whom the Lord has laid your sin?” Still another verse to use is Psalms
cxxx. 3. When the verse has been read, ask him, “If the Lord marked
iniquities could you stand?” In dealing with this class of men I use
Matthew xxii. 37, 38 more frequently than any other passage of
Scripture. Before having the person read the verse, it is well to ask
him, “Do you know that you have committed the greatest sin that a man
can commit?” In all probability he will answer, “No, I have not.” Then
ask him what he thinks the greatest sin a man can commit. When he has
answered, say to him, Now let us see what God considers the greatest
sin. Read the verses and ask him, “What is the first and greatest of the
commandments?” Then ask him, “What then is the greatest sin?” He will
soon answer that the violation of the first and greatest of the
commandments must be the greatest sin. Ask him if he has kept that
commandment and when he confesses, as sooner or later he must, that he
has not, ask him of what he is guilty in the sight of God, and hold him
to that point until he admits that he is guilty of committing the
greatest sin that a man can commit. An illustration from life may help
to make the use of this verse clear. I was dealing with a very bright
young man who evidently had no deep sense of sin nor of his need of a
Saviour. In fact when I asked if he was a Christian he said promptly
that he always had been; but there was something in his manner that
showed that he had no clear understanding of what it meant to be a
Christian. I then asked if he had been born again and he did not even
understand what I was talking about. I next asked if he knew he had
committed the greatest sin that a man could possibly commit and he at
once answered, “No, I never did in my life.” I asked what he considered
the greatest sin, and he replied “murder.” I took my Bible and opened it
to Matthew xxii. 37, 38, and asked him to read the verses, which he did.
I then asked him, “If this is the first and greatest commandment, what
must be the greatest sin?” He answered, “I suppose the breaking of that
commandment.” I then asked if he had always kept that commandment, if he
had always loved God with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all
his mind. If he had always put God first in everything. He replied that
he had not. I then asked him, “Of what then are you guilty?” The Spirit
of God carried the text home and with the greatest earnestness he
replied, “I have committed the greatest sin that a man can commit, but I
never saw it before in my life.” Another verse that can be used with
effect is John viii. 34. After the man has read the verse, “Whosoever
committeth sin is the servant of sin,” ask him “what is one who commits
sin?” Then ask him if he commits sin. Then put to him the direct
question, “What are you then,” and hold him to it until he says “the
servant of sin.” Then ask him if he does not desire to be delivered from
that awful bondage. Hold him to this point until he sees his need of
Jesus Christ as a Deliverer from the slavery of sin. The Holy Spirit has
used Isaiah lvii. 21 to the salvation of many men who have been
indifferent to the claims of the Gospel. After the verse, “There is no
peace saith my God to the wicked,” has been read slowly, thoughtfully,
and earnestly, ask him who it is that says this. Then ask him if it is
true; then ask him if it is true in his case. “Have you peace?” One
night a careless young man was going out of one of our tents in Chicago
and as he passed by me I took him by the hand and said to him, “You need
the Saviour.” He wanted to know why I thought so. I replied, “Because
you have no peace.” He said, “Yes I have.” “No you have not.” He then
asked me how I knew that. I told him God said so and quoted the above
passage. He tried to laugh it off and say the verse was not true in his
case. Then he became angry and went out of the tent in a rage, but the
next night I saw him kneeling with one of our workers in prayer and when
he arose from his knees, the worker came over and said he wished to
speak with me. As I approached him he held out his hand and said, “I
wanted to beg your pardon for what I said last night; what you said was
true, I didn’t have peace.” I asked him if he had now accepted the
Saviour. He said he had.
Galatians iii. 10 is a verse which we very frequently use in our work in
dealing with the Indifferent. After the one with whom you are dealing
has read the verse, “For as many as are of the works of the law are
under the curse; for it is written cursed is every one that continueth
not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them”
ask him the question, “What is every one that continueth not in all
things which are written in the book of the law to do them?” When he
answers, “Cursed,” ask him if he has continued in all things which are
written in the book of the law to do them and when he replies, “No, I
have not,” put to him the direct question, “What are you then?” and hold
him to that point until he says, “I am under the curse.” In very many
cases the inquirer will be ready at once to be led to the thirteenth
verse of the same chapter which shows how he may be saved from that
curse under which he rests. Romans vi. 23 can often be used with good
effect. “For the wages of sin is death.” Ask “what are the wages of
sin?” Then, “who earns those wages?” Then, “Are you a sinner?” “What
wages then have you earned?” “Do you wish to take your wages?” John iii.
36 is a verse which can be used in a similar way. Ask the question,
“Upon whom is it that the wrath of God abides?” Then, “Do you believe on
the Son?” “What then abides upon you?” Then put the decisive question,
“Are you willing to go away with the wrath of God abiding upon you?”
2 Thes. i. 7‒9, and John viii. 24; Rev. xx. 15; xxi. 8; xiv. 10‒11, set
forth in a most impressive way the awful consequences of sin. If these
verses are used they should be read with the deepest earnestness and
solemnity and dwelt upon until the person with whom you are dealing
realizes their terrible import.
There is another way to arouse a man from his indifference, and that is
by showing what Jesus has done for him. I have found Isaiah liii. 5‒6
more effectual for this purpose than any other passage in the Bible. An
incident from life will illustrate its use. A lady had asked prayers for
her daughter, a young woman about twenty years of age. At the close of
the services I stepped up to the daughter and asked her if she would not
accept Jesus Christ as her Saviour at once. She stamped her foot in
anger and said, “My mother should have known better than to do that; she
knows it will only make me worse.” I asked her if she would not sit down
for a few minutes and as soon as we were seated I opened my Bible to
this passage and began to read, “But he was wounded for our
transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of
our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like
sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the
Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” I made no comment upon
the verses whatever, but the Spirit of God carried them home and tears
began to roll down the cheeks of the young woman. She did not come out
as a Christian that night but did shortly afterward. It is well in using
these verses, whenever it is possible, to get the inquirer to change the
pronoun from the plural to the singular. “He was wounded for _my_
transgressions; he was bruised for _my_ iniquities, etc.” John iii. 16
can be used in a similar way. I was talking one night to one who was
apparently most indifferent and hardened. She told me the story of her
sin, with seemingly very little sense of shame, and when I urged her to
accept Christ, she simply refused. I put a Bible in her hands and asked
her to read this verse. She began to read, “God so loved the world that
He gave His only begotten Son,” and before she had finished reading the
verse she had broken into tears, softened by the thought of God’s
wondrous love to her. First Peter ii. 24 is a verse of similar
character. Ask the inquirer whose sins they were that Jesus bore in his
own body on the tree, and hold him to it until he says, “My sins.”
1 Peter i. 18‒19; Luke xxii. 44; Matt. xxvii. 46, are useful as bringing
out in detail what Christ has suffered for us.
There is still another way to arouse indifferent persons, and that is by
showing them that the one damning sin is that of which they themselves
are guilty—the sin of rejecting Jesus Christ. Heb. x. 28‒29 is very
effective for this purpose. John xvi. 9; iii. 18, 19, 20, and Acts ii.
36 can also be used.
Oftentimes you will meet one who is not willing to sit down and let you
deal with him in this deliberate way. In that case the only thing to do
is to look up to God for guidance and power and give him some pointed
verse in great earnestness, such for example as Heb. x. 28‒29; Romans
vi. 23; John iii. 36; Isaiah lvii. 21, and leave it for the Spirit of
God to carry the truth home to his heart. A passing shot of this kind
has often resulted in the salvation of a soul. The passages given above
can be wisely used with one who is not altogether indifferent or
careless but who has not a sufficiently deep sense of sin and need to be
ready to accept the Gospel.