DEALING WITH THE WILLFUL AND THE DELUDED
1. THE WILLFUL
There are several varieties of the Willful. There are those for example
who say “_I do not wish you to talk to me_.” In such a case it is
usually best to give some pointed passage of scripture and let it talk
for itself and then leave the person alone to reflect upon it. Romans
vi. 23; Heb. x. 28, 29; Heb. xii. 25; Mark xvi. 16; Prov. xxix. 1, and
Prov. i. 24‒33, are passages which are good for this purpose.
Then there are those who say “_I cannot forgive_.” Matt. vi. 15 and
xviii. 23‒35, are good to use as showing that they must forgive or be
lost. Phil. iv. 13, and Ezek. xxxvi. 26, will show them how they can
forgive. There are a great many people who are kept from Christ by an
_unforgiving_ spirit. Some times this difficulty can be removed by
getting the person to kneel in prayer and ask God to take away their
unforgiving spirit. I once reasoned a long time with an inquirer who was
under deep conviction, but was held back from accepting Christ by a
hatred in her heart toward some one who had wronged her. She kept
insisting that she could not forgive. Finally I said, “let us get down
and tell God about this matter.” To this she consented and scarcely had
we knelt when she burst into a flood of tears, and the difficulty was
removed and she accepted Christ immediately.
There are those again who say “_I love the world too much_.” Mark viii.
36, is the great text to use with this class. Luke xiv. 33, will show
the absolute necessity that the world be given up. Luke xii. 16‒20;
1 Jno. ii. 15, 16, 17, will show the folly of holding on to the world
and Ps. lxxxiv. 11, Romans viii. 32, will show that the Lord will hold
back no good thing from them.
There are those who say “_I cannot acknowledge a wrong that I have
done_.” Prov. xxviii. 13, will show the wretchedness and woe that is
sure to follow unless the wrong is acknowledged. Others will say “_I do
not want to make a public confession_.” Romans x. 10; Matt. x. 32, 33,
will show that God will accept nothing else. Mark viii. 38; Jno. xii.
42, 43, and Prov. xxix. 25, will show the peril of not making it. There
are those who say “_I want to have my own way_.” Is. lv. 8‒9, will show
how much better God’s way is, and Prov. xiv. 12, shows the consequences
of having our own way. Finally there are those who say “_I neither
accept Christ nor reject Him_.” Matt. xii. 30, will show that they must
do one or the other. This verse has been used to the conviction of a
great many.
2. THE DELUDED
_a._ Under this head come the _Roman Catholics_. A good way to deal with
a Roman Catholic is to show him the necessity of the new birth and what
the new birth is. Jno. iii. 3, 5, 7, shows the necessity of the new
birth. What the new birth is, is shown in Ezek. xxxvi. 25‒27; 2 Cor. v.
17; 2 Peter i. 4. Many Roman Catholics understand the new birth to mean
baptism, but it can be easily shown them that the language used does not
fit baptism. Further than this, in 1 Cor. iv. 15, Paul says to the
Corinthian Christians he had begotten them again through the gospel. If
the new birth meant baptism he must have baptized them, but in 1 Cor. i.
14, he declares he had not baptized them. Acts viii. 13, 21, 23, shows
that a man may be baptized, and yet his heart not be “right in the sight
of God” so he has “neither part nor lot in this matter.” It is well to
take a step further and show the inquirer what the evidences of the new
birth are. 1 Jno. ii. 29; iii. 9, 14‒17; v. 1, 4, give the Biblical
evidences of the new birth. The next question that will arise is “How to
be born again.” This question is answered in Jno. i. 12; 1 Peter i. 23;
Jas. i. 18.
Acts iii. 19, is a good text to use with Roman Catholics as it shows the
necessity of repentance and conversion. What repentance is, will be
shown by Is. lv. 7; Jonah iii. 10. Still another way of dealing with
Roman Catholics is by showing them that it is the believer’s privilege
to know that he has eternal life. Roman Catholics almost always lack
assurance. They do not know that they are forgiven, but hope to be
forgiven some day. If you can show them that we may _know_ that we are
forgiven and that we have eternal life, it will awaken in a great many
of them a desire for this assurance. 1 John v. 13, shows that it is the
believer’s privilege to know. Acts xiii. 38, 39; x. 43, John iii. 36,
are very useful in leading them into this assurance. Still another way
of dealing with them (but it is not best to use it until you have
already made some progress with them) is to show them the advantage of
Bible study. Good texts for this purpose are John v. 39; 1 Peter ii. 1,
2; 2 Tim. iii. 13‒17; Jas i. 21, 22; Ps. i. 1, 2; Josh. i. 8; Mark vii.
7, 8, 13; Matt. xxii. 29. These texts, excepting the one in 1 Peter ii.
1, 2, are all practically the same in the “Douay” or Roman Catholic
Bible as they are in the Protestant Bible and it is well oftentimes in
dealing with a Catholic to use the Catholic Bible.
Still another way of dealing with a Roman Catholic is to use the same
method that you would in dealing with an impenitent sinner—that is to
awaken a sense that he is a sinner and needs Christ. For this purpose
use Matt. xxii. 37, 38; Gal. iii. 10, 13; Is. liii. 6.
Many people think that there is no use of talking with Roman Catholics,
that they cannot be brought to Christ. This is a great mistake. Many of
them are longing for something they do not find in the Roman Catholic
church, and, if you can show them from the word of God how to find it,
they come along very easily and they make very earnest Christians. Do
not attack the Roman Catholic church. Give them the truth, and the
errors in time will take care of themselves. Often times our attacks
only expose our ignorance.
There is one point at which we always have the advantage in dealing with
a Roman Catholic; that is that there is peace and power in Christianity
as we know it that there is not in Christianity as they know it, and
they appreciate the difference.
_b._ _Jews._ The best way to deal with a Jew is to show him that his own
Bible points to Christ. The most helpful passages to use are Is. liii.;
Dan. ix. 26; Zech. xii. 10. There are also useful passages in the New
Testament; the whole book of Hebrews, especially the ninth and tenth
chapters and the seventh chapter, 25th to 28th verses, and the whole
Gospel of Matthew. A great many Jews to–day are inquiring into the
claims of Jesus of Nazareth, and are open to approach upon this subject.
The great difficulty in the way of the Jew coming out as a Christian is
the terrific persecution which he must endure if he does. This
difficulty can be met by the passages already given under the head of
“Those Who are Afraid of Persecution.”
(Note. There are a number of good tracts for Jews which can be had from
the Mildmay Mission to the Jews, 79 Mildmay Road, London.)
_c._ _Spiritualists._ Lev. xix. 31; xx. 6; Deut. xviii. 10‒12; 2 Kings
xxi. 1, 2, 6; 1 Chron. x. 13; Is. viii. 19, 20; 1 John iv. 1‒3; 2 Thes.
ii. 9‒12, are passages to be used with this class.
In dealing with all classes of deluded people it is well to begin by
using Jno. vii. 17, and bring them to a place where they heartily desire
to know the truth. There is no hope of bringing a man out of his
delusion, unless he desires to know the truth.