Tricked!

“All the prophets testify about Him that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name.” Acts 10:43, NIV.

Even before he became a follower of Jesus, Jerry* was an evangelist. He regularly brought people to church and knew how to share the gospel with them. One young lady came to church with Jerry. She listened to the pastor and became convicted that she wanted to become a Christian.

She leaned over to Jerry and said, “I really want to believe in Jesus, but it is really hard. Can you help me?”

Jerry said, “Okay. If you want to follow Jesus, first you must know that you are a sinner. Second, you must believe that Jesus can forgive your sins. He is the only God who can forgive your sins, you cannot do anything to save yourself.” He went on to explain that if she still wanted to follow Jesus she could go forward and talk to the pastor, or she could meet with another Christian from whom Jerry had been learning.

The young lady went forward and prayed with the pastor. She found great joy in her faith, but she was surprised when she learned that Jerry was not a Christian. She said, “You took me to church. You told me how to follow Jesus, but you are not following Him. You tricked me!”

It was not long, however, before the evangelist embraced his own message. Since deciding to follow Jesus, Jerry has not slowed in sharing with others about the only God who can forgive sins. There is no trick to embracing God’s love once you have experienced it!

*Name changed for security reasons.

Pray that:

God will continue to call out evangelists like Jerry who will share the gospel boldly, and that many will respond.

Believers will befriend and teach interested people about Jesus with the faith that as they know more about Jesus they will receive His salvation. Sometimes discipleship begins before salvation.

Pacific Rim is a region of the International Mission Board, SBC.