Thank you so much for this website, it has done so many so much good. May God continue to supply you with His word!
I have a ‘friend’ who happens to be Satanic, not very good huh? Well he has had some past dealings with Christianity, growing up in it and studying the Bible for 5 years. I have no idea why he would want to change his mind about something like that, but I was wondering, what would I say to that person?
He makes constant attempts to provoke me, and I’ve been trying to show him love. I haven’t reacted to any of his provocations, is this right? Should I defend the foundation of my beliefs or let them be trampled by this person over and over again? And another thing is how do you bring someone like that back to the faith? I think God has called me to this situation for this tough nut, but I am unsure of what to do.
Any advice you could give would be a blessing. May God bless you a thousand times!
The first thing to discover is whether during the 5 years he was involved with Christianity he actually got saved. If he did, then he may have committed some sin since then that he believes (or has been told) is too great for the Lord to forgive. This may have led him to embrace Satanism. In that case your job is to show him that it’s impossible for sin to make the Lord reject one of His own (Romans 8:38-39).
If he never got saved, try to discover why. Maybe he was in a denomination that doesn’t believe in personal salvation or being born again. In that case your job is to explain the gospel story, showing him the importance of making a personal decision for Christ. I’ve found that sometimes those who are the angriest and most abusive are actually very close to receiving the Lord, and the devil has stirred up irrational anger in them in a last ditch effort to scare God’s messengers away.
Usually abusive people, like other bullies, don’t respect victims who don’t stand up for themselves. But as you defend your faith, try to avoid anger or taking a “holier that thou” attitude. It’s God’s kindness that leads us to repentance, not His righteousness. (Romans 2:4) Above all, keep yourself prayed up, and ask others to pray for you as you minister to this friend.