PARENTHOOD
a divine stewardship

We may ask a person who has just received Christ, "Have you believed in Jesus Christ?" If he is not clear, we can say, "You have confessed that you are a sinner. You realized that you need Him, and you opened yourself to Him, prayed to Him, and told Him that you receive Him. This means that you already have believed." This helps him to be clear that he has received the Lord. Then we may ask if he knows that he has the eternal life. Again, if he does not know, we can read John 3:16 and ask him if it says, "Every one who believes into Him would not perish, but would not know if he has eternal life." We should help him to say, "Every one who believes into Him would not perish, but would have eternal life." He can know he has eternal life because it is written. We should give him two or three passages like this as a definite confirmation that he has the life. To not do this is like wrapping something up but not tying a knot around it; what we wrapped will come loose again. If we speak to someone properly, the Holy Spirit will work, and he will be saved very quickly.

This kind of person may immediately realize that in the past he did many evil things, and he may ask us what he should do about his sins. We need to learn how to help one like this by reading some passages that tell him that his sins have been borne by Christ. This is why we need to learn passages such as 1 Peter 2:24, which says, "Who Himself bore up our sins in His body on the tree." Then we should quickly turn to 1 John 1:9, which says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." In this way we will cause him to realize that Christ bore all his sins and that God is now willing and ready to forgive him.

(Witness Lee, Practical Lessons on the Experience of Life, Chap. 1, pp. 7-17)

APPLICATION

1. Why are we sometimes unable to help others to receive life and grow in life?

2. What is the practical way to speak of repentance? To contact Christ as God and receive Him as our Savior?

3. What are some key verses that we might use to help another to be assured of his salvation?