Tough Questions – Week 4
“What is the best way to respond to my friend when they are not interested in being a Christian?”
Prepared and Presented by Titus Prevatt, Youth Group Student Leader, and Daniel Alvarez
Apologetic Spotlight Tough Questions
- The question we have tonight was written in by a student here at EBC. The question is, “I have a friend who is not a Christian. I have repeatedly talked to them about the Lord. What is the best way to respond to my friend when they repeatedly tell me they are not interested?”
- This is a really good question. There are a couple ways you can go about this. The first way would be digging a little deeper as to why your friend is not interested. Is it because they do not believe in God? Is it because they are mad at God? Is it boring to them? Depending on their answer to that question depends on how you respond to that. If it is lack of belief, you can go the apologetic route and show them that the Bible actually has evidence to support it. If they are mad at God, see if they are willing to walk down the road of understanding God’s plan for them. Why are they mad at God? Did something bad happen in their life? If so, I would encourage you to empathize with them first, then ask if you can share some Biblical stories where others suffered hard times and how God got them through it.
- The other route I would take would be to not talk about the Lord as much. Definitely do not give up on talking about God to them, but you also do not want to chase them away. So I would set aside time once a month to approach the topic of the Lord with this friend. In the meantime, pray. Pray, pray, pray. Pray for God to soften their heart. Pray for God to open their minds. Pray for God to break down barriers. Instead of talking to them about God, ask if you can pray for them. The power of prayer must not be underestimated. Last but certainly not least, never stop showing them love. This act alone could change their mind. Sometimes people do not like God/claim they don’t believe in God, not because it has anything to do with Christ, but Christians. So if they see you are someone who truly loves Jesus and strives to be like Him and you love this friend, it could help their desire grow to know Christ.