The Horrible Incident at Stripes
SOMETHING HORRIBLE happened at our local Stripes convenience store: I gave the Gospel to three teens.
One of the teens went home and told his mom that I said he was going to Hell. This is something I rarely say, and I didn’t say to these teens. 99.9% of the time I ask this question: “If you died today, would you go to Heaven or Hell?”
Here is a similar conversation I had with a gaggle of giggling girls a few years back:
Well, the mom got mad and posted my name on Facebook saying that I told her son that he was going to Hell, among other untrue things. Locals in our small town read the post and made all sorts of false accusations against me. Here’s a sample:
“He told me the same thing, too.”
“He doesn’t like gays.”
“He hangs out at the high school three or four times a week and evangelizes.”
“He scolded me for wearing my cheerleader outfit, saying that men will lust after me.”
SO, ARE THEY REALLY SAVED?
It would have been my dad’s 91st birthday last week and it caused me to reflect on my Dad’s profession of faith in Jesus Christ, as well as my stepmom Judy’s, two years ago. Their turning to the Lord were the results of thirty years of praying. Plus, there was a bonus: my dad’s hospital roommate also confessed Jesus as Lord. Not only that, I was able to baptize all three of them.
At the time my concern was that they would not be discipled, that is, taught about the things of God nor read the Bible, nor go to a church, nor experience Christian fellowship. That all proved true. They both died last year and as far as I could tell, there was no discernible growth. In fact, my father was downright hostile to the Gospel the last time I saw him, a year after he “became” a Christian.
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