John 5:24: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”
What does it mean to believe?
I love this verse. However, I think we have to be careful how we convey the phrase "believeth on him" when we speak to non-believers concerning the Good News.
From what I understand, the word "believe" goes way beyond believing that Jesus died on a cross and was raised from the dead three days later. It means that we cling to the hope that eternal salvation provides.
It has to start with believing in the Father
Therein lies another problem for today's non-believer. They first have to believe in God the Father and in the kingdom of heaven. Further, they have to believe in the dire consequences of breaking even one of His commandments. That's quite a tall order within our relativistic society.
Then there's the problem of repentance
Once the Holy Spirit convinces them of these things, whether through us or hearing the message on the radio or TV, there is still the problem of repentance. The non-believer has to admit they are a sinner, be convinced that it will lead to eternal damnation, and be willing to look at their sin with repulsion as God does. Again, a very tall order, indeed.
The "sinner's prayer" is not enough
I have always loved Billy Graham and his teachings. Because I love the Gospel more than life itself, I can listen to his wonderful preaching for hours.
However, his audience, even as early as 20 years ago, was made up of people who at least would consider knowing the God of the bible. Now, they are taught in our public schools to flat-out reject Him.
Taking someone through the sinner's prayer who does not even believe they are flawed in any way will not have any effect whatsoever. Instead, the non-believer in 2022 will have to start with the basics of who God really is.
A new process for witnessing
Even the Samaritan woman who Jesus visited at the well in Sychar understood who God was. She also knew clearly she was breaking His commandments. So, when Jesus told her he was the Massiah, she could not contain her excitement. She ran through the village telling everyone who he was.
I hope when we witness a new conversion, we see that level of enthusiasm today, but often, that is not the case. Also, I sometimes read posts on this site questioning another person's salvation. In other words, we often ask, "Is that person "really saved?"
Those questions go away when the non-believer overcomes these tall hurdles:
1. They fear the God of the bible
2. They understand they have broken God's commandments
3. They understand that the penalty of sin is an eternity in hell
4. They are convinced that sin is a bad thing and following God's commandments is the way to go
5. They are convinced that Jesus Christ is the ONLY bridge between us and eternity in heaven
6. They are willing to give up their personal sovereignty (something we don't talk to non-believers about enough, unfortunately)
7. They are willing to finally make Jesus their savior and lord over their lives
Unfortunately, in 2022, we often have to start at number one and tell people who the God of the bible really is. That's okay, as long as everyone we know gets to number seven.