But What About My Family 1 Sam 22:1 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO

Often one of the first questions sinners ask right after they get saved is, But what about my family?  They are instantly concerned that their family isn’t saved or that their family won’t come to church with them.  They want their family to hear the gospel and receive Jesus Christ and they want them to come to church.  But they fear that their family might reject them now that they are saved.

So, if you are in that case, what should you do?  How can you persuade your family to come to church with you to hear the gospel?  Here’s how to bring them to Jesus:

Lead by example – 1 Pet 3:1-4; 1 Tim 4:12 – stay faithful – a fellow was saved in church many years ago and the same day asked me about his Catholic family – I said stay faithful to all the services in church – when asked talk about the messages you hear here – let the Lord change your life – they’ll be watching your testimony like a hawk – if it’s real they will take note – and if it is not they will use your hypocrisy to excuse themselves – in time they will start coming to church – and after a while they will be saved – he stayed faithful and now they are all saved.

Stand against their ridicule – when David went to check on the battle with the Philistines in 1 Sam 17, he saw Goliath and was ready to kill that giant – his brothers ridiculed him 1 Sam 17:28-29 – but David wasn’t deterred – he fought the giant and won – and look what happened to David’s brothers – they came to him when he hid in the cave Adullam, 1 Sam 22:1 – you see, they ridiculed him at first but after seeing his victories, they went to him without hesitation – don’t let the taunts of your family dissuade you, 1 Pet 4:3-4 – stay on course, maintain a good witness; they’ll come around.

Keep the Lord first – Lk 9:61-62 – a prospective disciple of the Lord wanted to FIRST bid his family farewell and then follow the Lord – but the Lord told him that in discipleship there is no looking back – you must keep the Lord first; not your family first – often I have seen people get saved and then appease the family rather than follow God – your family won’t come around to the Lord if you are not following him first – they will think that your decision was just a matter of changing religions – they will never regard it as a life and death choice for eternity – salvation is serious business.

Give them time – Jn 7:2-5 – Jesus’ brethren didn’t believe in him during his earthly ministry – but he gave them time while he continued to do what his Father had given him to do – sure enough, after his resurrection, Jesus’ brethren were gathered together in the upper room with the other disciples of Jesus, Acts 1:14 – be patient with your family – it may take them some time before they are willing to get saved.

Give God time – Gen 45:4-8 – Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery when he was 17 years old – when he was over 30, they were standing before him to buy corn from him in Egypt – he had become the second ruler in the country – and they were reconciled to him and eventually moved to Egypt under his care to escape the famine in Canaan – Joseph told them that God was the one who had to work all that out – and God will have to work out the circumstances and the timing of the salvation of your family – don’t crowd the Lord – salvation is his work – you just need to be a faithful and consistent witness.

Leave the decision with them – don’t push – every man must decide for himself what he will do with Jesus Christ – you should never press him – you might force him to “pray” just to get you off his back – that won’t save him – he has to decide and you have to understand that he may decide against you – Jesus said that a man’s foes are they of his own household – just remember, though, that a decision to reject Christ is a decision against him first not a decision against you – your brother may hate you but he hated Jesus first.

Pray – many times someone else leads a family member to the Lord and often even after you are dead – Olga’s mother witnessed to her when she was younger and prayed for her for years – then her mother died – I led Olga to the Lord when she was 64 years old, many years after her mother died – Olga and her husband had divorced many years before and Olga’s husband got saved after they divorced – he often witnessed to his daughter but she would have nothing to do with him – so he prayed for her every day until his death – three months after he died I led her to the Lord.

Conclusion: Hopefully by following these simple Biblical examples, you will be encouraged about your family’s salvation – don’t be discouraged if they are reluctant right now – stay faithful – keep witnessing – keep a good testimony before them – be patient – and pray daily.