I often engage with lost people by asking them four key, thought-provoking questions to help them realize that they need to be born again. The conversation usually goes something like this:
“Eric,” I say, “is there life after death?”
The usual reply is, “I don’t know.”
“Do you think about it?” I ask.
“All the time.”
“Are you afraid of death?”
“A little bit.”
“A little bit?” I ask. “It’s horrifying!”
I can see in his eyes that he’s wondering how I know that, because he hasn’t told a soul that he’s terrified of death. I know it because Scripture tells me of his fear:
“… and [that He] might free all those who through [the haunting] fear of death were held in slavery throughout their lives” (Hebrews 2:15).
I then tell him that the Bible is the world’s biggest-selling book of all time. This is because in the Old Testament God promised to destroy death, and the New Testament tells us how He did it (see Isaiah 25:8; 2 Timothy 1:10).
Eric says he didn’t know that—and who in his right mind is not going to be interested? I have found that even atheists want to know more.
The second key question I ask is: “Do you get to Heaven by being a good person?”
Eric says he thinks so. And he also thinks he is a good person (see Proverbs 20:6).
But then comes my third question: “Have you broken any of the Ten Commandments?”
The moral law stops the mouth of justification, leaves all the world guilty before God and brings the knowledge of sin (see Romans 3:19-20). We can see Jesus use the Ten Commandments when He speaks to the rich young ruler (see Mark 10:17-19).
Charles Spurgeon said, “I do not believe that any man can preach the Gospel who does not preach the law. Lower the law and you dim the light by which man perceives his guilt; this is a very serious loss to the sinner rather than a gain; for it lessens the likelihood of his conviction and conversion.”
After showing Eric in the Bible that all liars will have their part in the lake of fire, that God sees lust as adultery and hatred as murder, I say to him:
“Have you ever heard the Bible verse that says the wages of sin is death? It’s saying that God is paying you in death for your sins. Like a judge who says to a criminal who’s committed murder but thinks he’s a good person, ‘I’m going to show you how serious your crime is. I’m giving you the death sentence. These are your wages; this is what you’ve earned.’