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"Terry Virgo makes a familiar story about a wedding come alive – and adds a challenge that will transform your life!" Wayne Grudem, Research Professor of Theology and Biblical Studies at Phoenix Seminary, Arizona, USA.
Q&A with Terry VirgoQ: Is life really better with Jesus?
A: Life is undoubtedly better with Jesus because he’s answered the big ques- tions about life and death. Life’s full of mysteries—full of heartbreaks and difficulties— and they don’t go away when you become a Christian. But you know God and you know about issues of eternal importance. It’s wonderful to know Jesus and to know that he has delivered me from the selfish desires I used to have. This puts everything else into perspective.
Q: How do we witness to people who seem to have no need?
A: You can’t win people easily who are hostile, and you’ll find that Jesus had people who were hostile to him—people that went away, who were offended. That’s the very nature of the gospel. Likewise, when the apostle Paul spoke in Athens some believed, some mocked, and some said “We’ll hear more about this later”. That’s always going to be the case.
Timing is very important. I became a Christian in a home where my parents were not Christians and I was trying to witness to my father and urging him to receive the gospel. I was speaking to him once and someone came to the front door and he said, “Oh, saved by the bell,” and fled the room! But after he was seriously ill in hospital, I was moved by compassion and I said, “Dad, you were near to death—do you think you were ready? Do you think God was speaking to you?” And to my amazement and delight he said, “Yeah I do, I think God was speaking to me.” I’d never heard him speak like that before. And suddenly his heart was open and I crossed the room, we knelt together and he came to Christ. And so, I think, be sensitive to the mo- ment, asking the question, “Is God involved in this?” As it says in the Bible, there’s a moment to speak and there’s a moment to keep silent. So we need to learn to be sensitive to people’s needs; to choose our moments well.
Q: What would you say to someone who feels like they’re paralysed when it comes to evangelism; that whatever they say or do is go- ing to get pounced upon?
A: Inevitably we look at the outside of people; we look at what appears to be their situation. But we don’t know what is happen- ing in their heart. We may not know that there’s a huge crisis in their marriage or that they’re terribly worried about their teenage children or an elderly parent. All kinds of things creep up on people that suddenly make them feel out of control. It’s as we begin sharing the gospel that we’ll know whether God is at work on their heart. People may begin to think, “I’m in trouble here—is there an answer in God?” And God’s got his ways of coming into people’s lives. So we mustn’t just look on the outside where we can easily be misled.
Find out more about the book at www.thegoodbook.co.uk/life-tastes-better
Joe is our Marketing Manager. He lives in South London with his wife and two daughters and is a member at River Church Sutton - part of the Newfrontiers network - where he runs a small group and various outreach activities.
