Raised 'religious'-Help!

[BeNotAfraid]

My half sister and I were talking about our boys and she was saying how she was going to have THE TALK soon. I told her I would be teaching my kids abstinence and she said she's the mom running out to buy her kids protection because they're not going to listen anyways. :rolleyes....anyways, long story short is that she tried to convince me how "religious" she is because she went to church with her grandparents. She told me she won't go to church because they went once and they walked out because the preacher was talking about sinners and how they were all going to hell. What it sounds like to me is that they didn't stay long enough to hear him present the Good News (that Jesus can forget even the lowest of sinners)! In a way she's naive, but man does she want to ARGUE her point. She was raised religious, she's a good person, she doens't want to sound like a hypocrite to her kids, she knows so and so who raised their kids right and they did bad things anyways, we should be accepting of everyone and they can't change who they are...:hairout.... I am so frustrated. I told her what it really means to be saved and that some people who are "religious" aren't really saved. I told her that Christians are to hate the sin and love the sinner. I told her that Christians have to stand for what God stands for, even if it doesn't do any good. I told her I make my decisions based on the fact that I am accountable to God for every thought, word, and action, and that I would rather stand in front of God and tell him "I taught my kids your Word, I raised them in the training and instruction of the Lord" rather than "Well God, I compromised because I figured it was a lost cause". What else can I say to her? I pray for her, and I don't feel like this is a case I am supposed to give up on. Her heart isn't hardened, she is just argumentative and honestly thinks she is always right. She can't imagine that she's going to hell along with every other unsaved sinner. Help!

[A Berean]

Go to the Apologetics Forum. Blitzkrieg has posted a Thread called "The Terms of Salvation", written by Dr. Chafer. It is one of the best explanations of the Salvation in Jesus Christ that I have ever encountered:thumb! Read it and please, if you will, update me on what you get out of it:hat! Thank you, dear Sister in Christ Jesus:thumb:hug.

[Bernardd]

What else can I say to her?

I told her what it really means to be saved...
I told her that Christians are to hate the sin...
I told her I make my decisions based on the fact that I am accountable to God...

Do you see a pattern here? I think it's time to stop telling her what you think.


It sounds like you're getting into these hot discussions with her and you're making her angry, probably because you're making her feel guilty.

I get the impression that soon she won't even be willing to discuss this issue with you.

[just17]

http://rr-bb.com/showthread.php?t=32911

Someone posted this article about a Preacher's Son who thought he was fine because he was raised "religious" and in the church, but then finally realized he needed to be "born again". Maybe you can print this out and leave it out for her to see.

I have a little test I do to see if people are TRULY saved or not. I get them talking about heaven and then throw in something like "You know what's amazing is Jeffrey Dahmer was supposedly saved before he died, so we will see him in heaven."

The people that think they are going to heaven because they are "good" will always balk at that and say no way. The people that are born again don't fight it because they understand the meaning of God's grace.

[BeNotAfraid]

Do you see a pattern here? I think it's time to stop telling her what you think.


It sounds like you're getting into these hot discussions with her and you're making her angry, probably because you're making her feel guilty.

I get the impression that soon she won't even be willing to discuss this issue with you.

I was simply trying to take what I said during the conversation and condense it so I didn't take up two pages. I thought it would be helpful to post some of my points so others on here could add their insight. I didn't use my own point of view, but the Word of God. She was not angry at all, but rather trying to blindly prove herself right which is what she does in most situations. If I have the opportunity because of something SHE brought up, I will speak with love but I am not going to water down the truth. Your post has been most unhelpful.

Thanks, A Berean for pointing that article out! It's long so I printed it out and I am toying with the idea of highlighting parts of it and sending it to her. And thanks just17, that might be something she'd be more likely to read.

[Bernardd]

I was simply trying to take what I said during the conversation and condense it so I didn't take up two pages. I thought it would be helpful to post some of my points so others on here could add their insight. I didn't use my own point of view, but the Word of God. She was not angry at all, but rather trying to blindly prove herself right which is what she does in most situations. If I have the opportunity because of something SHE brought up, I will speak with love but I am not going to water down the truth. Your post has been most unhelpful.
Sorry, just trying to be helpful.
Thinking outside the box a little bit.
Good luck.