3 Ways To Bring Up Christianity With Unbelieving Family Members

What are 3 primary ways you can bring up the gospel to unsaved family members? What ways would you suggest?

A Death in the Family

I recently presided over a funeral of one of our departed saints from our church. This godly woman left a great legacy of faith behind, yet her son was an unbeliever so I used that opportunity to preach the message of the cross and redemption that is found only in Jesus Christ. Every family will be touched by death and when someone in your family passes away, use it as an opportunity to ask them questions; What do you think happens to someone after they die? Where do you think they go? Is there a heaven and a hell? Where do you think you’ll go after you die? Instead of telling someone about the gospel, why not ask them these types of questions. By asking open ended questions, you can assess what their beliefs are and then make them think about their own mortality because the last time I checked, 10 out of every 10 people die.

Tragedies in the News

Once again, death is a part of life. Everywhere you look, there is some new catastrophe in the news where people die. It could come as a result of natural disasters, car accidents, explosions, terrorist attacks…the possibilities are endless. When you are with someone in your family that is not saved, ask them about what they think is the fate of those who perished. You want your unsaved family members to be thinking about these things because the greatest act of love is to tell them how they might be saved. There are news stories involving death almost every single day. Use this as a conversation starter to find out what they think happens to someone after they die. These are natural opportunities to present the gospel to your loved ones. Don’t miss it.

Ask them a Question

Trying to share the gospel with family, to me, is decidedly more difficult than it is a stranger. With a stranger, you’ll probably never see them again, but with family members, you’re stuck with them…or better yet, they’re stuck with you. Even so, you must be willing to risk sacrificing your relationship with them because their eternal destiny is at stake and is infinitely more important than your short term relationship with them. This life is like a vapor, but eternity is a long, long time. When you get to heaven, you won’t regret things like this; “Wow, I wished I hadn’t offended my sister by sharing the gospel with her” but instead may think, “Why didn’t I tell my family members about Jesus Christ and how they might be saved?” The greatest act of love you’ll ever do is risk offending someone in the family for the sake of Christ. The most cowardly thing, in my opinion, is to be afraid to share your faith with your unsaved family members. You may never get a second chance. The Word of God offends those who don’t believe…just accept that but the Word of God cuts in order to heal and there is no doubt that if you are saved, God has sovereignly placed you in your family for the sake of trying to save others.