Saturday* my boys and I picked up a sharp and friendly Tsonga man who needed a lift. For about 30 minutes he was in our car resulting in this conversation as best as I can reconstruct it.
Seth: “Do you call yourself a Christian?”
Man: “I am a pastor.”
Seth: “How do you know that you are a Christian?”
Man: “My lifestyle; I live the way I should.”
That answer is strike 1. Maybe I’m pitching too fast.
Seth: “Is there anything else? Any thing else that you would say you are trusting in?”
Man: “And prayer. That too.”
Seth: “There is something else that you are forgetting. What are you forgetting? When I tell you, you will say, ‘Oh, I knew that.’ But you need to ask why you didn’t know before you were told. Can you think what it might be?”
Man: “Can you remind me? I can’t think of it.”
Seth: “I will tell you, but before I do, I want you to know that you are very similar to most of the people that I pick up. When I speak with them, they answer like you are answering. Where do you worship?”
Man: “I started a church in my house.”
Seth: “Why did you start a church? Is it different from the other churches? What is your main reason for wanting a new church?”
Man: “We saw that many people were chasing these prophetic ministries so that prophets would tell their futures. But I told the people, you cannot be prophesied over until you prophesy for yourselves.”
Seth: “So that is the main reason you started your church? Is there anything else you would add to that?”
Man: “No.”
Seth: “What about Jesus Christ? What about the Cross? Heaven, Hell, Life, Death, repentance, and humility? Why didn’t you say anything about these matters?”
Man (smiling): “I forgot.”
Seth: “Christ did not come out of your mouth because He is not in your heart. But this is not my first and second time to hear these kinds of answers. Nearly everyone answers without Christ as you did. Let me ask, Have you ever read the whole Bible: Genesis to Revelation?”
Man: “No.”
Seth: “The entire NT, it is only 260 chapters and takes about 15 hours to read?”
Man: “No, and I will tell you, I am not accustomed to read the Bible. When I preach, I just open and find a verse. Then I talk.”
Our conversation went on, but you now have the salient points faithfully narrated. Later that same day, I met again two other pastors who had been with me at one of the preaching points for nearly a year. Neither man was able even to recite the 5 Solas though we had repeated these week after week. In less than 6 months they had forgotten Bible Alone, Christ Alone, Faith Alone, Grace Alone, and Glory To God Alone.
*This took place in October 2023.
