The secret to witnessing to any person is to understand that person. As Paul says, “I have become all things to all people, so that I may by every possible means save some” (1 Cor 9:22).
Jesus told a story that helps us understand “religious” people (like Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Catholics, and ultra-fundamentalist Christians): the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32. We usually focus on the younger rebel son, but Jesus introduces the story by saying “A man had two sons.” The older righteous son represents people who do many good things for God but don’t really know God.
After the rebel son returns home to a huge party, the father goes out to the field to invite the older brother in to the celebration. But the righteous son isn’t having it. He says, “‘Look, I have been slaving many years for you.”
Slaving! That says everything you need know about the way religious people view God. They feel like slaves. And what does that make their father? A slave-driver. Even though the father in the story is humble, compassionate, and generous. The opposite of a slave-driver.
Down deep, religious people are no different from rebels. The older brother resented his dad, he just never had the courage to say it like the younger brother did. So he says to his father, “I have never disobeyed your orders.” Really? Never? How about honoring your father and mother? He’s disobeying that in this moment.
Religious people might do a lot of things for God, but it’s without any real love for God. And the the things they do are confined to a short list. The older brother is out serving in the field, but he’s not honoring his dad, seeking out his brother, or working for peace in the family.
He says, “I have never disobeyed your orders, yet you never gave me a goat so that I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your assets with prostitutes, you slaughtered the fattened calf for him.”
Religious people are bitter when they see God showing grace and favor toward people who don’t deserve it. They’re also scared to ask for the same favor for themselves. The older brother is too nervous to ask his slave-driving father for a delectable fattened calf like the younger brother got. He only asks for a tough, chewy, gamey goat.
And on top of everything, he doesn’t say, “I wanted a goat so that I could celebrate with you.“ He says, “I wanted a goat so I could go party with my friends. Away from you!” He’s exactly like the younger brother. He wants his father’s blessings, without the father attached to them.
So how does father respond? “You’d better get into that house right now and start dancing, young man?” That’s how lots of dads would respond: ordering their kids to participate in mandatory fun.
Instead, this father says, “Son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.” The son has been attacking his decisions, and even his righteousness, but the father is being as tender, loving, and compassionate as possible.
He says, “Son! You’ve always been with me.” In other words, “I do appreciate the way you’ve been serving me the whole time. I do appreciate all your hard work.”
He says, “All that’s mine is yours.” In other words, “If you want a fattened calf, you can have it! A goat? No problem! I just want you to come to me! I just want you to have a relationship with me! I just want you to come celebrate with me!”
In these words, the father is showing us how to witness to religious people:
- Praise their service to the Father. Like Paul said to the Athenians in Acts 17, “I can see you are extremely religious.” Applaud the things people do for God, whatever their conception of him is.
- Celebrate their closeness to Father. Even if they’ve been working out in the field, keeping God at arm’s length, they’ve at least been in God’s orbit. Commend people who are seeking something higher than themselves.
- Help them see the generosity of the Father. Religious people serve God primarily out of fear of what he might do, or anticipation of how he might reward. Help them see the incredible generosity of God in all the ways he’s already blessed them, first and foremost through the gift of his one and only son Jesus on the cross to pay for their sins. A book like The Prodigal God by Tim Keller could be helpful.
- Invite them into an intimate relationship with the Father. Everybody’s looking for intimacy, whether they know it or not. Help them see the tender heart of their heavenly father, inviting them into a much deeper relationship than they’ve ever experienced. A book like Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund could be powerful.