When sharing our faith with a gay friend or family member, at what point should we bring repentance into the conversation? In this video, Christopher Yuan emphasizes the necessity of prayer for discernment concerning when, or if, we should approach conversations of repentance. Yuan encourages a spiritual gift of waiting, and the importance of assessing where others are in their faith journey. Though not an easy conversation, when a believer becomes mature in their faith and is able to recognize the cost of discipleship, repentance should always be addressed. Christians have a responsibility to love others in the way that we hold one another accountable, and accountability is a key aspect of such love.
- Pray and Use Discernment
- Wait
- Let the Lord Handle the Rest
When is the Right Time to Talk About Repentance?
We need to pray. Pray for Godly discernment, because this is such a sensitive issue, and I don’t know if I could give anyone right answer, because for some it might be three months, for others, I don’t know, I mean, it might be three years. And we need to pray that God would really give us, I mean, just supernatural holy discernment about when is the right time to talk about these things.
We need to make sure that they’re really mature in their faith, they’re growing, and they’re solid in God’s word. To be able to accept that, to accept that following Jesus means costly discipleship. For some that might be hard for them to take initially. I mean, I don’t know. I just don’t see how someone could embrace the gospel without understanding costly discipleship. But I mean, we need to know that we’re all on this journey.
Breaking down Repetence?
For me, it took I don’t know, two years. My parents never pushed. They always asked, my father and mother tell me later when they visited me in prison, they’re like, “Should we ask?” Because that was always in the back of their mind, “Where’s his stance on this?” And they never asked. And I’m glad that they didn’t, because I know at that point, even though God was already working my life, even though I was beginning to be convicted about my sin, I think if they would’ve asked that time, that might’ve just maybe be a little bit too early and I might have reacted, I don’t know, but they never asked and they just waited. I really believe that as Christians, we need to practice sometimes a spiritual gift of waiting.
