Pulling Teeth Makes False Converts

"If you have to pull someone's teeth to get them to respond to the Gospel, then they aren't ready to respond to the Gospel".

People have to be hungry for God, in order for them to respond to Him in repentance and faith. We can reason with people from the Scriptures all day and night (and we should be doing that), but unless there is a genuine hunger for God, the person will only become a false convert, at best.

Pulling teeth, or trying to make something happen that is hard, is a form of manipulation. It is trying to do the work that only God can do in a person's heart. No amount of begging or pressuring will work in getting people to respond to the Gospel. Not with genuine results, anyway.

There are a lot of different responses I get from people when sharing the Gospel. Some will have nothing to do with it, and they may even rebuke me harshly. Others seem interested, but not enough to make a commitment. There are some though, who really are interested and will most likely respond when their hearts are fully prepared to receive the Gospel.

If there is not a hunger there, then we really could be trying to 'shove God down their throats'. Of course, ultimately, it is their responsibility to respond to God and sharing the truths of the Gospel is not necessarily 'shoving God down their throats'. We could be force-feeding them something they find repulsive.

The Bible says that we will find God when we search for Him with 'all our hearts'. Receiving salvation is not a half-hearted thing. We receive all of God, and everything that entails that, or, we do not receive God at all. We don't add God to our lives. We die to our selfishness and let go of sin, then we receive from God.

The next time we go out evangelizing, let's go where the fish are biting. I like this quote and it makes a lot of sense: You can bring a horse to water, but you can't make him drink it. Another good one is, "I am just one beggar telling other beggars where to find bread". That one is good because it ties in with what I am saying. If the other beggars are hungry, they will go to the bread and eat it. If people are hungry for God, they will respond to Him. It takes a work of God in a person's heart for him or her to be hungry for God. No one searches after God unless God makes that heart ready.

You and I cannot make a person hungry for God, but sometimes we can whet their appetite by sharing the good news of the Gospel and teaching the truths of God to others.