7. “_Too much to give up._” Mark viii. 36 will show them that they had better give up everything than to lose their soul. Philippians iii. 7, 8; Ps. xvi. 11 will show them that what they give up is nothing compared with what they get. Ps. lxxxiv. 11; Romans viii. 32 will show them that God will not ask them to give up any good thing; in other words, that the only things God asks them to give up are the things that are hurting them. A young woman once refused to come to the Saviour saying, “There is too much to give up.” “Do you think God loves you?” I answered. “Certainly.” “How much do you think he loves you?” She thought a moment and answered, “Enough to give his son to die for me.” “Do you think, if God loved you enough to give his son to die for you, he will ask you to give up anything it is for your good to keep?” “No.” “Do you wish to keep anything that it is not for your good to keep?” “No.” “Then you had better come to Christ at once.” And she did. 1 John ii. 17; Luke xii. 16‒21 will show them how worthless are the things which they are trying to keep.
8. “_The Christian life is too hard._” Say to the inquirer, “Let me show you from God’s word that you are mistaken about the Christian life being hard.” Then turn him to Matt. xi. 30; Prov. iii. 17; Ps. xvi. 11; 1 John v. 3, and show him that a Christian life is not hard but exceedingly pleasant. Then turn him to Prov. xiii. 15, and show him that it is the sinner’s life that is hard.
9. “_I am afraid of my ungodly companions_;” or “_I will lose my friends if I take Christ_.” Prov. xxix. 25 will show them the consequence of yielding to the fear of man and the security of the one who trusts in the Lord. Prov. xiii. 20 will show them the result of holding on to their companions, and Ps. i. 1 will show the blessedness of giving up evil companions. 1 John i. 3 shows how much better companionship one gets than he loses by coming to Christ.
10. “_My heart is too hard._” Ezek. xxxvi. 26, 27, will show them that though their hearts are hard as stone, that will make no difference because God will give them a new heart.
11. “_I have no feeling._” Ask the inquirer what kind of feeling he thinks he must have before he comes to Christ. If it is the peace of which Christians speak, show him from Gal. v. 22; Eph. i. 13; Acts v. 32; 1 Peter i. 8; Matt. x. 32, that this feeling is the result of accepting Christ and confessing Him, and that he cannot expect it until he accepts and confesses Christ. If the feeling which he thinks he must have is the feeling that he is a sinner, then show him by Is. lv. 7 that it is _not the feeling_ that we are sinners that God demands, _but a turning away_ from sin. Or, from Acts xvi. 31; John i. 12; that God does not ask us to feel that we are sinners but to confess that we are sinners and trust in Christ as a Saviour. Is. lv. 1; Rev. xxii. 17, will show the inquirer that all the feeling he needs is a desire for salvation.
It is often times well, however, with this class of inquirers to show them the passages for “The Indifferent” until they do feel that they are sinners.
12. “_I am seeking Christ, but cannot find Him._”
Jer. xxix. 13, shows that when we seek him with the whole heart we shall find him. Speaking with a woman one evening in an after–meeting she said to me, “I have been seeking Christ two years and cannot find Him.” I replied, “I can tell you when you will find him.” She looked at me in surprise and I turned to Jer. xxix. 13, and read “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” “There,” I said, “that shows you when you will find Christ. You will find him when you search for him with all your heart. Have you done that?” After a little thought she answered “No.” “Well, then,” I said, “let us kneel right down here now.” She did this and in a few moments she was rejoicing in Christ. You can point one who has this difficulty to Luke xv. 1‒10; xix. 10. These passages show that Jesus is seeking the sinner and you can say, “if you are really seeking Christ it will not take a seeking Saviour and a seeking sinner very long to find each other.”
13. “_I cannot believe._”
In most cases where one says this the real difficulty which lies back of their inability to believe is unwillingness to forsake sin. John v. 44, is a good passage to use with such a one, or Is. lv. 7. In the use of the latter passage, hold the man’s attention to the fact that all God asks of him is that he turn away from sin and turn to Him.
14. “_God won’t receive me_,” or “_I have sinned away the day of grace_,” or “_I am afraid I have committed the unpardonable sin_.”