I am finding out that even non-believers now think they are going into the rapture. I run into them so I know they have been on the internet. I spoke to one who believed in the rapture but was not born again and didn't even profess Christianity. It's becoming a fad among conservative unbelievers, sort of like "flat earth" and other wrong thinking. This is why I think it is valuable to use this "rapture" idea to explain to non-believers that they are not going up unless they trust Christ and then move into the salvation message.
I would encourage believers to listen to the unsaved long enough to see what the "in-road" to the salvation message will be. We should listen and then we should speak the gospel message clearly without reservation.
It's alright to just walk up to someone and begin giving the gospel message to them as led by the Holy Spirit. However there are many times when we are in superficial conversation and moving into the gospel message flows without thinking.
If we are trying to figure out how to do the message then we are not hearing from the Holy Spirit. When it is God Who speaks through us there is no fear nor is there a need to figure out the method. God has a million "methods" designed for each individual person's need, we cannot know them or figure them out so we must hide ourselves behind Christ so that He can work through us.
Stop trying to play God walking around all day thinking we can figure things out in our own minds or by the teachings of others. We must depend entirely on the Holy Spirit.
Romans 8:11-14
"11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
12 So then, brothers and sisters, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—
13 for if you are living in accord with the flesh, you are going to die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons and daughters of God."
Never follow the rules of men who think they have the right manipulation, no one can know what God knows or what God is telling you to do.
If a man has manipulated through emotions and flattery someone to say they trust Christ then it is likely a false conversion. Many people respond to manipulation and intimidation and later calm down and abandon all that they said at the time of the artful management of others.
We can get others to say whatever we want them to say when they are in an emotional state. It is the one who has been broken to the core of his soul by the conviction of the Holy Spirit Who will be saved. No one will be saved by superficial words used to be friendly to the speaker. We have more pretenders, those who have had an emotional experience without true transformation than there are authentically born-again believers in the churches.
Clarence L. Haynes Jr. wrote the following:
"Perspective 1 – Surrender to God’s Will
There are a few key words in this verse. Let’s examine what they mean.
Broken - Comes from the Hebrew word meaning to break or break in pieces.
Contrite - Comes from the Hebrew word meaning to crush.
Heart – Comes from the Hebrew word meaning inner man, mind, or will.
Spirit – Comes from the Hebrew word meaning breath or wind."
Just repeating words we are told to say does not change us. Christ must change us in response to our brokenness and desire to belong to Him.
Having an emotional response does not change us. We weep at a sad movie on television knowing it is just a story, not even real and a few minutes after the movie is over we no longer feel anything. The same mentality can happen to those who are manipulated to say they want to be a Christian, they have a response and get over it quickly when the moment passes.
"Convince a man against his will, He's of the same opinion still." Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797) said this showing that we can manipulate and intimidate people to do and say things but it does not change their heart because their heart desire was not toward God.
We are to speak when the Holy Spirit compels us to speak but the results are up to God., using any technique taught by man is usurping the Holy Spirit.
