Dustin Erbeznik remembers what was like to be lost. He’s encouraging believers to remember the people all around them who still are.
Dustin came from a nominally Catholic family and knew of a distant God, but the idea of knowing Jesus was foreign to him growing up. As a teenager, he had good grades and sports achievements – and a growing level of anger over bad things that happened to him.
Anger became rebellion and hanging with the wrong crowd. Entanglement with drugs and gangs put him in and out of jail, a life he quickly saw wouldn’t satisfy.
By age 20, “I was like, ‘God, if you’re real, reveal yourself to me,’ but I didn’t understand what it meant to submit to Christ. And I remember thinking, ‘Man, I’m done with the drugs and stuff and alcohol.’ And a week later I got arrested on a first-degree robbery charge.”
With his record, Dustin was scared he could go to prison for years. “I had a sense that God was doing something, like there was a reason I was there. Just a week before, I didn’t want to live any longer.”
His first Sunday in jail, he went to a service where the pastor said, “Pick up God’s Word and do what it says.”
So Dustin did. He had tried reading the Bible before, but this time God opened his eyes and heart to understanding what it meant. “He completely changed me from the inside out. Even though I was in jail, I was set free.”
In fact, his time in jail was critical for Dustin. Without the bad influences and distractions on the outside, he was able to devour God’s Word and expose the lies he had believed.
His time in jail was critical for Dustin. Without the bad influences and distractions on the outside, he was able to devour God’s Word and expose the lies he had believed.
For instance, Dustin had idolized his father, expecting him to be perfect, but had been let down. Finally, “I understood that my dad was just a sinful man like me,” and that God was the perfect Father he wanted.
When he did get out of jail four months later, he continued to study God’s Word and was excited to share the Gospel with others. He married his wife, Theresa, also a new believer, and they sought biblical discipleship for their growing family.
They tried attending a big church but found no accountability there. They tried a small church with nice people, but after a while they couldn’t ignore how the leaders failed to teach the full Bible.
A friend invited them to visit Faith Bible Church, where they found what they were looking for: commitment to preaching the Gospel and obeying all of God’s Word.
Evangelism is an area of obedience where many Christians stumble. In teaching Faith’s upcoming evangelism class, he wants to dispel a common misconception: “We tend to think that these people who share the gospel, they’re gifted. But it’s not just those who are gifted. He commands all of us to go and make disciples.”
“We tend to think that these people who share the gospel, they’re gifted. But it’s not just those who are gifted. He commands all of us to go and make disciples.”
– Dustin Erbeznik
Dustin points out that Paul, the most gifted of evangelists, talks about sharing the Gospel “in weakness and in fear and much trembling” (1 Corinthians 2:3). The fact is, “God tells us that in our weakness, he is our strength. And so it’s really using that fear as a way of trusting God and his power.”
Rather than focus on their own fears, Dustin urges believers to consider the destiny of those who don’t know Christ: Eternal suffering in hell, separated from God. That should move us with compassion for all people who are lost like we once were.
Dustin quotes from Charles Spurgeon:
“If sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies; and if they will perish, let them perish with our arms around their knees, imploring them to stay, and not rushing madly to destroy themselves. If hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for.”
That’s what motivates Dustin to pursue evangelism opportunities, whether it’s with neighbors, family members, co-workers or strangers walking around downtown. His family takes Christmas as an opportunity to bring practical gifts for people on the streets, but they don’t just hand the gift over and leave. They start a conversation about the Gospel.
Some people are unwilling or unable to engage with them, but “the majority of the people I’ve talked to have no problem talking about it.”
As with any other skill, practice in evangelism is critical. That’s where the class will be helpful for all who struggle to present the Gospel clearly. It will include role playing and actually going out to share the gospel with people.
In preparation, Dustin will share biblical truth and some wisdom gained from his experience. A few examples:
Dustin says there’s joy in obedience and in being invited by God to be part of his saving process.
“Jesus was telling the disciples that they were going to be fishers of men. And we want to just sit on our couch and think the fish are going to come to us. Fishermen get all their gear, they’ve got to go out into the water. They’ve got to figure out what kind of bait to use. So we have to make ourselves available. We’ve got to be looking for opportunities to share, because we all have them.”
Lynn and her husband, Doug, lead a Growth Group. Lynn serves as a writer and editor for Living Faith magazine and other church communications.
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