Repentance From Idolatry

I met with U.D. again this morning.  This was our 4th time to meet in the past month.  I first met U.D. early one morning along the korah path (where the Tibetan Buddhists walk circles around the stupa).  He passed me by and we began to have a conversation.  I asked him if he had taken his tea yet and he said no.  In Nepali and Tibetan cultures, to ask someone if they have taken their tea is really another way to ask how they are doing.  At the same time, it is also an indirect way of inviting the person to drink tea with you.  He asked me to come to his home for tea.  U.D. is a Tibetan refugee who moved to Nepal from Tibet 30+ years before and lives in a small 12’x14’ room in a refugee camp.  He speaks absolutely no English and does not have a job.  He has 3 sons who have all been shipped off to different homes and schools.  He is a friendly man who spends most of his time hanging out with people.  From our first meeting, he has been open to listening to the Gospel.  We have watched a Creation-to-Christ DVD together and have had several discussions pertaining to Christianity and Tibetan Buddhism.  I have shared my story with him and I have taken him to the home of a refugee Tibetan believer, who also shared his story with him.  U.D. has attended a small fellowship of Tibetan believers 3 x’s since our initial meeting.  He continues to exhibit an openness and receptivity to the Gospel, so much so, that I have began to take him through an evangelistic discipleship Bible study.  This study is a modified version of the initial 6 T4T lessons.  In the first lesson, we studied the character and nature of the God of the Bible (God is unique, personal, and eternal, infinite in holiness, justice and love) and contrasted it with what he has been worshiping in the past.  We examined the objects of worship in his room and then looked at Psalm 115:4-8.  This passage seemed to really hit home with U.D.  In our last meeting together, we studied salvation (the wages of our sin, the free gift of eternal life vs. works, how salvation was obtained through the death and resurrection of Christ and the adoption as sons for all who repent and believe).  Throughout the lesson, he refrained, “Oh, yes, this is the truth!”  As we finished the lesson, I shared with him how he could be saved if he would but believe and put his faith in Jesus alone.  He said that he has faith in Christ but he kept mentioning something about after 1 month.  I believe he has set a date for when he will cross the proverbial line of repentance from Tibetan Buddhism and what he calls, “100% faith in Christ alone.”  I was looking up in a dictionary how to say ‘repeat after me’ because I was so eager to lead him in a prayer of faith to Jesus.  However, I felt under immediate conviction when I turned to find the word ‘repeat’ in the dictionary and found the word ‘repent’ instead.  The Holy Spirit reminded me that his faith must be accompanied by repentance for a true conversion to take place.  At this, I still led him in a prayer to Christ but one of thanksgiving, and supplication for continued mercy in our efforts together to bring him to faith.  I anticipate anxiously our next meeting together.