2 Timothy 2:24-26 (ESV)
24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.
1 Peter 3:15-17 (ESV)
15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.
Over the years, we’ve all seen Christians on street corners, in parks, and on college campuses shouting the gospel at passersby. Sometimes they appear happy that onlookers are mocking them or shouting back insults. “Persecuted for the Lord,” they tell us with a smile.
A question that has bothered me for quite some time is, “Is this how Jesus wants the gospel presented?” The two passages I cite above would seem to say, “No.” Yet, we see Christians shouting down and browbeating those who might disagree with them.
I think some of this might be due to an abuse of spiritual gifts. We all do it. My gift is teaching. The abuse of this gift is to be a know-it-all, and I must admit, I have a tendency to overwhelm someone I’m talking with with the things I know. Walter Martin, a personal hero of mine, used to say we should just say something pithy. Don’t give the person too much to digest or they’ll just think you’re argumentative. Give them enough to think about, and the Holy Spirit will work on them. There’s a lot of wisdom in that. Maybe these shouters are abusing their gift of evangelism? Maybe the immediacy of people dying in their sin drives them to shout and browbeat. I can understand.
I think it’s more than just that, though. I think much of it is an attitude of our hearts. There is certainly nothing wrong with street witnessing or standing up at abortion clinics and city council meetings to patiently and respectfully express our views. The Bible tells us how to do that in the verses cited above. Whether it effects the people with whom we’re speaking is up to The Holy Spirit. I know we get frustrated at a lack of obvious fruit at times, but God has given us the method He wants us to use. It is our job as His servants to use it.
In the book of Acts, Paul is said to have “reasoned” with people. Even when the Scripture says the disciples “preached boldly” it doesn’t indicate shouting, just a lack of timidity or shame, no holding back on the full truth of the Gospel.
The Los Angeles County Fair used to have a booth run by the International Bible Students, a spinoff group of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. When my wife and I would go to the fair, I always tried to visit their booth and share a little of the gospel. Once, the fellow I was talking to called to all the others working at the booth to show his friends I wasn’t calling him names or raising my voice. As a result, he and his friends listened to what I had to say. We discussed points where we differed, and they could see the gospel. What I learned from that encounter was that he had experienced Christians shouting at him, calling him heretic, and cursing him. That isn’t the way to get people to listen. True, the fellow I was talking to was lost and believed in another Jesus, another gospel, and another Spirit. But, he was someone for whom Christ died. He should be treated as such. Berating and browbeating him did little more than to strengthen his view that his organization had the love of God, and the Christians yelling at him did not.
So, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that we should follow Paul in 2 Timothy 2:24-26 and not be quarrelsome, but respectful and kind to those with whom we share. Give them the full gospel, heaven and hell, but be good examples of Christ’s love. It doesn’t matter how they act toward us. Our obligation is to follow what God’s word tells us. As I said, “These are people for whom Christ died.”
Let’s be Christians to them.
Proverbs 15:1 (ESV)
1 A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Believers Armed and Dangerous 