Unlearning Wrong Ideas About Evangelism

If you saw a blind man walking toward a 1,000 foot cliff, you would immediately:

• offer him your favorite Christian CD
• invite him to your house for a non-confrontational BBQ the following weekend
• suggest a more fulfilling place to walk
• warn him about the cliff

When Paul pleaded with the people on Mars Hill (Acts 17), he demonstrated his concern for them by:

• inviting them to a worship service in the upper room
• saying something to make them feel good about themselves
• smiling and hoping they noticed the peace in his eyes
• telling them about the coming Day of Judgment and what they must do to be saved

Stephen was stoned by the Jewish leaders (Acts 7) because he:

• was belting out some really cool Christian rap lyrics that the Jews just didn’t appreciate
• invited the leaders to an awesome weekend retreat where pork was being served
• simply forgot to wait until they were “ready” to receive his message
• was way too harsh and should have talked more about the love of God
• rebuked them for their hard hearts towards God and their rejection of the Messiah

If we know someone who is not born again, we should do all we can to:

• wear a cross around our neck so they’ll know we’re sold out for Jesus
• invite them to church and hope they want to come back
• spend months building their trust and hope they ask what makes us different (assuming they don’t die first… which we can’t assume)
• learn to go to them in love and compassion, speaking the truth, leading them away from the cliff and safely into the arms of the Savior

In light of the fact that 140,000 people die every day, and you know the only way to heaven and the only way to escape eternal punishment in hell, what should you do now?

• visit a different website that does not challenge you to get out of your comfort zone
• pray about it, hoping that your negligence won’t matter to God
• wait until your pastor tells you what to do
• begin to learn to share your faith effectively, biblically, and reach those you love with the gospel.

Adapted from: “The Love Test” – http://wayofthemaster.com/lovetest.shtml

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