I have been thinking alot about witnessing for Jesus lately. Proclaiming the Gospel is something Believers are told to do. There is no question about this, it's all over the New Testament.
So, I can't help but feel some guilt that I have not been doing it like I should. With that said I should add this, there has never been a time when people have been either so cynical,uninterested, or just plain hostile to anything about Jesus and salvation. The reasons for this are probably more than I wish to innumerate but a few are worth mentioning.
1.Misdeeds and horrible things done by clergy, churches and people identifying themselves as Christian. Of course--as I wrote in an earlier post--don't confuse the Christian faith for what has been done in the name of religion.
2. The changing moral climate in America. What was once thought to be totally unacceptable behavior is now accepted as being acceptable. When you match this behavior up with the Bible's teachings you immediately see a conflict in beliefs.The intolerant Christian is the label put on anyone who actually believes the Bible.
3.An aggressive agenda to marginalize and disparage the Christian faith by the media and a wide variety of groups, not the least of which is the ACLU. If you don't believe this then you have not been paying attention.
4. I guess I should throw in our schools,colleges and universities while I'm at it. I am also including colleges and universities that were founded on faith and faith principles. They have either left Christianity behind or watered it down and compromised it to such a degree it is worthless.
Brothers and Sisters, it's grim out there.
So what are we to do? Stand on a street corner or outside a stadium and pass out generic Bible tracts? Now, that is a good and honorable thing to do but I have seen how mostly ineffective it is,again, in this day and age.
I will give you what I think we should do but let me give you this admonition by Jesus regarding witnessing first. In Matthew Chapter 7:6 he says: "Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine....." The rest of this quote pertains to endangering your personal safety by witnessing to certain types of people. if you look at most commentaries the words "pearls" and "that which is holy," represent precious biblical truths, principles, commandments of God, and directions, which God speaks to your heart. Jesus says we are not to offer them to those who are aggressive and/or openly hostile to the Salvation message.
Now that doesn't mean we shouldn't pray for this person or that we won't have an opportunity to withess sometime in the future, it's means just not at this moment in time.
What to do in regards to witnessing? I make it personal.I find opportunities when a co-worker or someone I come in contact with asks me what I've been up to. I might say, well I went to Bible study last night, or, I had a Bible study at home with friends, it was really interesting. We studied how what you say can sometimes get you into alot of trouble (from the Epistle of James). Notice how I mentioned a totally relatable subject. It's better than saying, "Yeah, we studied how everyone who is not saved will burn in hell.......eternally." I think you see what I am getting at. Pick your scenario to reference something God related.
Something else. People I know will occasionally mention to me a personal issue or trial they have been going through. I will say that I get insighs and strength from reading Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the words of Jesus when I am troubled. More often than not I get the following reponse or something close to it--"I am not into religion, I had enough of that in the past." I respond with, "forget about "religion", check out Proverbs for starters, that has timeless wisdom and common sense. You really won't believe how relevant it is."
Many times we need to get a person's foot in the door faith wise. Then, they can be gently led to the Gospel of Jesus.
Any suggestion readers have on witnessing would be much appreciated. If you know anyone who might be interested in this Blog, please tell them about us.Also, feel free to share any of the articles I have posted so far.
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