Re: "Point/Counter-Point: The Only Way To Evangelize"

(Continued from Lifeninja's Blog)
Counter-Point

I agree, in a way, in your decision to not waste time with evangelizing to "unsaved friends". I agree that people you know should be aware that you are a Christian.

But there is a deeper meaning to evangelism than a lot of people may think. It's a heavy burden, evangelizing, but it's also a gift.

It is obvious that evangelism is a necessary component if you want to call yourself Christian. I mean, if you know Christ, he told us to "Follow me and I will make you fisher's of men" (Matthew 4:19).

So, 1st of all, it seems to me that evangelism is a very opinion-based topic (thus the point/counter-point relevance). 2nd, it's a hinging point in a lot of people's lives when they are introduced to the truth of God and what it is to be a Christian. This hinging point can cause disaster, or enlightenment -- disastrous examples: you reject the fact that you preferably need to get to know the person in order to earn a spiritual respect of that person (if they do not "know" you, the majority of the time that person will think you are a cultist or a nut -- they may not say it out loud!), you slam your beliefs on the table b/c you are "on fire for Jesus" and that person is scared to death (they may not say it out loud!), you annoy the person to the point of no return and that person will shut you out. Throwing your "soul-saving" information at them usually results in a destruction of the relationship (in my opinion). The argument is that Life Ninja says we shouldn't worry about the destruction of that relationship. He believes that we should leave it up to God.

But, where do we draw the line where we "assume divine intervention" in relationships VS. "God helps those who help themselves"?

Why would I ignore the characteristics of Jesus? What is the other option? I will tell you...

The Bible is a contextual book that has been translated numerous times, through many spiritual ages, and has been passed down to us. The original text was written to the people in the Middle East at that time. To ignore these facts would be idiotic. BUT, the Bible was written as a piece of evangelism. Simply put...we were not there in the time of Jesus. In order to trust scripture, you literally have to have faith in it. You can say all the things possible to prove that the Bible is all true, but that would be defeating the point in having faith in God. People will still doubt the existence of God and the history of Christianity! You already have that against you.

Lifeninja says:

"Jesus was not afraid of knocking Nicodemus, the woman at the well and the travelers on the road to Emasus off guard to present how important he is. He didn't worry about the "right time" or the "right place" or even the "developmental stages" of his followers."

Jesus was at a maturity that we all strive to become. Is anyone on this earth at the spiritual maturity level of Christ? I highly doubt it. Is it possible? Of course (read my post titled "Philippians 1-4" -- skip to the part about Jesus becoming nothing). I'm not saying that we have to be at the maturity level of Christ to evangelize, but I am saying that we aren't God -- God knows exactly what to say -- and not everyone will need to hear the same thing by the same person. There are ways to getting through to people that don't make you look like a con artist. So, I'm not necessarily ignoring Jesus' characteristics, but I am saying that we are not God.

I believe that there is a reason for knowing the human psyche. We are reasoning creatures that are complex and yet simple. We know that some people are stubborn, some people were raped when they were young, some people are surrounded by atheists, some people are happy with condemning Christians, ect. These are not habits that we should ignore. These are problems that, if taken lightly, can lead to a destruction of the relationship. The ultimate reason for evangelism is expressing a Christ-like love to others. If we chose ignorance to achieve that goal, are we really doing the right thing? I don't believe in "the end justifies the means". It's hypocritical to sacrifice wisdom to gain enlightenment (Jesus was strong, but also gentle).

Conclusion

This is such a broad topic with so much controversy surrounding it. So if we aren't sitting people down in a group and evangelizing, what are we doing? We are beacons of God's word, a reflection of Jesus, in a period of time where psychology is apart of our awareness and people are even more messed up. We defend the truth, we gain the respect of others, we love others, we set the example. We become "nothing", a servant to God and others. We love people by creating a relationship and becoming their "brother/sister".

You can see the simplicity of Life Ninja's post and the complexity of mine -- showing you an obvious difference between the two forms of evangelism with the same agenda. This is my opinion in which I have found success. But God calls us all to behave in different ways, because we all bring something to the table. That is the beauty of diversity and equilibrium of God's creation. Pray to God for the right answer and He will lead you. But, one thing Life Ninja and I both believe: to do nothing at all would not be love. God wants us to take action.