The Mindset When Sharing Our Faith
Listen to what Paul said about his approach to sharing Jesus in 1 Corinthians 9: “Though I am free and belong to no one I have made myself a slave to everyone to win as many as possible. To the Jews, I became like a Jew to win the Jews. To those under the law, I became like one under the law (although I myself am not under the law) so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law, I become like one not having the law (although I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law) so as to win those not having the law.” He says “to the weak, I became weak too win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel that I may share in its blessings.”
What wise words from Paul! Instead of just blasting his position out to everybody, he took it case by case. For one type of person, one approach; for another type of person, another approach.
Sharing Our Faith Humbly
There's a sense of humility about Paul here. He didn't just bludgeon people. He became all things to all people so that he could share the good news in a helpful way.
I think it's essential that you and I have a mindset of humility when we go about sharing our faith. People will not
Maybe this is the biggest mistake of the church. Have you heard horror stories of the church burning people at the stake for not believing? That's not the way of Jesus, surely.
Sharing Our Faith Wrongly
Curt Baker, a minister in the States, tell the story about the first time he met his future wife's parents. His girlfriend invited him to spend a weekend at her parents’ home, and so he dressed himself up and things went well when he arrived and the parents treated him kindly and he got along well with the dad. But Curt, being a young Christian, decided, “I need to tell these people about Jesus!” And so after dinner, he jumped in and started to tell them about Jesus. And Kurt says that the dad's expression started to change. He started to go red in the face, and his veins in his neck started to pop out and turn purple. And eventually he just jumped out of his chair and exploded and said, “How dare you walk into our house and lecture us like this? You have no right!”
And you know what? I think that's true. He had no right to just barge into their home and try to convert them. It was tactless. It certainly showed a lack of humility that made a bad impression and did more damage than good. We have to be tactful and humble and we need to build relationships before we just blast people with the good news.
Sharing Our Faith With Strangers
Having said that, there are times when God just says “Jump in and share!” But that usually happens with strangers because there's no relationship to build, there's no risk. In fact, one of my favorite things to do is to talk about Jesus to phone salespeople! When the spam calls come in there an opportunity to say to someone, “Do you know Christ?” Because there's no risk of ruining a relationship. You see what I mean about treating some people one way and some another way?
Building Relationships
Now, tomorrow, I'll share more about how to build a relationship and wait for the right time to share the good news. But friends, I want to say to you today, be humble, be sensitive, and look for the right opportunities to gently share the good news without just bludgeoning your way in.
Paul did it that way, and so should we.
