Ethics of Proselytization

[zippy2006]

Does Romans 12 fit into this conversation? Must every Christian be an evangelist in word?

The first point is that what is at stake in the OP is not evangelizing but being evangelized. Whether or not one is averse to evangelizing others, they should not be averse to being evangelized.

But as to your question, friends share important parts of their life by definition, so even if one does not feel called to evangelize strangers, they should still be sharing important parts of their life with friends. It would be odd if you had two "best friends" who had never met each other, or who did not even know about the other one's existence. But if God is one of your closest friends, then how could it be that your other close friends never come into contact with God through you? It would be as if my best friend had never been brought into contact with my spouse.

 

[RDKirk]

Does Romans 12 fit into this conversation? Must every Christian be an evangelist in word?

For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your a faith; 7if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, b do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

Well, this is where I have to get tediously pedantic.

Not every Christian is called to the office of "evangelist." We use that word in general too loosely (as we, including me), have been doing in this thread.

We see some specific things in scripture regarding people in the office of evangelist:

1. They are called and gifted as such by the Holy Spirit.

2. They are fully trained in the gospel by those who have been called and gifted to be teachers in the Church.

3. They are commissioned to a specific evangelistic mission by the congregation.

4. They are held accountable to the congregation for how they acquitted their mission.

That is not everyone.

But we each do have a responsibility to the Lord to be ready at all times to give our own personal testimonies of our experience with Him (1 Peter 3:15). We must never discount the power of personal testimony. The Samaritan woman had only a few minutes with Jesus at the well. She was not at all well versed in the gospel--she wasn't even sure Jesus was the Messiah. But her personal testimony of her own experience with Him brought the entire town to Him.

 

[bèlla]

2. They are fully trained in the gospel by those who have been called and gifted to be teachers in the Church.

3. They are commissioned to a specific evangelistic mission by the congregation.

4. They are held accountable to the congregation for how they acquitted their mission.

You provided the scriptures that mentioned the gifts of the spirits but nothing for the others. Everyone that ministers to the lost isn’t commissioned by a church nor is the gift solely related to that setting. Charities come to mind as do activities in the marketplace.

~bella

 

[2PhiloVoid]

The first point is that what is at stake in the OP is not evangelizing but being evangelized. Whether or not one is averse to evangelizing others, they should not be averse to being evangelized.

But as to your question, friends share important parts of their life by definition, so even if one does not feel called to evangelize strangers, they should still be sharing important parts of their life with friends. It would be odd if you had two "best friends" who had never met each other, or who did not even know about the other one's existence. But if God is one of your closest friends, then how could it be that your other close friends never come into contact with God through you? It would be as if my best friend had never been brought into contact with my spouse.

Zippy, not to completely nail your tires in your arguments here because, for the most part, I agree with the general intention of what you've been saying, but have you ever been boldly (and repetitively) accosted by Christians whom you know misread and misuse the Bible in order to deliver their "evangelizing message"? I have to say that I have, and there have been times that their unrelenting and dismissive attitudes were beyond common sensibility and, I aver, even entered into what I'd call a form of verbal abuse and/or personal manipulation.

So, on one level, I agree with the general intention of clarity in your posts here, but on another level, I also agree with @bèlla in EXPECTING that Christians know how to deliver their 'evangelizing methods' in ways that most folks can recognize as something comporting to what we should expect to find in interpersonal attempts to 'change hearts' from all we find said in the New Testament.