Sharing the Gospel with coworkers?

It depends so much on your personality.

If you are an Alpha personality, you can get away with such stuff. Others of us have to be more subtle and wait for our opportunities.

There is also the issue in workplace politics, that people like lopping other's heads off figuratively. So, us CHristians are able to forgive and love such a person despite of this, the other person is dead in their sin so if their sin ever comes up, they will only think of it has their "justified" dispute with you and won't reflect on their own natures and need for Christ.

God just has not blessed me with more discernment on this matter.

GQ Chris said:

How should we share the Gospel with coworkers? I believe I should mention sin, that ALL have sinned and are hellbound, that there is no other way to be saved than through Christ, and that we can't "work" our way or somehow earn our way into Heaven, and that Christ is THE ONLY WAY to be redeemed. And then prepare to be HATED because most will not like this message.

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As long as it agrees with company policy, you might still have a job the next day...many companies have little to no tolerance for non-compromised un-watered down truths of Scripture.

It might be best to approach a manager first, depending on where you work...

Another approach which might be more agreeable and allow for un-watered down truth is to first get to know the person a little, show them you care, then one day, bring a tract or two, carefully selected, say a Spurgeon tract and a Ryle tract or Bonar tract, or Pink tract, you get the idea. When you hand them to them, maybe just explain ever so slightly where the authors of the tracts are coming from, or the "slant", which everyone has one.

Or you could even try some indirect conversations, do they believe in more than relative truth? They do, admitted or not, simply because it is impossible to consistently live as though relativism were "the truth". Could work on some basic foundations. Test their sense of morality. Do they believe in evil? Is it morally universally throughout all of history for every culture evil to sexually abuse another human being against their will? My conscience tells me that rape is evil, but if there is no God and what we call truth is all personal relative, I am simply giving an opinion and or following laws within a culture. That is not an acceptable answer to me, it is repulsive to think the ethics behind rape, murder, theft, etc. are mere personal preference, that they ultimately have no real meaning or value, that it's really all just matter in motion that in the end, it was just self-righteous created meaning of a finite, fallable, creature, with slightly better reasoning than an ape. If we are the product of evolution, evolved slime, then at what point did the matter become self aware with a sense of morality? For that matter, what does our sense of morality amount to? Why is most of mankind, right or wrong in their conception, so occupied with the idea of God? Even those who say there is no God, cannot seem to stop thinking about Him, even if it amounts to denials, the thoughts are there. Or put another way, nothing is involved in the denial of nothing except nothing. So anti-Theism presupposes Theism.

The last suggestion is a far cry from preaching the Gospel I Know, but sometimes all that may be permitted or allowed to us, is the depressing or daunting task of pre-evangelism. Preparing the soil as it were for the harvest.

GQ Chris said:

Oh, let me clarify, this is in the context of outside the workplace and outside of working hours.

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Personally, I'm not much of what you might call a "street preacher" and I cannot recall running into many if any (no examples to emulate, unless holding a sign or cross counts lol) in the area I've lived all my life here in the "Bible Belt". Honestly, I am sometimes ashamed of the thought of "open air" preaching, and if I ever did such a thing, better believe it was God moving me because I really am not one craving attention, and dislike being put on the "spotlight" and have a tendency to loose my train of thought, or go blank. People sometimes seem to harp on Peter for denying Christ three times, but that's nothing compared to my silence. My lips are unclean and not worthy of speaking the Gospel of Christ...and yet in private I am a beggar, just wanting to be led by God, wanting to be used if in any small way, despite all my inconsistencies and shortcomings. Because in the end, it is all about the glory of God, the chief end of man is to glorify God.

If God so puts it on your heart and enables and emboldens, go for it, but unless the Lord builds the house, you know the rest...

GQ Chris said:

How should we share the Gospel with coworkers? I believe I should mention sin, that ALL have sinned and are hellbound, that there is no other way to be saved than through Christ, and that we can't "work" our way or somehow earn our way into Heaven, and that Christ is THE ONLY WAY to be redeemed. And then prepare to be HATED because most will not like this message.

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You have the gospel backwards. There is no point talking about sin as sin to someone who is slave to the flesh and devoid of the Holy Spirit.

The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.-- Romans 8

When you are talking to someone who is ruled by the flesh about sin, it's as though you're trying to teach a pig to sing. But it's not your job to convict them of sin:

When He comes, He will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment -- John 16

It's the job of the Holy Spirit to convict sinners of their sin. People who are lost are being wooed by the Holy Spirit. If their hearts are softened to receive the gospel, you only have to speak in the voice of Jesus:

My sheep recognize my voice; I know them, and they follow me. -- John 10

The sheep here in the voice of Jesus that which they need, even though they may not consciously be aware of what they need.

Look at how Jesus presented Himself to the Samaritan woman. He first offered her what she most needed as she understood it. He only mentioned her sin after she had accepted what He offered, which at that point she was able to receive.

He did the same thing with Zaccheus, offering Zaccheus first what Zaccheus did not have--fellowship--and then dealt with Zaccheus' sin of avarice, which at that point Zaccheus was able to receive.

Understand, too, that there is a difference between "evangelism" and "witness."

Evangelism is telling people what Jesus did for them. The scriptural model shows us that:
1. Not everyone is an evangelist.
2. An evangelist is gifted in evangelism by the Holy Spirit
3. An evangelist is thoroughly trained in theology by the Church
4. An evangelist is commissioned to a specific mission by the Church

Witnessing is telling people what Jesus did for you. Scripture tells us that:
1. Each one of us is obligated to give witness to what Jesus has done for us
2. Grounding in theology is not required to be a witness, for you are only relating that which you know and have seen firsthand
3. Witnessing can be done nearly immediately after salvation, and can be immensely effective from the very first

Christians tend to underestimate withnessing--telling people what Jesus did for you. In fact, witnessing is much more effective on the street level than evangelism is. The Samaritan woman had only a single short conversation with Jesus, and immediately witnessed more successfully than any of Paul's sermons.

People are much more interested in hearing a review from a "satisfied customer" than a sales pitch.

"I once was blind, but now I see" is as powerful now as when the blind man first said it.

This is something that happened to me a few months ago. I had been praying earnestly for the Lord to give me direction--any direction. He's done it before, but in the last few years, it seems as though I had not heard from Him. I specifically asked for a dream, and after about three weeks of asking for a dream, this happened:

I had a dream. I dreamed I was walking from pawn shop to pawn shop looking at guns. But I wasn't looking for a gun, I was looking for a particular person who sold guns. But I couldn't find the person I was looking for.

Then I woke up. I used the bathroom and went back to bed, and began dreaming again.

This time, I was scanning through newspapers and magazines, dozens of them, looking at gun advertisements. Again, I was not looking for a gun, but for a particular gun dealer.

Then I woke up again to my alarm clock. The moment I awakened, I thought about the dream, and a single sentence popped into my head: "Tell John about Jesus."

You see, John was a young man I worked with. In a conversation long before, he had mentioned to me that he the part-time gun dealer at a local pawn shop.

John and I both worked an early shift--an hour before normal business began. So I set my mind to speak to him first thing in that quiet period before things got busy.

Interestingly, all hell seemed to break loose from the very first moment we got to work. But when I finally had a moment to speak to him, it turned out he had just gotten some bad news and needed to speak to someone with compassion. He was a nominal Christian, but it hit him hard when I told him that the Lord wanted me to speak to him that morning, that very morning that he needed to speak to someone.

GQ Chris said:

^Are you Reformed? I'm not trying to "sell" anything.

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People will respond to a straight preaching pitch as a sales pitch. But if you have found Jesus satisfying in your life, there are people out there who are seeking true satisfaction. People will want what you have, not what you're trying to pitch to them. "What has Jesus done for you?" is a very valid question.

be ready always to give an answer to every man who asketh you a reason for the hope that is in you -- 1 Peter

GQ Chris said:

Again, I am not trying to "pitch" anything. I'm interested in telling people about the Gospel.

Again, I'm primarily looking for the Reformed perspective.

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You're going at it wrong from a Reformed perspective. Leaving the Holy Spirit to do His work in convicting of sin is totally from a Reformed perspective.

The Gospel itself, is the power of God unto salvation... Yes you can tell people how God has changed your life, made you a better, happier person, etc.. The response is usually, "well if that worked for you, good for you. This works for me and makes me happier, more fulfilled, etc. "
I think your first instincts were right..There's no cookie cutter approach but I believe it's all about the good news. The bad news about God's Law, sin , death, judgement is the backdrop. Some folks might be tender reeds that feel crushed by the law, and have been prepped to hear the gospel. Others need to feel the weight of the law. They need to understand the bad news first. Just my 2cents.
You might feel awkward, you might stumble at times.. True we are not all gifted "evangelists", but I do believe we all have the duty and privilege to share the gospel.

Unless you are called to preach from a pulpit to a captive audience you must wait on Christ to open doors to speak. Look for those opportunities. Plant seeds as much as you have opportunity and don't give in to the many questions that folks ask to throw up walls. Always point them to Christ and His work on the behalf of sinners. Don't allow anyone to take the focus from Him. They will try to ask about all sorts of things but you must do all you can to make them do business with Christ. Practice turning the conversation to Christ and His finished work, why He had to die, why He had to live and why He had to rise again. Turn as much of your conversation toward Him as you can and illustrate Him in everyday things and life. And then leave the rest to the Spirit. Some will be hardened and some will believe. Some will want to shut you up and others will seek you out for more conversation. The same sun that melts the ice hardens the clay.

abacabb3 said:

It depends so much on your personality.

If you are an Alpha personality, you can get away with such stuff. Others of us have to be more subtle and wait for our opportunities.

There is also the issue in workplace politics, that people like lopping other's heads off figuratively. So, us CHristians are able to forgive and love such a person despite of this, the other person is dead in their sin so if their sin ever comes up, they will only think of it has their "justified" dispute with you and won't reflect on their own natures and need for Christ.

God just has not blessed me with more discernment on this matter.

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I have this problem myself. Most everyone in my workplace professes to be a Christian, though not of the same theology as me (it doesn't seem to me either that they show much of a love for Christ in their lives either, at least in what they exhibit at work). I keep praying for opportunities, for God to open a door and work through me in whatever way it will please Him.

In the mean time, when they make lewd jokes or use the Lord's name in vain or gossip about others (or look down on our customers in a condescending way and make them feel like they're stupid), I keep wondering if I should do anything. I want to say something, but I'm so beta (is that the opposite of alpha, right?) I never know what to say or how to go about doing anything about what seems to me a constant exhibition of their sin and their comfortableness in it.

Apologetic_Warrior said:

. People sometimes seem to harp on Peter for denying Christ three times, but that's nothing compared to my silence. .

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That's what I feel like when I hear them use the g-d curse word or Jesus' name in conjunction with a curse (like using it as though they were cursing)--I feel like I'm denying Him when I don't say anything, and I don't know what to do! I want to say something at least, like don't do that. The last time a co-worker said it, she was way at the other end of the workplace and I felt like if she were right next to me I would have said something along the lines of I would like you not to say those kinds of things around me, or something like that, or rather not to say them at all. But then since she was so far away, I felt like I would be yelling across the room, so I lost courage and didn't say anything. I felt so horrible. Most of the jc people are our customers, and I really don't know what to do about this. I want to say it and not care about my job, yet then I don't know how to go about saying that it is an offence to God. I feel like then the spotlight will be on me and they will make a big deal about it and that I would after that look like a real stumbling idiot--which really shouldn't matter as long as I say my true feelings about God; if someone were saying something offensive about me, I think I would like it if God said something to them about how He didn't like it.

dhh712 said:

I have this problem myself. Most everyone in my workplace professes to be a Christian, though not of the same theology as me (it doesn't seem to me either that they show much of a love for Christ in their lives either, at least in what they exhibit at work). I keep praying for opportunities, for God to open a door and work through me in whatever way it will please Him.

In the mean time, when they make lewd jokes or use the Lord's name in vain or gossip about others (or look down on our customers in a condescending way and make them feel like they're stupid), I keep wondering if I should do anything. I want to say something, but I'm so beta (is that the opposite of alpha, right?) I never know what to say or how to go about doing anything about what seems to me a constant exhibition of their sin and their comfortableness in it.

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I'll have to think about how I treat my customers now too. WHen Paul went out preaching, he went to the synagogues and to places people were looking to hear about stuff (like the aereopogus in Athens.) How do you just tell random people without being one of those guys with a megaphone in the city?