Testimony?

Nightfire said:

Amen to the posts above! Tim raises an important point, which I believe many Christians (at least in my limited experience) overlook in practice, even while they evangelize theoretically: our behaviour towards non-Christians is the frontier of our faith, where we should be at our best and most Christ-like behaviour. But for many it's the back-alley and wrong-side-of-the-railroad of their Christian life, a place to be the most defensive and the most aggressive - not the substrate for being the "salt of the earth", the ground in which God's gospel must grow.

Apart from the fact that such a mentality has a detrimental effect on our testimony towards "heathens, pagans and sinners" (like Pharisees towards the "uncircumcized"), with the result of 'preaching from on high' rather than 'serving from below', it also affects our interpretation of the Bible. It's easy to undertand how we must take care of each other, our "brothers", but how do the verses heron quotes above apply to non-Christians? Do "neighbours" also qualify as "brothers"?

No doubt they do, but how to express this Biblically? Seekers are not Christians yet, and often have a false idea of God that they think is Biblical. Under such circumstances quoting the Bible cannot be a method of persuasion, but of clarification - it is our resource, not yet theirs. Otherwise, what starts as a theological discussion quickly degenerates into an argument over definitions, interpretations, meanings of words etc. It only emphasizes division (which already exists in understanding and background), and the testimony gets lost in the process. It's a hard lesson even among Christians (1 Tim. 1:4; 6:20; Titus 3:9). The Biblical answer to this is (no surprise here) brotherly love towards all people, "which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith" (1 Tim. 3:5).

It's that last bit that we miss: evangelism starts with yourself, and it is only persuasive when that overflows into the other person's life. Then it will be the Spirit acting instead of you, the fruit of the gospel becoming visible from its roots in you - and people will see God more easily, without you getting in the way. "Love your neighbour as yourself" can only be true if that love emerges from a depth beyond your ego.

Evangelism means being a witness of how Christ treats 'sinners', supported by our knowledge of how He treated us. We are literally a witness, almost a specator, of God's work. But it requires us to be the servants of his will, messengers of his words: priests and prophets.

Not everybody has the gift of teaching or interpretation, and we should be the first to admit this. Invariably, a non-believer's first encounter with Christianity is the law, and the conviction of sin that comes in its wake can be paralyzing and overwhelming, which requires wisdom and support to get through - it should lead to repentance, not alienation! The law is only good if it is used properly (1 Tim. 1:8) The gifts for being fishers of men are "the greater gifts" we must actively seek (1 Cor. 12:31) which are only accessible through "the most excellent way" which is the universal, divine kind of love, practiced in faith, and giving hope. Without that, not even God's message spoken in the tongue of angels will sound like anything but a clanging symbal. "And if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?"

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