Winning people to Jesus Christ. Making Disciples. Connecting people to Jesus Christ. However you say it, it is the primary task of Christians. As Clay said on Sunday, we have to be out looking for the lost sheep.
Some Christians never bear witness of their faith. They are timid or afraid. Others are so obnoxious or self-righteous that they drive away the very people that they are trying to win. I think that is why some Christians are so quiet about their faith, they don't want to be perceived as being pushy.
In a world that focuses on instant results, we forget that it is not our job to save people. That is God's job. You cannot force someone to choose Christ, that decision is their choice. If you are so worried about closing the sale that you drive the person away, you may want to look at your methods. I have watched well meaning Christians push people too hard and then when their witnessing meets with rejection, they tell the person, "well, I will keep praying for you." Maybe the person who needs to be prayed for is the pushy person.
We do not close the sale. God closes the sale. Jesus never gave an altar call. In fact, they did not exist in the life of the church before the ministry of Charles Finney in the mid 1800s. How did God win people before that? No altar calls? The same way that he has been winning people since the beginning of time. He offers the information, and people make their choices.
You see, the message of the gospel is very powerful. The love of God, forgiveness of sin, the opportunity for a right relationship with God thru Jesus Christ, is very compelling. It sells itself if it is held out appropriately.
I hope that you are praying for friends and family members that are not Christians. I also hope that you are considering and praying about the ways that you try to go about influencing them. My mother used to say, "you win more flies with honey that you do with vinegar." God's love is a very powerful thing. If we model that, lets let him close the sale. Only he can do that anyway.
It's a beautiful [but rainy] day in God's world, be sure to see the good, be sure to share God's love.
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2 comments:
Well said! "Every head bowed, every eye closed, with no one looking around . . . " Although many people do raise their hand or walk the aisle during such altar calls, too often the situation seems forced - we can't close the service until someone comes forward, and we'll keep repeating the last verse of Just As I Am until it happens.
This has been a hot topic in our household. We have friends who are not Christians and have actually said negative things about us "giving in to organized religion". I have tried to describe to them how awesome our church is and how we are a church of grace and how the church is involved in the community and incredible misson work. It doesn't seem to matter. They are a family in such need of a church like ours, but they refuse to listen or consider it an option. Where do we go from here? We continue to pray for them, but each time we see them they are always struggling. Their negativity is almost unbearable.
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