What If We Stopped Trying to "Convert" People?
I heard someone the other day make a reference to trying to "win" someone to Christ. I've heard that phrase a 1,000 times but for some reason it resonated differently with me this time. What exactly does it mean to "win" someone? I've also heard phrases like "defending" the faith. Now in all fairness, the Bible does make a number of battle type references in regards to Christianity, but I got to thinking about how that mindset, if left unchecked, might have an effect on how people are treated? Sometimes I feel like many Christians treat their faith like a ball game, a competition to out smart and out debate people into believing the same things we do. Normally I believe the intentions are good, but unfortunately, I think the tactics can be overbearing. Is Christ so small that we need to be able to out debate someone into believing in Him? Is God so small that I must convince people of His existence?
How do we ever make progress if every religion believes their system is the best? If we are unwilling to consider the beliefs of others because their system is clearly inferior to mine, whatever mine may be, then we will always have tension.
What if people no longer proselytized for their belief system? What if instead of debating, every religion was put on display not by the logic of their beliefs, but by the actions of their followers? Even atheists could participate in this one. What if then people were to decide what they believed and how they wanted to live simply by what they saw lived out in others? That might be interesting but isn't this pretty much what we have right now? You see, Christ was not a master of debate, he was a master of love and nobody could argue love. We can set up and compare all kinds of beliefs with each other, but I have decided that the only one I can personally and wholeheartedly sell out to is love. I have a hard time saying that I'm a Christian anymore because of the actions that so many have taken under that name. But when it comes to Jesus himself. That guy I can follow, that guy I can buy into. The true message of Jesus, the message of love, is one that is so powerful it doesn't need to be debated, or proclaimed, it simply needs to be displayed. When that happens, it speaks for itself.
How do we ever make progress if every religion believes their system is the best? If we are unwilling to consider the beliefs of others because their system is clearly inferior to mine, whatever mine may be, then we will always have tension.
What if people no longer proselytized for their belief system? What if instead of debating, every religion was put on display not by the logic of their beliefs, but by the actions of their followers? Even atheists could participate in this one. What if then people were to decide what they believed and how they wanted to live simply by what they saw lived out in others? That might be interesting but isn't this pretty much what we have right now? You see, Christ was not a master of debate, he was a master of love and nobody could argue love. We can set up and compare all kinds of beliefs with each other, but I have decided that the only one I can personally and wholeheartedly sell out to is love. I have a hard time saying that I'm a Christian anymore because of the actions that so many have taken under that name. But when it comes to Jesus himself. That guy I can follow, that guy I can buy into. The true message of Jesus, the message of love, is one that is so powerful it doesn't need to be debated, or proclaimed, it simply needs to be displayed. When that happens, it speaks for itself.
I agree, there is no need to set out to convert anyone. And infact it can cause more harm than good. We are to be examples of Christ and we are to grow in His teaching so that when asked about it we can explain our personal relationship with them.
ReplyDeleteI will say this, the Bible teches us to proclaim the Word of God to all nations Matthew 8:18-20 II Tim 4:17. All of us are are given the mission to preachthe word be it in season or out of season II Tim 4:2. All of us are missionaries whether here in the US or in other countries. We give the Word of God to others but it is not our job to win them to Christ! That is job of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. And we need to do all things in love I Corin 16:14 Not by heated debate. Simply diplaying says nothing but that you're a good man but stating that you're a Christian then you are looked over by a magnifying glass and people will say he's that way because He's a Christian but if you're not doing right they will say see the hypocrisy and he says he's a follower of Christ! When you read about Jesus talking to the chief priests and elders he was asked what he thought such as in Matt 19:3-9 debating divorce and there are other encounters with those who wanted to debate him. Yes you can say it was the priests and the elders debating Him but this was done in the mist of the general population and they were listeningto every word Jesus told them. Yes we must give an answer to those we give the Gospel to but in love let Jesus be the one to bring them to salvation. I don't look to every religion for answers when it comes to telling someone about Jesus Christ I look to the Bible and give them the chap and verse and if I don't know and I will get back to them if they still want an answer and if not so be it. I will let the Spirit of God melt their heart for salvation. I win nothing God wins everything He does it all! I am just the vehicle He uses to get His message across to the lost. Feelings about Christianty are just that feeling! But I can stand on the Word of God and preach it. If I'm doing something good and someone sees me will they say he's a Christian? No, because they don't know I am and as Christ said on the sermon on the Mount mat 5:16 let your light shine before men that they may se your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven and reading before that Christ talks about the persecution of Christians from those who arent followers of Christ. Its alredy stated they know who you are or you wouldnt be persecuted in the first place but say the name of Jesus and the lost will be seething about you preaching his name. Yes we should preach the Word as it states in II Timothy! Love! Love! Love! thats what Jesus is all about but the lost is happy to love but not by the standards of Christ. In John 16: 18-19 Jesus states " If the world hates you know that it hated me first... Simply diplaying love doesnt get the world to hate you but displaying love and telling them you're a follower of Christ will!! What's the world trying to do now? Take God and Jesus out of everything. They don't want to hear the name of Jesus or God. That's the difference of displaying love without the name of Jesus and stating you"re a follower of Christ. We are to do what Christ commands us all to do "Go out teach all nations..., teaching them to oberve all things whatsoever I have command you...
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