In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus talked about the difficulty of following him. “Enter by the narrow gate,” he said, “for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
I’ve been a Christian for about 10 years, and last week I witnessed to a stranger, unsolicited, for the first time. The first time. I’ve explained to people what I believe and why I believe it when they’ve asked, but I’ve never initiated such a conversation.
I was talking to a man (an agnostic) at the Blog World Expo, and the conversation turned to religious beliefs. We talked about sin and judgment and forgiveness and salvation. To understand what he believed about these things, I asked a series of questions, listened to his answers, and explained what the Bible teaches. What bothered him about Christianity is its exclusivity.
“I am the way, the truth, and the life,” Jesus said. “No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)
“I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” (John 10:9)
We live in a country where it’s considered bad form to make statements about good and evil, and to declare a such thing as absolute truth. To make a judgment about what’s right or wrong is becoming taboo. Some are offended when we say Christ is the only way. “There are many roads to God. How can you say people of other religions are going to hell if they don’t follow your God?”
Actually, people are “going to hell” because they murdered or raped or lied, but the point is that Christ made these claims, and you can either believe him or not. There is no in-between. All this nonsense about Jesus being a great man or a good teacher is just that. Christ was exceedingly clear, and his statements were very simple. He spoke of two gates: wide and narrow. There’s no middle gate through which to walk. You can refuse his offer of forgiveness and face God’s wrath, or accept Christ, turn away from your sins, submit to him, and avoid his wrath.
Even Christians find this difficult to do. Repenting and submitting are constant themes in the life of a believer growing in grace, and Christ never said it would be easy. We live in fallen and corrupt bodies in a fallen and corrupt world. Though we want to be obedient and do what’s right, we sometimes fail. But we are filled with a Spirit who helps us understand biblical truths and empowers us to live a life that serves as a testimony to God’s grace.
That simple truth can and should give us strength to keep our faith and focus as we continue on this Christian walk. God knows some days are harder than others, but Christ said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)
A ministry that played a huge part in my decision to witness that day is The Way of the Master. Actor Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort developed a ministry of “street evangelism,” using techniques that appeal to a person’s awareness of Moral Law. I highly recommend you listen to Way of the Master Radio if you’ve never witnessed to a stranger. If you have, I recommend it anyway. 
My first unsolicited witnessing encounter was positive, I think, because the person I witnessed to was receptive. I’ve been praying for him. I hope I planted a seed. I pray for myself: for the courage to make witnessing a habit and not an aberration.
(For unbelievers who think this post is a bunch of bunk, misguided drivel, etc., I understand. I used to feel the same way. In fact, I mocked Christians. I can present “rational” reasons why I changed, but I am unable to articulate the radical transformation process. I pray that one day you can say the same.)
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this is a beautiful post and I agree with your words.
thank you for sharing your thoughts and beliefs.
The question is whether believing in something makes it so. I would wager that most agnostics and atheists would say it does not. A person is, or is not, regardless of what we believe. Similarly, He is what He is regardless of what we believe. Just because there are millions of different ideas of Who God is doesn’t mean those ideas are all correct — how could they possibly be?
Everyone reading this may have a different picture of me in their minds, but I’ll tell you: I’m a young woman, blonde with blue eyes, and speak with a Texas accent. Anyone who still persists in claiming I’m a middle-aged bald man from Pennsylvania just because they believe it, and reject the “exclusivity” of me being only who I am, must be a fool.
I love this post and was once a “mocker” myself. The cool thing about Truth is it never comes back void.
I pray that the person you witnessed too will stay in contact and more importantly, come to a saving knowledge of Christ.
Do it again!!! Great post…many people will be encouraged and challenged by your example. We will pray for harvest of those seeds planted.
If you believe in Christ, how can you not believe Christ? To be a Christian one must, of necessity, be a believer in His word.
Michelle, what you say is interesting. I once, years ago, had a brief discussion about the nature of God, and it was the atheist who asserted that “if God exists, He exists as an objective being.” The woman who claimed to be a Christian said that “God changes according to what you believe about Him” I objected to that, and she quickly changed the subject.
Of course, not all ideas about God are correct, but it’s nonsense to suppose that because not all of them are correct, none of them can be.
Excellent post, La Shawn. Much food for thought here.
I don’t care what you believe as long as you don’t try to force it down my throat. Before anyone goes straight to ridiculous land I am not saying that anything goes as long as it doesn’t happen to me.
I just don’t like unsolicited witnessing and find it obnoxious and offensive. I have usually found that if I turn it around on whomever is doing it they get really defensive.
If I had my way unsolicited witnesssing just wouldn’t happen.
That being said I think that religion can be a very good thing and a tremendous way to help people. Like any other tool it all depends upon how it is used.
Jack–
When you talk about “unsolicited witnessing” what do you mean? Do you mean, “witnessing to people who have expressed overt hostility to Christianity” or do you mean, “witnessing to people who don’t know Christianity”? How many people these days do know Christianity? Very few. I suspect that what you call “turning it around” means making a violent attack on people who approach you with love. You would react defensively in such a situation, too.
What you call “religion” is nothing more nor less than an individual’s relationship with the universe. It is not a “tool.” It is your life, wheter you realize it or not.
Excellent post, La Shawn.
What especially gets me is the refrain; “There are many roads to God.”
Oh yeah? On what authority? Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and practically every other religion makes no allowance for alternative routes to “paradise”, nirvana” or what have you.
Paganism is one “religion” that allows for a pluralistic pathway to gods. In their case, introducing another “way” just means adding yet another god to their pantheon for appeasement.
They’re all exclusive in their own way. It naturally follows then that they all can’t be right. So one has to drill down and deduce the truth.
Take the Judeo-Christian precepts, and that spawn of Satan, Islam. All three claim a common root in Abraham:
* The Jews are still waiting for the Messiah — prophesied as a lamb since the founding of the Jewish nation — theoretically, he would come after the Temple is rebuilt.
* The Christians say that He has already come, and been sacrificed by His own who refused to accept Him as the Son of God.
* The Muslims, say all of the above is bunk and that God speaks only to the lineage of Ismael and the sacrificial lamb is everyone who partakes of jihad to the bitter end. Never mind that Mohammed came centuries after Christ.
In any case, regardless of what one believes, it is all predicated on faith, even for the agnostics and atheists — faith in a truth unseen.
When you talk about “unsolicited witnessing” what do you mean?
Hi Trish,
I mean people who knock on my door and try to preach to me after I politely tell them that I haven’t any interest. It has happened more than once.
I suspect that what you call “turning it around” means making a violent attack on people who approach you with love.
No, there is nothing violent about it, unless you consider poking holes in an argument to be violent.
And you should know that even things that are done in love can be viewed as hostile. When a child tells my children that they are going to hell because they do not believe as he does there is a problem.
I don’t assume that the child is acting maliciously or intentionally trying to hurt my children. But I am sure that you can appreciate that the end result of this is that it creates issues.
Because now my children come to me and ask why “Jimmy” says that they are going to hell. I in turn explain that we all have different beliefs. I prefer to leave it at that, but the conversation doesn’t necessarily end there.
“Jimmy” continues to try and push my children so I help to protect them by giving them more reasons why “Jimmy” is misguided, wrong and confused.
I am sure that you can see how this puts us on a path of conflict. It is one that I prefer not to engage in. What good is served by having an emotional debate with people because ultimately religion comes back to emotion.
Trish,
We disagree about whether religion is a tool or not. I call it a tool because it is a set of beliefs that you can choose to accept or deny.
And under those beliefs great good has been done as well as great evil.
You can look at various ministries that have worked hard to help the downtrodden as being examples of good.
At the same time you can look at the Inquisition and Crusades as being instruments of evil. How many people were unnecessarily tortured or murdered in the name of religion.
It is a tool like so many other things. How you use it helps to determine its value.
Jack,
Christians are not shoving their religion down your throat. They are obeying the Lord in telling others about the saving grace of Jesus Christ.
People who have come to the Lord after strong resistance (even sharing your “shoving religion” attitude) see how the Lord was working in their lives. They now understand witnessing to others about salvation through Jesus Christ.
It says in a prophetical book in the Bible known as Isaiah that God’s Word does not return unto him void. God’s Word that was shared with you through your rejection did and is having its God desired effects on you.
I have taken part in on the street and door to door evangelism. I have encountered people like you doing the “turning it around” thing. I along with others continued to pray for those who shared your attitude.
It is all worth it, because many come to the Lord.
Some come early some come later in life. I was a part of planting or cultivating the Salvation Seed. The harvest (accepting Christ as Savior) came through other Christians.
You would have to be above God to have your way about unsolicited witnessing.
When non Christians have approached me about who they worship. I let them know I am saved through Jesus Christ and share with them (as long as they want to listen) about Jesus Christ taking the punishment for what they have done wrong through my bible scriptures. Of course I pray for them after the encounter. I tell other Christians so that they can pray for them too.
So Jack guess what? I will be praying for you.
It is important for Christians to be discerning in the ‘when’ and ‘how’ they choose to share the Gospel, and Jack’s examples, I think, show a good example of why it is so important. Granted, it is never “wrong” to share the Gospel. But for its greatest effect, it should be done with great care. Polite conversation about religion is a good time. While comforting a hurting friend, can be a good time. Seven AM on Saturday morning tends not to be. Even I have come away annoyed at Christians knocking on my door.
And most everyone knows that “Jesus loves you,” is far more effective with children (and most people for that matter) than “You’re going to hell.”
It is a shame that the undirected zeal of some Christians has managed to put off so many from wanting to hear the Gospel. We should always remember that showing love also means being cognizant of each other’s feelings and sensitivities. Like Paul, we should strive to “become all things to all men so that by all possible means [we] might save some.” (I Corinthians 9:22) While I pray for salvation for the lost, I also pray for wisdom for the body of Christ.
Way to go La Shawn! Keep up the good work in witnessing.
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