The other day, I had the opportunity to share my faith with some Muslim women. We talked about the Quran vs. the Bible, Muhammad vs. Jesus Christ, and salvation from our sins. The beautiful thing was this, I was able to share the gospel without raising my voice or getting angry, even when they were resistant towards my beliefs. Even when they disagreed and didn’t necessarily believe with what I believe, we were both able to walk away from that conversation (yes, a conversation, not an argument), both perfectly fine. No one was huffing and puffing. No one was steaming mad and yelling insults at the other. It remained cordial and respectful, in which both sides shared their thoughts (me getting to share the entire premise of the gospel and Jesus paying the debt for our sins and them sharing about Muhammad and the Quran) and we both walked away still in good standing with one another in the relationship that I’ve been able to build with them.
And this got me thinking about how some Christians are so antagonistic towards unbelievers that are resistant to the Gospel. And I’ve seen in both videos and personally witnessed Christians getting hostile in sharing and defending their faith, getting angry, hateful and sometimes downright disrespectful to others when they refuse to believe. But notice the words in Matthew 10:14 that Jesus gives his disciples as he sends them out before him. “If they don’t welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet…” Jesus doesn’t command them to make the people there believe. Jesus doesn’t force them to make people convert. He provides the people with an invitation. And if the people choose not to accept it, then okay, move on. Just like the disciples, there may be some people whose heart’s aren’t ready when we come by. We are simply called to be obedient.
We see a similar invitation in the story of Jesus and the rich man in Mark 10:21-31 in which Jesus invites the rich man to follow him after the rich man sells all of his possessions to give to the poor. But notice this, Jesus doesn’t demand or force him to. Jesus gives him the choice, and even though Jesus knew what the man would do, He still provided him with the choice. This should be us in sharing our faith – an invitation. Not insults, hostility and condemnation to hell.
The Apostle Peter speaks on how we should conduct ourselves when sharing our faith in 1 Peter 3:15-16 when it states: “…And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.” (1 Peter 3:15-16 NLT) As we can see, Peter states that we should share our faith in a respectful manner. In doing so, we do not place ourselves in a place of shame, but rather in a place of sinlessness. We are not at fault for someone’s choice to not accept the Gospel by our behavior, rather it is by their own choice.
Is this to say that we should not be persistent in praying for, interceding or even sharing with them throughout the course of time thereafter? Of course not. We should still pray for the people who reject the Gospel. We should still intercede on their behalf. And whenever the Lord provides an opportunity, continue to live in a way that invites them to accept the Gospel. I mean, think about it, Jesus prayed for those as they were crucifying Him. As they were rejecting Him and killing Him, He prayed for them. So should we when we face resistance for our faith. We can share the message of Christ’s love in the way that He did, by doing so lovingly. Christ did not force people to follow Him, rather He invited them. And Jesus knew who would and who wouldn’t. But He was obedient in still inviting them and should we.
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