Acts 26
King
Agrippa said to Paul, “In a short time would you persuade me to be a
Christian?” And Paul said, “Whether short or long, I
would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day might
become such as I am—except for these chains.”
It sometimes seems that when it comes to
evangelism the people’s impressions fall into one of two categories. One is that Christians are sneaky, always
trying to force faith into our conversations.
I have heard this advocated by evangelical strategists. I’m all for talking about Jesus, but it seems
a bit underhanded, though, to use bait-and –switch tactics in evangelism. Doesn’t that confirm the suspicion that we
might not be trust worthy? The other
impression that people seem to have about evangelism is that it is done by
force. It is as if the Crusades were
still actively engaged and the choice is to convert or die. The charge is, “How dare they force their
religion on us?”
Paul’s approach with King Agrippa is
actually quite refreshing. Agrippa
asked, “Are you trying to convert me?”
And Paul basically smiled and said, “Why, yes! Yes, I am!”
The question that comes to mind in this
scenario is, “Why wouldn’t we want people to convert to Christianity? Why wouldn’t we desire for people to believe
what we believe?” It is easy to
understand that Christians have not always used good methods for spreading the
gospel, but that should not keep us from boldly sharing the faith today! If we really believe that there is only one
true God (which is what the Bible teaches), and that we stand condemned before
that God because of our sin (which the Bible also teaches), and that God loves
us so much that He gave His only begotten Son to die to pay for our sins (see 2
Corinthians 5:21) doesn’t it stand to reason that we’d want people to know
this? If this is our hope, our life, our
salvation, doesn’t it make sense that we’d share it with others? If our faith in Jesus gives us joy, forgiveness,
peace, and purpose, why would we keep this to ourselves?
Evangelism is an act of love. It is saying, “Look at what Jesus has done
for me! I want you to have this Good
News, too!”
Father, forgive me for my fear of sharing
the faith. Help me to see that I am
offering people Good News and great joy in Jesus. Amen.
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