I was witnessing at a rock concert recently with a friend of mine. We were handing out Gospel tracts in a thunderstorm (which was quite an experience in itself).
Toward the end a guy came up and started talking to us and told us we were going about witnessing all wrong. He said we should be inviting instead of preaching. So here and now, I want to apologize to any and everyone that I’ve ever offended by open air preaching, handing out tracts, witnessing one on one and blogging. If I have offended you, I am truly sorry. But please don’t accuse me of not loving you.
I try desperately to reach the lost through a variety of means because I love people. I do evangelism out of love. So please understand that I don’t enjoy making people feel uncomfortable, but I am just the messenger. If a bridge was out on the road you were driving on and I was aware of it, I would do everything in my power to warn you, I would try to flag you down, I would try with all my might to keep you from driving over the edge to certain death. It would be negligent on my part to do otherwise and evangelism is no different.
Where is the love? The most loving thing we can do is warn people to turn from their sins and turn to Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus didn’t say he was the best option and that other religions were alright. No, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). Acts 4:12 states, Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. Jesus is the only true Savior.
The young man at the concert that said we shouldn’t be preaching told us several times that he was a good person. He tried to live a morally good life. That is why we evangelize! Most of us think we are good. The Bible even states this in Proverbs 20:6, Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find? That’s exactly why I go out witnessing. People are lost, on the road to Hell and they think they are alright because they are a good person.
Unfortunately, they have a misconception of our Holy God. God’s perfect standard is a reflection of who He is and has nothing to do with our standards. People are spiritually sleep walking through life because they think God is loving, kind and forgiving. God is these things, but He is also just, righteous and Holy. He cannot tolerate sin, because that is His nature and God cannot go against His nature.
Because of our sin nature, the wrath of God will be poured out (read the book of Revelations some time) and the real question is who that wrath will fall upon. If you reject Jesus Christ then the wrath of God will fall upon you for all of eternity in a very real, very torturous place called Hell. If you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, ask Him to forgive you for your sins, turn away from your sins and believe in Him alone to save you by putting your faith in Him, then the wrath of God will not fall upon you when you die. If you are truly born again, spiritually born again, then the wrath of God fell upon Jesus for your sins while Jesus was hanging on the cross. If you are saved, Jesus bore your sins for you, He bore the full wrath of God in your place. You were guilty, but Jesus paid your fine. When you die as a believer, you will spend eternity in a very real place called Heaven.
This is why I do evangelism. This is why I warn people of the wrath of God to come. It is truly out of love. Again, if I have offended you in the past, I am truly sorry. But if you are angry because God is convicting you, don’t keep fighting it. Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior then go share the Good News with others by lovingly warning them of the danger they are in if they don’t accept Jesus as the one true Savior. Help them to see the horrible state they are in. Show them they can’t measure up to God’s perfect standard, the 10 Commandments and then share the wonderful Good News that Jesus can save them. That, is where the love is.