Proverbs 9:7-12 Evangelism:No longer a Dirty Word!

⁷ Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse,
    and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury.
⁸ Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you;
    reprove a wise man, and he will love you.
⁹ Give instruction^[b] to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
    teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.
¹⁰ The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
    and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
¹¹ For by me your days will be multiplied,
    and years will be added to your life.
¹² If you are wise, you are wise for yourself;
    if you scoff, you alone will bear it.

Do you find this to be true?  The Bible refers to casting our pearls before swine (Matthew 7:6).  Do you find that those that do not walk with God, get very angry about God and His ways?  So how, in heaven’s name, do you reach these precious lambs with the Gospel?   I have been pondering this question as of late, as I am teaching a class on “Evangelism and World Religions”.

I asked the question on my FB page to describe in one word: “Evangelism- and to please be honest. "  The Christians I knew answered with words such as:

Spreaading seeds

Sharing the Gospel

Pick Me

Love

Revival

Message of Love

Sharing Faith in Christ

Treasure Hunt

Billy Graham

And then, the darker replies from Christians:

“…honestly the first thought wasn't a word, but a feeling. A negative feeling toward what evangelism has become.”

“…Talking to strangers is not my idea of a good time, however, I love to smile at someone, acts of kindness when I can, stuff like that is my comfort zone / personality.”

Preach

Pushy

Bible Thumper

Preachers that yell a lot

Ouch…so, if we as Christians are not “feeling” the pull/lure/love in evangelism….what do non-believers think of the word “Evangelism”?

Extreme

Fundamentalism, against modern thinking

Jehovah’s Witness

We think we are out loving the world and the world thinks we are pushing fundamentalism in extreme amounts. 

So, how do we evangelize and reach H is lost?  I love what Patty Taylor said, 

“If you'd asked me this question just four years ago I would have said, "Oh, I'm not an evangelist." Yet, I know Jesus commanded us to go into all the world. However, for me, the though of preaching the gospel on street corners made me nauseous. I don't want to be a used car salesman or have his reputation! Today, I understand that share the price Jesus paid in words should come organically in conversation. It shouldn't be our first goal. Love God, Love yourself, love your neighbor. In that order (you cannot love your neighbor if you don't love you). Becoming like Jesus should be our focus. From that will flow a well spring of love for others. When we become intimate with God (the Trinity) then we cannot help but to love ourselves and in turn have God's love for every person we see and we will probably hear God's voice so much more clearly we would be able to speak to someone's need that we other wise wouldn't be aware of and pray for them and watch Holy Spirit touch their hearts. This, to me, is evangelism. It's starts at home in the secret place with God and then flows from there naturally, organically, to my family and then to the outside world.”

Love God- it starts in you.  As Ghandi said, "Be the change you want to see in the world" Let the transformation happen in you through relationship with a Holy God.

Love yourself. Easier said than done.  You cant help a hurting heart if you are broken in pieces, gasping for breath. Let His relationship bring you into deeper understanding of the wonder of His creation - YOU. 

Love your neighbor- this becomes a natural outpouring of the transformation that is happening in your heart. 

Jesus did not avoid the untouchables - He sought them out .  I pose the same question I did on FB: What does evangelism look like for you?  And please be honest!