How NOT to Share the Gospel: Part 2

In my previous post on how NOT to share the gospel, I made the brief point of forcing myself to get past the often easy way out of the rationale: "I will just share the gospel through the way I live." I call this the easy way out because it is usually an excuse to not step out of one's comfort zone and speak about the Lord. It is much easier to convince yourself that you are doing your part in making disciples by just living your life, than it is to have a serious and sometimes offensive conversation with people.

However, this does not mean that sharing the gospel through lifestyle is invalid. After calling Christians salt and light to the world, Christ says "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven" (Matt 5:16). A characteristic of Christians is light. Christ calls Christians to a lifestyle of manifesting this light for all the world to see. This is a lifestyle of sharing Christ, who is the Light of the world. Notice that the motive in showing Light/Christ through good works is so that people will see and glorify your Father, not any sort of self-exalting focus.

 John calls out the hypocrite whose walk doesn't match his talk. He says, "If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin" (I John 1:5-6). It is not enough to simply say you have fellowship with Christ. Someone who is cleansed by the blood of Jesus conducts himself in the Light. This person walks in communion with Christ and shares Him by the way he lives.

 Likewise, Peter also says "keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation" (I Peter 2:12). Unbelievers love to watch Christians to see whether they are genuine or not. In my experience, the biggest complaint against the church is hypocritical Christians. It comes as no surprise that they would slander you because of your imperfect relationship with Christ. But Peter says to constantly keep an excellent behavior so that as they watch and observe you, they will see Christ and come to know Him.

Make sure that your lifestyle matches your message. If you are sharing the gospel through words, make sure that those words are backed by an authentic heart and life. In this sense all Christians should be "sharing the gospel through the way they live."