On Mark’s blog, he summarizes his post by saying, “When you are in the right place (proximate to a person unaware of God’s love) at the right time (they are awakened to their need) with the right equipment (God’s Word) and the knowledge to use it (speaking the Truth in love), leverage that moment!”

How do we balance this or harmonize it with Scripture that says things such as, “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature,” or, “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.”?

--
CS

CS,

Part of the problem is that there are so few in Christendom who can share the gospel in a clear manner.

The man’s point is that Christians should be ready when the opportunity presents itself.

I have found that God provides many opportunities to share Christ, and because I am ready, I can have a good conversation that many times leads to the person giving their life to Christ.

But if a person is unprepared and unwilling, they lose opportunities.

I have to admit that I am not surprised at your comment, and find myself asking the same question as Peter.

Brian

Fair enough, CS.

It might be a good idea to not necessarily assume the worst from folks, though.

just a thought…

Brian L:

“We can’t wait until we feel we’re “in the mood” or the person says, “I sure wish someone would tell me how I can know my sins are forgiven and I can know I’ll go to heaven when I die...””

There we go!  Thank you for more eloquently stating the thought that I was trying to get across.  That is where I couldn’t be certain in what Mark was saying, whether we are to “sense the mood” or share the Gospel.

“On the other hand, forcing a spiritual conversation that includes a presentation of the gospel is often a negative thing.  So we do need to be discerning about the receptiveness of the person.  They may be willing to listen to someone who comes across as actually caring for them rather than someone who’s just looking to score some evangelism points with God.”

I agree with this.  All presentation should be done in love, that is right.  If we are starting to share the Gospel with someone, and they react negatively, we should stop.  There is no point in sharing Christ’s amazing gift to a person who is unwilling to listen.  You can’t cram that through.

--
CS