When Faced with Gospel Opposition

Recently I wrote an article here about tips on how to talk with your neighbors about Jesus, where I shared a story of someone I encountered becoming a Christian through those tips. Right after I wrote the article, I was in a situation where I was verbally opposed for my sharing my faith.

Inevitably, we will face opposition in talking to neighbors about Jesus, and in fact, if we’re consistent in doing it, we will face consistent opposition.

So, I wrote down 3 Dos and 3 Don’ts for when we’re faced with either passive or active opposition:

Do #1: Pray - right away!

God has made it clear that prayer moves the hand of God. People are enslaved to sin and captive to the devil, and our prayers should rise for them and against the devil’s grip on them.

Do #2: Pursue

What a great example we have in the apostle Paul, formerly the murderous, treacherous, incessantly opposed to Christianity Saul! It can be easy to cower down after being opposed, especially while others voyeroursly watch, but prayerfully pursue them.

Ideas to pursue: Care for each person as an image bearer of God and see him or her as a person and not a project. Learn about them and what their barriers to Jesus are.

"Be open, honest, and loving." 

Acknowledge any sinful, judgmental attitudes you have had toward them.

Do #3: Be Patient

Listen to them, their concerns, objections, questions, and receive it all with grace and wisdom. If they ask a question and you’re not sure the answer or how to answer, be honest. Don’t try to prove yourself; tell them you’ll look into it and get back to them.

Don’t #1: Take It Personal

We can often get disgusted with someone’s particular ideology, worldview, religion and ideas. The battle is not against you; it is against principalities and powers. To take their rejection personally means you don’t understand which battle we are in.

Don’t #2: Get Defensive

Secularists in my city can belittle, mock, and generally act smugly toward Christians, as if we were somehow intellectually inferior.

"You don’t need to be defensive,
you need to be graciously offensive."

I’ll take the Word of God up against any other religious book or secular view and analyze, discuss, compare with them and see where we are.

Don’t #3: Fear God, Not Man

Once we face opposition, especially the agitated or annoyed kind, we are tempted to enter into fear of man zone where we are more concerned about what man thinks than what God does. No need to be fearful. The victory is won. Jesus Christ rose from the grave achieving the win. You’re just attempting to get people to see him and be rescued from death.

By Tim Gaydos
Mars Hill Church

Originally posted on The Resurgence
http://theresurgence.com/