Here again, it is difficult to understand the mentality we have come to adopt, which involves waiting for someone to be saved before considering them worthy of the blessings of the Kingdom of God. I confess that at one point in my Christian life, I thought this attitude was quite normal. When dealing with an unbeliever, the only thought that crosses your mind is to speak and act for their salvation, above all else.

However, upon closer inspection, this mindset, like some other practices of the contemporary church, is not biblical. Is the fact that most of God’s people no longer read the Holy Scriptures regularly and consistently responsible for this permissive attitude? Yet, our Lord Jesus, whom we are supposed to imitate, did not hesitate throughout His ministry to be labeled as a “friend of sinners and people of low reputation.”

In all of this, He neither compromised nor weakened; but by the power of the Holy Spirit, through His contact, lives were transformed, and His fame only increased, despite the scorn and opposition from the religious leaders of the time.

Today, in our desire to please the rich and the great of this world, we sometimes avoid associating with certain social categories or even reject a fellow servant of God in a state of weakness. We may even, in the face of the laxity of this world, begin to question certain affirmations of God’s Word. I think, for example, of the pressure exerted by the LGBTQ network on church leaders in some countries.

1) BIBLICAL FOUNDATIONS

“As Jesus was dining in Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him. And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, ‘How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?’ When Jesus heard it, He said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.’” Mark 2:15-17

“If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,’ but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” James 2:15-17

Also read: Luke 10:3-9; Luke 7:34; Mark 2:15-17; Proverbs 25:20.

2) PRINCIPLES

Christians, after a time of spiritual preparation, should be inspired or seize an opportunity to positively impact the life of a non-believer, influencing their thoughts and actions towards salvation. In Friendship Evangelism, we do not wait for souls to come to our churches, but we go to them, in an intentional and planned manner. The traditional or current approach of the contemporary Church can be summarized as follows:

• First, bring the person to salvation
• Pray for their needs
• Commune with them
• Associate with them as members of the family of Christ.

This approach is reversed by Friendship Evangelism, and rightly so, in accordance with the inspired and inspiring model from Luke 10:5-9:

“Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you. Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker is worthy of his wages. Do not go from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’”

From this comes the following process:

• Go to the non-believers, associate with them (Verses 5 and 6)
• Commune with them, in their homes or elsewhere (Verses 7 and 8)
• Pray for their needs (Verse 9a)
• Announce salvation to them and lead them to salvation when the Lord has prepared their hearts (Verse 9b).

It is worth noting the instruction at the end of verse 7: “Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker is worthy of his wages. Do not go from house to house.”

Not going from house to house implies having a fixed base, attaching yourself to the person or family towards whom the Holy Spirit directs you. This person is commonly called a “son of peace” or “man of peace,” according to the expression used in verse 6.

Of course, this person, whom God raises, generally meets certain criteria that we will return to. Therefore, attention should be paid to the circumstances under which the door-to-door method may or may not be suitable.

The goal is to imitate our Master, the Lord Jesus, in the way He ministered to the disadvantaged and those rejected by society. Without conditions and even before the salvation of souls, He cared about alleviating their pain, healing them, and even bringing some back to life, like Lazarus and the only son of the widow of Nain.

The Word of God mentions that among the Lord’s usual companions were tax collectors, prostitutes, and Samaritans, all of whom shared a common denominator: a bad reputation, making them people who were socially unacceptable. In doing so, the Lord Jesus was further condemned by religious leaders like the scribes and Pharisees.

These individuals could today be compared to the priests of a deviating Christianity or theologians with rigid doctrines based on a misinterpretation of the Holy Scriptures. Let us remember the parable of the Good Samaritan.

It was to these religious leaders that the Lord Jesus spoke. They had good religious intentions but did not practice what they preached. They also did not interpret the law in the light of God’s love.

For example, in the parable of the Good Samaritan, their priority was to keep themselves pure or to always be considered in a state of holiness, even if it meant letting someone die for lack of assistance…

This text is an excerpt from the book Strategic Evangelism written by Basile & Véronique HOUINATO.

We invite you to read the following article, “An Exhortation on Persecuted Christians“.

FRIENDSHIP EVANGELISM. FRIENDSHIP EVANGELISM.

FRIENDSHIP EVANGELISM. FRIENDSHIP EVANGELISM.