August 17

What manner of men ought we to be? Paul suggested that it behooves us as believers to be “…all things to all men that we might by all means save some” (I Corinthians 9:22). We must take into account the mindset and personality of the person to whom we’re witnessing our faith in Christ when we share the gospel with him.

We would not, for example, declare the truth of the Word as strongly to a believer in the religion of Islam as we would to one who professed a form of Christianity but had not yet accepted Christ as his Savior. Why would we temper the truth for one yet declare it boldly to the other? Would that ‘rule of thumb’ hold true for every Moslem and for every Christian to whom we were led with the good news?

The answer to the first, ‘Why?’ is that many truths of Christianity are offensive to Moslems and wisdom must be exercised in sharing them or the individual to whom we are witnessing might be totally turned off. Professing Christians, on the other hand, know the tenets of the Christian faith and should be more receptive to hearing even the hard sayings than one who has no background in the truths of the Lord. How do we know when and to whom we should boldly proclaim the message of salvation and when and to whom we should temper it?

In Galatians 5:25 we are told that, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. If by the Holy Spirit we have our life in God, we will go forward controlled by the Spirit.” Realistically, we cannot know the hearts of men—whether they are receptive or not receptive to truth. The religion they profess does not necessarily dictate their mindset. But the Holy Spirit knows the heart of every man, and He will lead us in our endeavor to share the great commission with wisdom and compassion and love when we have opportunity to do so.