Spiritual Discipline

Spiritual Discipline

One thing from Whitney’s book that I would like to discuss here is his reflection on evangelism as a spiritual discipline. He points out that, “Unless we discipline ourselves for evangelism, we can easily excuse ourselves from ever sharing the gospel with anyone” (130). We need to make time to be with unbelievers and to have dialogue. The sort of dialogue that he means here is not dialogue that diminishes the truth of the Word of God, as he further emphasizes the importance of verbally sharing the gospel in all circumstances (133). The story he shares about a new believer and his boss was eye-opening. So often we, Christians, assume that living a Christian life is enough to tell others about Christ.

I am in full agreement with Whitney that God uses our Christian life to open a heart to the gospel, but “it is the message of the Cross proclaimed (by word or page) through which the power of God saves those who believe its content” (134).

Reflecting on my past witnessing, although I was surrounded by unbelievers, I tended to passively wait for the door to open for me to share the gospel rather than making the effort. Even today, I am still lacking discipline in reaching out to my unbelieving friends. This chapter has challenged me to be more disciplined in doing evangelism, whether by proclaiming the gospel verbally or through my writing.

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