Trot-line Evangelism
I am not an accomplished fisherman, but I do enjoy fishing. I have fished for different kinds of fish using different types of baits and lures, all with various levels of success. Over the years, I have heard people talking about "running a trot-line." I have never fished in that way, but it seems to me to be a very good method. A trot-line is a heavy fishing line with other short fishing lines attached at intervals, so that the fisherman can use a variety of baits. After baiting the lines and putting it out, the fisherman goes back to "run" the line and see what he caught. It seems to me that the apostle Paul used trot-line evangelism, as he fished for men and women to fulfill Christ's command.(I Corinthians 9:19-22) Let's examine what he did and apply it in our own lives.
Paul did not have just one form of evangelism to reach just one type of people. He became like the types of people he wanted to reach, so he could relate to them and share the gospel with them in a relevant way. This does not mean that he engaged in their sins. It means he looked at life from their prospective, seeing what they saw, so he could show them how the gospel met their individual needs. The great thing is that the gospel can meet the needs to every type of people. Paul mentions that he became as a Jew, as a person under the law, as a person without the law, and as a weak person. Then, he shared his conclusion, "I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some." What a brilliant insight in evangelism! We find out what bait it will take to attract that type of person, and we see if they will accept Christ or not. We can't force them, so there will be those who refuse Christ. However, we will win more to Christ, if we learn from them what they are interested in and how they think, so that we can show them specifically how Jesus can save them and meet their needs.
Tomorrow, I intend to read I Corinthians 12-14
Paul did not have just one form of evangelism to reach just one type of people. He became like the types of people he wanted to reach, so he could relate to them and share the gospel with them in a relevant way. This does not mean that he engaged in their sins. It means he looked at life from their prospective, seeing what they saw, so he could show them how the gospel met their individual needs. The great thing is that the gospel can meet the needs to every type of people. Paul mentions that he became as a Jew, as a person under the law, as a person without the law, and as a weak person. Then, he shared his conclusion, "I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some." What a brilliant insight in evangelism! We find out what bait it will take to attract that type of person, and we see if they will accept Christ or not. We can't force them, so there will be those who refuse Christ. However, we will win more to Christ, if we learn from them what they are interested in and how they think, so that we can show them specifically how Jesus can save them and meet their needs.
Tomorrow, I intend to read I Corinthians 12-14