When Not to Witness for Christ

[blhowes]

Generally, I admire Christians who are willing to share their faith, regardless of the situation, reflecting in their lives what Paul wrote: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."

I won't go into the details, but this morning someone who was a boarder of a friend, stole several hundred dollars so they could purchase some drugs (marijuana, I think). The police were called in to remove the person from the house. While the police were taking him into custody, and there was a small crowd outside the house, a Christian friend took advantage of the opportunity and was there passing out gospel tracts to the people. I believe the police asked him to be on his way (I heard of the incident second hand, so I'm not sure of this).

To me, common sense would tell me that that wasn't the time to be out there passing out tracts. But common sense can't always be trusted so, are there times, Biblically speaking, when we should remain silent and not share the gospel?

 

[VirginiaHuguenot]

Well, Solomon teaches us that there is a time to speak and a time to keep silence (Ecc. 3.7). We can certainly glorify God by keeping our mouths shut at times. Hindering the police in their lawful duties or disturbing the peace would not be a sweet adornment to our gospel witness. I cringe when I see a "Christian bumper sticker" or fish symbol on a car that is being driven recklessly too. Especially the ones that say "I'm not perfect, but I'm forgiven." A good witness to the gospel in my book is one that does not always involve sharing tracts or speaking of Jesus directly, but rather being salt and light, wise as serpents but harmless as doves, honest and fair, prudent, and sometimes putting a hand over one's mouth and not saying anything (as in "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt").