You don’t have to be on YouTube long before you run into a street preacher yelling at strangers, and while the motive might be right, something about it doesn’t sit well. So how are Christians actually supposed to respond to an unbelieving world? In this episode, Dallas walks through Titus 3 and the call to be gentle, non-contentious, and kind, remembering that we were once exactly where the people we’re talking to are now.

Blog Version

You don’t have to be on YouTube long before you run into a street preacher yelling and screaming at somebody, and hopefully most of them have the right motive. But lately I’ve been seeing a whole batch of these videos, and it’s not just street preachers anymore. I’ve got other Christian content creators showing up in my feed too, and the way they’re interacting with people, the way they’re responding to an unbelieving world, it just doesn’t sit well with me.

Now I want to be clear about something before I go further. We need to preach the gospel. That’s not up for debate. We need to be able to tell people about Jesus. But Jesus himself says the world is going to hate us because of him. It shouldn’t hate us because of how we go about doing it.

So the question I’ve been sitting with is, how do we actually live in an unbelieving world? I keep coming back to Titus 3.

What Titus 3 Says About Being Ready for Every Good Deed

“Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed.”

Right here Paul is mapping out how we’re supposed to act and respond as Christians when we’re the minority. The Bible calls us aliens, strangers in a world that isn’t fully ours. Being subject to rulers doesn’t mean we break our conscience or violate something God’s given us. It just means we respect the rule of law that’s in front of us, and we stay ready to do good.

To Slander No One, Not to Be Contentious

“To slander no one, not to be contentious, to be gentle, showing every consideration for all people.”

I’ll be honest, I’ve seen more than a few people who claim to be Christians actively slandering others, and I don’t just mean unbelievers, I mean attacking fellow believers too. That’s not what we’re called to.

Not being contentious means we’re not the type of person who thrives on stirring up division, on causing problems inside a group just because we can. One translation puts it as avoiding quarreling altogether. And then Paul says to be gentle. That’s the way we’re supposed to walk with people, showing consideration for everyone we come across, not just the ones who agree with us.

You Were in the Same Boat

Paul gives the reasoning behind all of this, and it’s simple. Outside of Christ, you were in the exact same boat as the people you’re frustrated with right now. You were no different than someone who doesn’t know Jesus.

“But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love for mankind appeared…”

It’s the kindness of God that saved us. It’s the kindness of God that draws people to salvation in the first place. So if that’s what saved us, why would we think yelling and contempt is going to be what saves somebody else? As Christians, we’re meant to reflect that same kindness. That doesn’t mean we tolerate sin, and it definitely doesn’t mean we put a stamp of approval on it. But it does mean we treat people with kindness and care, love them where they’re at, and point them toward salvation.

The Con Floor Story

Celeste and I have an event coming up soon, and it’s going to give us the chance to do exactly that, love people right where they’re at. We actually started a ministry called Geek Devotions about a decade ago, and the reason we started it goes back to a convention for geeks and nerds we attended. There was a street preacher outside yelling and screaming, showing no kindness, no grace at all. You could literally watch the walls go up. This man was laying down barriers between people and the gospel with his own two hands.

As Celeste and I walked the con floor that day, we were heartbroken, because we realized there was a whole community of people in that space who needed to know God’s love. So we decided to do something different. Not to slander, not to be contentious, but to be gentle, to show consideration for people. That’s what we’ll be doing again this upcoming weekend, showing the kindness of God, letting people know there’s a God who actually cares about them and wants a relationship with them.

You Were Once Where They Are

I want to encourage you, wherever you’re at, ask the Lord to examine your heart and pull out whatever’s keeping you from being kind, from being gentle. And again, this isn’t about compromising your faith or letting sinful things become normal for you. That’s not what I’m saying.

What I am saying is that when you’re talking with people, remember this. You were once right where they are. You were just as sinful as them.

Now some of you might be sitting back thinking, well, I grew up in church, I never did anything as bad as what these people are doing. But before you knew Christ, you were still a sinful person. And yes, the little things, lying to your mother, taking something that wasn’t yours, those are just as bad in God’s eyes as whatever pet sin you’re picturing in your head right now, the one you personally have this level of disgust for.

I’m not saying sin is good. It’s bad. All of it. But when you look at someone walking in it, your job is to show them why the goodness of God is so much greater than the short-term thrill of whatever lifestyle they’re currently walking in.

Youtube Version