If you are in the presence of an unconverted person or with people who espouse an erroneous religion, you must (without affectation, pride and nonverbally) by your manner of speech and the subject matter of your conversation convey that every righteous person is more excellent than his neighbor, that the righteous are of a more excellent spirit, and that there is a distance between them as great as there is between light and darkness, life and death, and the children of God and the children of the world. Along with such a disposition one must manifest humility, self-denial, common love, modesty, and be accommodating, so that in parting from them (you must not be there long--it is not safe there) you will leave behind some conviction in their heart. I am not suggesting that you must always speak of spiritual matters; a wise person will know both time and manner. A Christian may also speak of worldly and civil matters; but then he must be on guard not to do so in a vain manner, but all conversation must be moral, dignified, and in moderation (II: 637-638).
15 September, 2007
Sabbath a'Brakel: How to Relate to the Unconverted
If you are in the presence of an unconverted person or with people who espouse an erroneous religion, you must (without affectation, pride and nonverbally) by your manner of speech and the subject matter of your conversation convey that every righteous person is more excellent than his neighbor, that the righteous are of a more excellent spirit, and that there is a distance between them as great as there is between light and darkness, life and death, and the children of God and the children of the world. Along with such a disposition one must manifest humility, self-denial, common love, modesty, and be accommodating, so that in parting from them (you must not be there long--it is not safe there) you will leave behind some conviction in their heart. I am not suggesting that you must always speak of spiritual matters; a wise person will know both time and manner. A Christian may also speak of worldly and civil matters; but then he must be on guard not to do so in a vain manner, but all conversation must be moral, dignified, and in moderation (II: 637-638).
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2 comments:
That's spot-on, and a great reminder that we need to conduct ourselves in a matter befitting children of Christ at all times. Especially the web... it's scary how often we forget the world is watching us.
I've often thought the conversation of Christians to be quite forced. If you don't mention Jesus's name enough according to some ineffable standard, you're not a Christian, and are of logical necessity ashamed of Christ.
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