In the early 80’s I was in my first congregation where we were involved with EE III, Evangelism Explosion. We learned a method of presenting the gospel which revolved around two questions. We would go door knocking in the community and ask the person at the door: 1. ‘If you were to die tonight, are you sure you would go to heaven?’ 2. ‘If you were standing at heaven’s gate, and Peter asks why should I let you in, what would you answer?’ We had some interesting discussions, even at times being invited into the person’s home. (One intriguing response was the person who said they were Anglican but didn’t believe in God! But that’s another story.) In 2023, 40 years later, can you imagine taking the EE III approach to witnessing?! These days many in the community are completely biblically illiterate. There is no concept of God or heaven. So, no concern about being right with God. Today, responses to our witness could vary from total lack of interest (‘I’m very happy with my life thanks - I don’t need religion’) to verbal abuse seeing Christianity as ‘dangerous, homophobic, abusive of children.’ So how do we proclaim the joy of the gospel in a very changed situation?

I will continue this series on the fruit of the Spirit. But first I am taking a tangent to emphasize why the fruit of the Spirit is so important. The Apostle Peter writes in 1Peter 3:15 ‘Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give an answer to the hope you have…!’ It is interesting; Peter does not tell us to buttonhole people and present an evangelism method we have memorized. He says we respond to our friend’s question about our hope. They will have noticed something about our behaviour. In other words, they see the fruit of the Spirit being lived out in our lives. They sense our joy and peace, even in trying circumstances, singing songs like, ‘When peace like a river’. The friend is struggling, and they wonder about our hope that gives such peace. In the last part of the verse Peter says, ‘But do this with gentleness and respect.’ Gentleness is number eight of the fruit of the Spirit. So even how we answer their question is done with the fruit of the Spirit. We respond with gentleness, love, and kindness. We want to win their hearts with the love of Jesus, seen in our behaviour. In our ‘…hearts we have set apart Christ as Lord’. Jesus as our Lord and Master calls on us to make him known. Our gospel witness can be greatly hampered if we don’t live like our Lord. We share our experience of Jesus to win over our neighbour’s heart. We are not asked to win a debate and out-argue the other person.

It is important to reflect carefully on the fruit of the Spirit. Is our day-to-day behaviour driven by love and thus the rest of the fruit? Peter goes on to say, ‘…keeping a clear conscience so that those who speak maliciously against your good behaviour in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.’ The church in general in our current culture has a bad PR problem. Some of it is of the church’s own making. The church is rightly criticized for how it has handled child-sexual abuse by clergy. When we are confronted with that, as I have been, we should be humble enough to admit where the church has failed. Before we can witness to the gospel, we need overcome a culture that either sees the church as ancient history, completely irrelevant, or abusive, harming the LGBTQ+ community. How do we deal with such things? By the fruit of the Spirit! We must be those who honestly ‘love’ our community and its various people groupings. In our relationships we are to be ‘meek & gentle’, being ‘patient’ with others, ‘kind’ and ‘good’ to all. Then eventually, even if we are spoken about maliciously, our behaviour, our fruit of the Spirit behaviour, will reveal something different. Jesus is gracious and gentle providing hope to any, and all, who receive him as Lord.

So where do we start with our evangelism? With our behaviour, living by the fruit of the Spirit. It is by living like Jesus himself that we reveal his love and grace. The same Spirit can enliven others to ask us for the reason for our hope.

Leo Douma