Jesus’ Admonition in Matthew 7
When we are considering sharing our faith with others, we should be very careful and discerning, as Jesus taught us in the Sermon on the Mount when He said: “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.” (Matthew 7:6).
To be obedient to our Lord’s command here, we are going to have to make some assessments as to where the “dogs” and “swine” are, and where they are not. We should not approach just anyone to share our faith, because if we do, we may be approaching one of those whom Jesus referred to as dogs or swine, and they may indeed “turn and tear us to pieces”. Instead, let us look for an open door of opportunity to share our faith as God provides such opportunities.
As we have discussed before, and as we should understand when sharing our faith, the Bible teaches that God has mercy on some, and the rest He hardens (Romans 9:18). We should also understand that unregenerate man does not have the capacity or ability to receive the Gospel message unless it has been granted to Him by God to do so (John 6:65).
The ones to whom God shows mercy are called to faith in Christ and they receive the Gospel message. One evidence of their calling by God is that they believe in Christ. Other evidence is that they will have a genuine love for other believers, which will be demonstrated by their actions. The others, whom the Scripture says that God hardens, are left in their sins and have no hope of understanding or receiving the Gospel message (Matthew 13:11, John 8:42-47, 10:22-26).
We should not volunteer to share our faith with anyone who is a member of a pagan faith, unless they show a sincere interest in the Gospel message, and because they are aware that we are Christians, they approach us with questions about our faith. Those who display an open hostility toward the Gospel we should avoid, and not give them what is sacred or cast our pearls to them, while at the same time understanding that they may not always remain hostile to the Gospel of Christ. We should also avoid sharing our faith with those who are atheistic and display a callous indifference to the Gospel message.
This is not to say that someone who is indifferent or even overtly hostile toward the Gospel will not at some point in the future come to faith in Christ. Once again we recall that Saul, who would later become the Apostle Paul, was travelling on the Damascus Road on his way to continue his efforts to persecute the Church when he was struck down and called to faith in Christ apart from any decision of his own, even while he was still intent on opposing the Gospel (Acts 9:1-9, Acts 22:1-10). Sometimes those who are openly hostile toward the Gospel message are indeed numbered
among God’s elect. In His time, God will call these individuals to faith in His Son, just as was the case with the Saul.
Every believer is given one or more spiritual gifts to use in God’s service in order to build up the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:7-11, Ephesians 4:11-13). Some are given the gift of evangelism. Those with this gift will go forth with the spoken or printed Gospel message, or both, outwardly calling men to faith in Christ.
Some evangelists operate from the pulpit in a church, and others will work through various other media. Some even have street ministries where they will sing hymns and spiritual songs on the streets, while those working with them will hand out small printed booklets with various presentations of the Gospel message to those who want to take them. Even these street evangelists will not try to force the Gospel message on anyone, but they make themselves available to those who show an interest in the message of God’s salvation, which is obtained only through faith in Jesus Christ.