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Preaching hell from the Bible by Gordon Cheng (1 comment). Hell is a sphere of separation and deprivation, of pain and punishment, of darkness and destruction, and of disintegration and perishing. … more
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Top 10 Tips for Sleep Deprived Prayer by Jennie Baddeley (5 comments). There are so many reasons for losing sleep it's not really worth listing them. You're either getting enough sleep or you're … more
Stress-throwers and stress-absorbers by Jean Williams (0 comments). Are you a stress-thrower or a stress-absorber? A stress-thrower blames things on others and expresses stress in anger; a … more
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Why do we pray for others? by Scott Newling (1 comment). Learning to pray for others is one of the first things we learn as Christians: we see it commended … more
Forgiveness and repentance (part 8): Does God only forgive us when we repent? (ii) by Mark Baddeley (17 comments). (Read parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7.) Does … more
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Paul is one of the Staff Editors at Matthias Media. He is married to Cathy and has three fantastic kids. He loves student ministry, reading, writing music and playing the saxophone, and is looking forward to meeting Jesus face to face.
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Personally I’ve never liked the word ‘balance.’ It has a fine meaning, I guess. But when I hear it used, it’s most often a cover-all excuse to not do something.
I’d much prefer we spoke more often of doing what is right, or good, or even virtuous.
The example you gave about religious fanaticism is pretty close to one about evangelism. I imagine a balanced character approach to evangelism with friends would be to share what you believe when asked, but don’t push it or bring it up yourself. An extreme character but balanced action approach would be to seek opportunities to talk about Jesus, but don’t do it so often that it’s all you ever talk about with your friends and it leaves no room for your relationship to grow.
Hi Chris and Tim. Thanks for your thoughts. Chris: I think I share your dislike for the world balance. It certainly can be a cop out for lack of character. Tim: I think I agree with where you are going. I might just flesh it out a little. I wonder if it is worth thinking a bit more about the godly virtues underlying evangelism.
ie.
1. I should always be a courageous person who never denies my lord.
2. I should be a person who shares the heart of God for the lost.
3. I will always be a person who wants to see Jesus’ name glorified.
4. But perhaps I will be balanced in my actions because of the reasons you stated and others. (Although see Chris’ point above. Sometimes the desire to ‘work’ on the relationship actually covers up for a lack of courage, concern or commitment to the glory of Christ).
Even I hate the word balance. I see it being used as a sort of excuse often as rightly pointed out here. Evangelism and the virtues behind it are worth researching. Your posts are interesting. Thanks for that.
Regards, Bob Richardson
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