Advice on How to Face Hostility towards the Gospel

I hope and pray that as the semester is off to a start that you are finding opportunities to share the gospel with new friends and professors. As you seek to be faithful to speak the good news of Christ, you might (and at times will) find yourself facing hostility. Recently, I was reading in Spurgeon's Lectures to My Students" on the topic of a minister's conversation. As I read it, I noticed that what he said would apply to sharing the gospel in the face of hostility. He writes,

In all probability, sensible conversation will sometimes drift into controversy, and here many a good man runs upon a snag. The sensible minister will be particularly gentle in argument. He, above all men should not make the mistake of fancying that there is force in temper, and power in speaking angrily. A heathen who stood in a crowd in Calcutta, listening to a missionary disputing with a Brahmin, said he knew which was right though he did not understand the language- he know that he was in the wrong who lost his temper first. For the most part, that is a very accurate way of judging. Try to avoid debating with people. State your opinion and let them state theirs. If you see that a stick is crooked, and you want people to see how crooked it is, lay a straight rod down beside it; that will be quite enough. But if you are drawn into arguments, use very hard arguments and very soft words. Frequently you cannot convince a man by tugging at his reason, but you can persuade him by winning his affections.

The point is not to avoid using reason. Spurgeon used reason and made clear arguments. But, the point is that reason does not change those who "suppress the truth in unrighteousness."

Remember, your goal is not to protect your pride. Your goal is to put the gospel on display in word and deed. The powerful message of the gospel is best communicated by those who entrust themselves to God and do not seek to revile. In the classroom, remember that it is the professor's class. In humility seek to winsomely and accurately lay the straight gospel beside crooked philosophies of the world. Finally, don't forget to pray that God will open blinding eyes to see the beauty of himself in Jesus Christ.