“And ordered them not to make him known. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: ‘Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.’ ” Matthew 12:16-19
This passage in Matthew is quoting a passage in Isaiah 42 and it is interesting that Christ conducted his ministry in a quiet, humble matter. He did not quarrel or shout at the ungodly. He did not seek a confrontation or debate. He was not a political rabble-rouser, stirring up the populace. He simply presented His message and was ready to heal/save any who would respond. The people came to Him because of His message and the way He lived His life. There were no campaigns or strategies to reach people. If they rejected Him and walked away, such as the rich young ruler, Christ let them walk. If a house or town would not listen to the gospel message the disciples were instructed to move on (Matthew 10:14).
A well-meaning and godly missionary came to our Church recently and presented the idea, correctly I believe, that America is a post-Christian society and we needed to attempt to reach them like we did Pagan societies of the past. However, he went on to say missionaries were trained to reach Pagan societies by attempting to get to know them without initially revealing that they were Christians and as they quoted Scripture not initially letting them know it was from the Bible so they would not be quickly put off as was true of them and increasingly Americans. This was not a missionary that proposed compromising on the Word of God in any way but I think his method was wrong. I believe the Biblical method is to unabashedly present our message as from the Bible, the Word of God, and let the people make their choice as Jesus did. We are not called to contrive human strategies to lure people to God but simply present the Word of God and let God work in people to bring them to an awareness of Him, their need for salvation and the choice at hand. Those that walk away should be left to God and we are to move on to others that are more receptive.
God will not lose any He has destined for salvation (John 6:37) and our job is to humbly present the Word, endure any associated persecution and let God take it from there in working in people’s hearts to lead some to salvation.
The Conservative Christian Apologist 