“Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth. Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants.”
2 Timothy 2:25-26 NLT
The war front of evangelism and discipleship is not fought against people but for people. This is part of what makes evangelism and discipleship so challenging. It takes a precise hand to make the deep and necessary cuts in a persons life where they need surgery. This is never done with sword, but instead with a scalpel. This would be a complex surgery by itself, if it weren’t for the fact that the cancer being cut away from the patient has fangs to attack the surgeon, is entangled in the various systems of the patient, and has is keeping the mind of the he patient delirious with its venom so it can parasitically live off them. In this framework, the work of a minister is to be thought of as surgical. To be a surgeon requires familiarity with the tools, a proper and intimate understanding of the body, a competent support team, a proper setting with proper equipment, a willing patient, and a sober mind and able body to perform the surgery. There is much to be considered in contending for the faith of others.
JOSH McGARY. COM 