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Verse:Paul replied, “Whether quickly or not, I pray to God that not only you but also all who are listening to me today might become such as I am—except for these chains.” —Acts 26:29, NRSV
Evangelism is the heartbeat of the church and the very reason for its existence. But how far can we go in evangelizing people without infringing on their religious liberty? This crucial question is briefly addressed in the document “A Seventh-day Adventist Statement on Religious Liberty, Evangelism, and Proselytism,” released at the General Conference Session in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which opened on June 29, 2000.
The document recognizes that “freedom of religion is a basic human right,” meaning that no coercive evangelistic method should ever be used.
Seventh-day Adventists believe that “faith and religion are best disseminated when convictions are manifested and taught with humility and respect, and the witness of one’s life is in harmony with the message announced, evoking a free and joyous acceptance by those being evangelized.” When inviting others to join their church, Seventh-day Adventists should be respectful of other churches.
C. Mervyn Maxwell (1925–1999) declared, When Adventists invite a friend to leave his denomination and become a Seventh-day Adventist, they don’t expect him to give up everything he knows as a Methodist or Baptist or Presbyterian or Catholic. Far from it! Every beautiful facet of truth he learned about Jesus in his former church, he should cherish even more warmly in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, adding to the glorious things he already knows the great and virtual truth discovered by Seventh-day Adventists. When an Adventist says he has “the truth,” he is not boasting.
It isn’t his truth. It’s God’s truth; truth which God has revealed, not to satisfy curiosity, but to be spread everywhere to everyone who will listen, to everyone for whom Christ gave His life and whom He lives to save.
Some people overemphasize religious freedom to the point of undermining Christ’s great gospel commission (Matthew 28:18–20).
Others stress proselytism to the extent that people can no longer decide for themselves. We should preach the gospel with the same conviction and intentionality as Paul but always allow people the right to decide for themselves.