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Have you ever handed out a tract?

I think that most Christians look at least somewhat unfavorably at the practice of handing out Gospel tracts as a means of sharing the Gospel. I am not entirely sure why this is the case. Maybe its because we are told so often in our culture not to impose anything on anyone. Maybe its because we believe that a tract could somehow do “more harm than good”. Another complaint I have heard about Gospel tracts is that they are so “impersonal” and do not allow for the Spirit to guide us in a divine appointment encounter with a lost person.

 

Honestly, I do not think that any of the three complaints I have just mentioned stand up to scrutiny. Let me try to show why:

 

First, how hypocritical can society be when it tries to censor us Christians from sharing (“imposing”) our faith (whether through tracts, open-air preaching, etc…)on others, while the world bombards us daily with secular messages exposing us to everything under the sun, including many much more “liberal” worldviews and religions?

 

Second, I will admit that there are some tracts (not Biblical ones) that could create a negative view of Christianity for the reader, and these should not be distributed. For instance, by focusing on one particular sin (homosexuality, for instance) to the exclusion of other sins and a clear presentation of the Gospel and our need for a Savior, a tract can simply be off the mark in its focus. This kind of literature should probably not be distributed, because it can do harm and present a skewed version of the Gospel.
 
However, I am talking about handing out tracts that DO share the Biblical Gospel in love. I don’t think this kind of Gospel tract could ever do “more harm than good”; unless, of course, the giver of the tract did so with a mean attitude or in a rude or uncouth manner.

 

Third, I want to point out that it is not our ‘personality’ or ‘charisma’ that brings anybody to a knowledge of Christ. It is an understanding of the Gospel (heard through the spoken or written word and applied to the heart of the person by the Holy Spirit) that brings a knowledge of Christ and leads to repentance and faith and salvation. God can use the printed word (a Gospel tract) just as easily, if not better, than he can use you and me to share the Gospel. A tract cannot get nervous and shy away from speaking “the whole counsel of God” to its reader, but we sure can when we become nervous or are afraid of offending someone.

 
I’ve handed out tens of thousands of tracts over the past 10 years since I became a Christian and I can honestly say that the response has been overwhelmingly positive. If you are not going to hand out tracts yourself (or even leave a few laying around), then please at least pray that God would work in the lives those who read the millions of tracts that are being distributed around the world each day!

 

Here’s the site where you can get some of the best tracts on earth: www.livingwaters.com