We all have our things. There are things that we all think are important. There are things that we think are best. These things are all well and good. What is less good is when we turn the things we think are important and best into things that we have decided are vital for everyone.

There are, of course, things that the bible tells us are necessary for everyone. It is reasonable to expect God’s people to do the things that God has told them to do. It is not legalism to say that God has asked his people to do (or not do) certain things when he has done so clearly.

The issue is when we take things God has said everyone must do, baptise our particular means of fulfiling it, and then insist everyone must be doing the same thing as us because God says so. It is not least a problem because God hasn’t said that at all. We are putting words in God’s mouth and making demands on his people that he hasn’t made.

For example, there is no denying the scriptures call on all of God’s people to evangelism. It is, therefore, perfectly reasonable for Christian people to expect other Christian people to be doing some sort of evangelism. But all too often we find a form of evangelism we like – be it joining groups, doing open airs, door to door, handing out tracts, inviting people to events, or whatever it may be – and then begin to get irked when others don’t do the exact form of evangelism that we do. If you don’t do my thing, you aren’t interested in evangelism and Jesus is displeased with you.

Can you see the logical fault here? Evangelism is demanded of God’s people; your mode of evangelism is not. Jesus calls his people to make disciples and wants us to share the gospel; he hasn’t specified the precise means by which we must do it. You may be happy with one way, and if it is not a sinful means, it is perfectly legitimate. But someone else may be happy with another way, and if it is not a sinful means, that is also perfectly legitimate. Your way is not Jesus’ specified way and it is putting words in his mouth to say otherwise.

Now, if someone is saying they have zero interest in ever sharing the gospel by any means, we have a problem. That is to actively not do what Jesus wants his people to do. But to not want to do the specific mode of evangelism that you want to do is just not doing something that you prefer doing for reasons that are not scriptural and known only to you. You may not like their means – again, for reasons known mainly to you – and nobody is saying you have to join in with it. But you can’t imply they are not sharing the gospel if what they are doing involves exactly that. It doesn’t make your mode wrong and nor does it make their mode wrong. It just makes neither of them demanded by Christ so we shouldn’t start demanding what he hasn’t.