Modern Evangelism Vs. Biblical Evangelism
"God loves you, and has a wonderful plan for your life!" I read something like this on almost every evangelistic tract that I pick up. The only problem with this statement is that it may not be all together true. In Romans 9:13 it states, "As it is written, Jacob I loved, and Esau I hated." Why did God hate Esau? If you read the entire chapter you will find out that God hated Esau so that his Sovereign plan would be fulfilled.
I must also question the phrase "a wonderful plan". I believe that God is in control, thus all things will work for his glory. God's plan is always wonderful at least to him. However, I doubt that Judas would have thought that God's plan for his life was wonderful. For he was declared a Devil from the beginning. It was stated that it would have been better for him not to be have been born. I would say that Esau would have had problems with his plan. I would say that Pharoah would not have liked his plan either.
It seems to me that many Christians will say and do whatever they can to get a person to pray a "sinner's prayer" that isn't even found in the Bible. When it comes to evangelism, for many, the ends justifies the means. "Whatever it takes" to get someone saved has become our battle cry as of late. I believe that if we truly study what the Bible says about evangelism we will "know what it takes" for someone to be saved. I want to assure you that it isn't the method that brings about salvation, it is the savior that brings about salvation.
In Matthew chapter 19, a rich young man comes to Jesus and asks what he needs to do to be saved. I want us to modernize this text. Let us pretend that a rich young banker comes to church on Sunday. He walks down the isle and asks the pastor what he needs to do to go to Heaven. I would bet my house (If I were a gambling man) that what the pastor would say to this banker would be much different than what Jesus said to the rich young ruler. I believe the pastor would tell him to say this little prayer, and if he really meant it, he would be saved. Later, we would baptize the man, and if he stayed in the church we would make him a Deacon. Whereas, Jesus told the man to sell all that he had, and give it to the poor, and come follow Jesus.
One of the great Baptist distinctives is a regenerated church. We believe that a person must be saved to join the church. However, I believe that our churches are full of lost people because we have submitted to modern evangelistic practices instead of Biblical ones. Our faith has become one of ease instead of obedience. "Whatever it takes" to get someone saved. My dear reader, the only way of salvation is complete submission to Jesus Christ. This must be taught. We must stop watering down the truth for the sake of numbers.
It is so easy to get involved with the marketing of the Gospel. We live in a society that packages everything for masses. The problem with Christianity is that it is hard. We are to pick up the cross daily and follow Jesus. This makes it difficult to package. Thus, we sand off the pointy edges to make it more palatable to Joe and Jane America. What we forget is that those pointy edges are important; and if we take them off, our product is not true.
Our current evangelistic methods boil down to "Easy Beliefism". If we want to get back to the Bible we must start teaching "Difficult Beliefism". As a matter of fact, we may need to teach "Impossible Beliefism". For Jesus teaches us in Matthew 19 that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of needle than for a rich man to get to Heaven. Let us praise God for verse 26: "With God all things are possible."
I must also question the phrase "a wonderful plan". I believe that God is in control, thus all things will work for his glory. God's plan is always wonderful at least to him. However, I doubt that Judas would have thought that God's plan for his life was wonderful. For he was declared a Devil from the beginning. It was stated that it would have been better for him not to be have been born. I would say that Esau would have had problems with his plan. I would say that Pharoah would not have liked his plan either.
It seems to me that many Christians will say and do whatever they can to get a person to pray a "sinner's prayer" that isn't even found in the Bible. When it comes to evangelism, for many, the ends justifies the means. "Whatever it takes" to get someone saved has become our battle cry as of late. I believe that if we truly study what the Bible says about evangelism we will "know what it takes" for someone to be saved. I want to assure you that it isn't the method that brings about salvation, it is the savior that brings about salvation.
In Matthew chapter 19, a rich young man comes to Jesus and asks what he needs to do to be saved. I want us to modernize this text. Let us pretend that a rich young banker comes to church on Sunday. He walks down the isle and asks the pastor what he needs to do to go to Heaven. I would bet my house (If I were a gambling man) that what the pastor would say to this banker would be much different than what Jesus said to the rich young ruler. I believe the pastor would tell him to say this little prayer, and if he really meant it, he would be saved. Later, we would baptize the man, and if he stayed in the church we would make him a Deacon. Whereas, Jesus told the man to sell all that he had, and give it to the poor, and come follow Jesus.
One of the great Baptist distinctives is a regenerated church. We believe that a person must be saved to join the church. However, I believe that our churches are full of lost people because we have submitted to modern evangelistic practices instead of Biblical ones. Our faith has become one of ease instead of obedience. "Whatever it takes" to get someone saved. My dear reader, the only way of salvation is complete submission to Jesus Christ. This must be taught. We must stop watering down the truth for the sake of numbers.
It is so easy to get involved with the marketing of the Gospel. We live in a society that packages everything for masses. The problem with Christianity is that it is hard. We are to pick up the cross daily and follow Jesus. This makes it difficult to package. Thus, we sand off the pointy edges to make it more palatable to Joe and Jane America. What we forget is that those pointy edges are important; and if we take them off, our product is not true.
Our current evangelistic methods boil down to "Easy Beliefism". If we want to get back to the Bible we must start teaching "Difficult Beliefism". As a matter of fact, we may need to teach "Impossible Beliefism". For Jesus teaches us in Matthew 19 that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of needle than for a rich man to get to Heaven. Let us praise God for verse 26: "With God all things are possible."
posted by Foundes Community Church @ 7:48 AM
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