Evangelism [ INCOMPLETE ]
Josiah Jordan
Today , Christians are so bogged down by the fact that unbelievers see their faith as historically oppressive and morally intolerant that the Christians ' goal is no longer to win them to Christ , but to persuade them that Jesus loves everyone , regardless of faith , sexuality , gender , and the like . While this love is true , the problem with this message is that it falls short of our true calling as evangelizers who must go and make disciples of all nations , baptizing them in the name of the Father , the Son , and the Holy Spirit . In this day and age , we have come to people in the name of reconciliation , good works , and a humanism that leaves the unbeliever satisfied but not saved .
As Christians , we often subscribe to a “ love the [ unbelieving ] sinner , hate the sin ” mentality , but we have come to realize that , in this culture , hating the sin is incompatible with loving the sinner . What remains , then , are two options for our evangelistic pursuit . On the one hand , we may choose to hate the sin but fail to convince the unbeliever that we accept and love him as he is ; for , if this is so , it must be that the unbeliever regards his sin — whether it ’ s the lifestyle he lives or the practices he engages in — as a part of his identity . To hate the unbeliever ’ s sin , then , would be to hate him , as well — even if hating his sin and warning him against it is what it means to truly love him .
And so , we might be drawn to the second option , in which we may convince the unbeliever that we accept and love him as he is , even if it means disregarding the sinfulness of his lifestyle or practices in order to do so . By disregarding his sin , however , we inevitably disregard what it means to truly love him , at which point we also completely misunderstand what it means to truly evangelize . Consider this : if an unbeliever living in sin no longer sees our Christian faith as intolerant of his lifestyle and therefore puts to rest his preconceived notions of Christianity as a close-minded and oppressive religion , then we have been deceptively convinced that the unbeliever is now open to accepting Christianity and , thus , Christ . At this point , the peace we ought to experience only upon his acceptance of Christ we now experience upon his mere openness to Christianity — and so it is at this point our evangelism comes to an end . Indeed , in this model , our evangelism ends upon the reconciliation between believer and unbeliever , without regard for reconciliation between Christ and the sinner . Our evangelism ends when we have caused the unbelievers to no longer see us as the bigoted , homophobic , and misogynistic Christians they ’ ve seen us to be for so long . But it seems that we have become too preoccupied in trying to fix the reputation a Christianity that led slavery , the Crusades , and our parents ’ sociocultural traditionalism , that we have left salvation in Christ out of our evangelism . Sin is okay , so long as tolerating it is necessary and sufficient for convincing the believer that he loves and the unbeliever that he is loved . In this day and age , our evangelism is satisfied when the unbeliever is satisfied , even if the unbeliever ’ s satisfaction does not rest in Christ alone .
Surely , then , we may come to ask : what ’ s the point of our evangelism if not for Christ ? What do our efforts to build relationships with unbelievers amount to but eternal unfruitfulness if they are not to see the unbelievers ’ ultimate acceptance of Christ ? Why consult more creative ways to reach our college communities as campus ministers if our end goal ends at serving the community or building larger fellowships ? Even if our end goal is to show the love of Christ through good works , we have fallen short of what it means to evangelize if good works are not purposed for a person ’ s ultimate salvation ; for what good have we done for an unbeliever if that good not be eternal ? What eternal good have we done for a poor man or a hurting sister if our aid and support ends upon their being aided and supported but not their hearing of the redemptive work of Christ on the cross ? Surely , just because a Christian is good to an unbeliever does not make the unbeliever any more inclined to see the Christian as a Christian than he is to see the Christian as a good , moral Buddhist . Accordingly , our evangelism must center around Christ , and not the Christian , Christianity , or the unbeliever , himself .
In this day and age , our evangelism is satisfied when the unbeliever is satisfied , even if the unbeliever ' s satisfaction does not rest in Christ alone .
In the end , this message is a call for intentionality in our evangelism — a move from surface-level outreach to a kingdom-minded effort . Surely , seeing to it that believer and unbeliever be reconciled is not wrong , and neither are good works . And while it is true that every believer has a part in evangelism — whether it be planting the seed , watering the seed , or preparing the ground — we cannot become so dependent on others ’ roles that we effectively become stagnant and also forget our own capability to see God ’ s work come to full fruition . In these last days , we ought to have an eternal purpose in all that we do , and this more than for the sake of our unbelieving family members , friends , and enemies — but for the sake of Christ , without Whom none of this would even matter .
Josiah Jordan is a junior concentrating in Philosophy .
20 Spring 2017